Designing change: College creates new School of the Arts

June 15, 2009

A reorganization of KU's fine arts programs is bringing more opportunities for participation in the arts to more students by creating a School of the Arts housed in the College.

The reorganization transforms the School of Fine Arts into the School of Music. The Department of Design will join the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

The Department of Visual Art and a new Department of Dance will become part of the new School of the Arts. A few programs currently within the Department of Design will be added the Department of Visual Art: ceramics, metalsmithing and jewelry, scenography, textile design and visual arts education. Drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and expanded media will round out the department.

The Department of Theatre and Film, already in the College, will join this school as separate departments, the Department of Theatre and the Department of Film and Media Studies.

Elizabeth Kowalchuk, an associate professor who has dedicated her career to preparing art educators and teaching others how the arts contribute to the quality of life, will assume the post of associate dean for the School of the Arts.

"The arts represent unique ways of knowing, seeing, and responding to the world," she said. "I'm excited about the new configuration of arts in the College and the opportunities it represents for expanding access and awareness of dance, film, theatre and visual arts. Within the school, the prospects are bright for growth and change."

The School of the Arts will recognize the strong ties between fine arts and the humanities currently taught in the College. Possibilities for interconnectedness and synergies involving KU faculty and students will increase as about 25 art faculty and six dance faculty move to the College.

The new structure, which will be done using existing resources, takes effect July 1.