Author: National Association of State Universities and Lang-Grant Colleges

Publication Year: 1978

Media Type: Report

Summary:

Abstract:

The Fine Arts Commission of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant colleges is pleased to share, in this publication, the findings and an interpretation of the first survey to reveal the extent of the relationship between the arts and the public institutions of higher education in this country.

Those of us who have been involved in the fine arts programs of public colleges and universities have for some time felt that what is happening in these institutions is of critical importance to the general state of the arts in our society.

Certainly the arts are an integral part of the education of all students, and the fact that state and land-grant universities are today awarding 38 percent of all degrees in higher education in the is reason enough to call for the examination of the state of the arts in these institutions.

But public institutions of higher education are involved with the arts in important ways that go beyond service to general student populations. As you will discover in this report, these institutions have become major centers for career education and training through extensive curricula offerings, public exhibitions, performance, professional experience, and practice in a wide variety of arts areas. Of equal importance to the state of the arts in America, we find public universities have taken a dominant role as patrons of the arts providing showcase for professional artists and their works through their concert halls and theatre stages, and their lecture halls, museums and galleries.

This report looks in some detail at the role of the arts in our public institutions of higher learning. I think you will find what I have stressed about the importance of our public institutions of higher education to the arts and the arts to them to be indeed true. This report is an attempt at such data gathering and it is in no way comprehensive. It is a first, and it does provide some useful base-line data. A follow-up survey is planned for 1983.

CONTENTS
Members of the Fine Arts Commission.
Foreword.
Survey highlights.
Access to quality programs.
Patrons of the arts.
Teaching the arts.
Fostering creativity.
Cultural extension.
The outlook.
Profile: The College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois, Urbana-
           Champaign.
Profile: The School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education