Monday, October 20, 2008
The University will reorganize the School of Fine Arts and rename it the School of the Arts, pending the approval of the Kansas Board of Regents.
The School of Fine Arts currently includes the art, design, music and dance departments. If the Regents passed the request, the new School of the Arts would include the department of art and the department of dance. The department of theater and film would also become part of the school.
Under the proposed plan, the music department would still be a part of the school but would be given greater autonomy, including having its own dean. The department of design would join the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, though some design classes would be part of the School of the Arts.
The school would still operate as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
John Gronbeck-Tedesco, interim dean of the School of Fine Arts, said that, although classes would be changed, no student would have to take more courses and that every student had the right to be informed of the changes.
“Students who come in on a particular catalog are entitled to finish their degree on that catalog,” Gronbeck-Tedesco said. “These new changes cannot affect students who came in on a previous catalog.”
Amy Virginia Buchanan, Stillwater, Okla., senior and theater major, said she wasn’t worried about the changes being made.
“As a whole, the faculty would never make a decision that wouldn’t directly benefit students,” Buchanan said. “They’ve always made it very clear that they want to take care of us. This decision will benefit me and everyone else.”
Buchanan is on the Undergraduate Theatre Council, a student group that works with department administrators.
“Although we knew about it, I didn’t realize it was going to happen so soon, so it shook me up a little bit,” Buchanan said.
Gronbeck-Tedesco compared fine arts degrees with professional degrees like those offered in law, engineering and pharmacy. He said that the specific area of the school that the students entered would affect how similar their degrees would be to professional ones.
If a student entered into the arts curriculum and chose a bachelor’s degree, he said, the student’s degree would be considered a broader endeavor than a professional degree.
Buchanan said that she had been assured she wouldn’t need to take additional classes if the Regents allowed the University to implement the proposed changes.
“I’m personally not concerned about being able to find a job either,” Buchanan said. “What prospective jobs will be looking at will be my resume, not so much my college degree.”
Andy Jackson, Overland Park sophomore and music education major, said he wasn’t concerned about the proposed changes. Jackson said he received an e-mail from the School of Fine Arts last week informing him about the proposal.
“Instead of having one dean that does everything, the music department will have a dean just for us, which will allow us to do more things that apply specifically to music students,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the high level of interaction between fine arts students and their advisers would also help make the transition smoother if the proposed changes took place. Students in the school are assigned a specific adviser whom they meet with regularly to ensure that they get all their required classes into their schedules, Jackson said.
“The advisers within the school are really on top of the game,” Jackson said.
Gronbeck-Tedesco said the new plan was cost-effective and would require no additional funding or reductions in staff. If passed, the plan would go into effect in July 2009.
— — Edited by Adam Mowder
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Comments
Reorganization, renaming could be in the School of Fine Arts’ future
"The school would still operate as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences."
Why does music get to go off and be it's own school? Why does the larger art and design departments have to go be part of CLAS, like our theater and film program? Art and Design majors- look out. Our program will be forgotten, our special needs will be overlooked when we become part of CLAS. What will happen to the differential tution A&D majors pay for equipment upgrades, etc.
The School of Architecture and Urban Design is a good fit for Industrial Design, Interior Design, etc. but putting Visual Communication and Graphic design over there doesn't make any sense at all. School of Journalism and Mass Communications maybe? I really hope that people in the Arch School don't screw over the design kids. We've spent alot of tuition dollars and time getting our program up to snuff with facilities, etc.- even a new major this year- photomedia. I'm worried what happens when all of these programs get shifted over to a school that has no interest of improving them, much less integrating them into their existing curriculum.
tl;dr-This situation only benefits music majors, and everyone else gets screwed.
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