Committee on the Arts

Committee on the Arts, Plus

Report to the Planning Steering Committee

Executive Summary
May 2005

Note: Each Task Force Report is a collection of background information, analyses, and recommendations that are submitted to the Planning Steering Committee and the President. Over the summer, the Steering Committee and the President will review and discuss all 15 sets of recommendations together in the context of the College's available resources.

The Committee's work centered upon the following five questions:

1. What is the appropriate role of the arts in a liberal arts curriculum, and how closely does Middlebury approximate that ideal?
2. How can we enhance the visibility of and appreciation for the arts across campus?
3. How can we enhance recognition of Middlebury's vibrant programs in the arts among off-campus constituencies, including prospective students, alums, and the general public?
4. How might the arts play a more central role in student life and in the Commons?
5. What campus facility improvements and/or modifications might significantly enhance the role of the arts at Middlebury?

Through discussion of these five questions, the Committee generated numerous concrete strategies to enhance the arts' role in the life of the Middlebury College community, many of which are outlined in the following section of this report. Overall, the Committee recommends that we seek ways for the arts to become less ornamental, and more structural/integrated into the life of the College.Three major priorities emerged from the discussion:

1. The reappointment of a Director of the Arts, or similar position of leadership in the College arts community.
2. The creation of new spaces for the performance, practice, and display of arts across campus. Each new Commons facility should include a multi-use space for these purposes. Some existing spaces may require renovation/modification.
3. The creative use of existing resources to better integrate the arts into the College curriculum. The active coordination of current arts activities and better planning to include art activities more widely in the curriculum would add depth without adding new layers of events and programs.

Members:

Richard Saunders, chair

Penny Campbell

Christa Clifford

Eliza Garrison

Peter Hamlin

Sujata Moorti

Eric Nelson

Paul Nelson

Ted Perry

Jeff Rehbach

Richard Romagnoli