Despite ongoing trends of strict budget cuts and withering art programs at universities nationwide, APU’s College of the Arts is flourishing, launching new degrees and welcoming more students than ever before. One recent strategic move to assist with this has been the creation of two new departments: The Department of Design and the Department of Art. Both departments, now with distinct identities, are positioned well to grow in the future.
Professor William Catling, MFA, is serving as the chair of the brand new Department of Art, a counterpart to the new Department of Design. Now with the ability to give each artistic discipline the attention they deserve, Professor Catling said he has seen renewed excitement in faculty and students.
“I’ve been here since 1991 and I have more hope than I’ve ever had,” he said. “God has moved and I think things are going to be happening. APU has an opportunity to rethink and redo things and make itself better. Even in light of the stuff that’s going on with budget crunches, we actually are in growth mode.”
The College of the Arts is currently seeing more growth than any other undergraduate programs at APU. Simplifying the departments to be hyper-focused on specific disciplines allows each program to get the resources they need, particularly regarding classroom space and funding.
Part of the draw of separating the departments was to provide the design students with increased focus on design application and professional interaction. Becky Roe (MFA, Ph.D) is serving as interim chair of the Department of Design. According to Roe, design is often a behind-the-scenes creative form which is incredibly multifaceted and also integrates with other disciplines in order to achieve a goal.
“Design is increasingly interdisciplinary and is beneficial to students of other majors as well, especially for English, Communications, and the new Digital Gaming and Interactive Media major,” Roe points out. “Roughly 90% of graduates from last year had job opportunities in less than 6 month after graduation. Current students complete their internship requirement at some of the top design studios in Los Angeles - sometimes being offered jobs even before they graduate.”
College of the Arts now has the second-largest endowment on campus thanks to a $4.5 million matching grant from the Windgate Foundation, which is dedicated to arts education. The Art and Design Departments will split the funds for scholarships for their respective students and the rest will go to funding the new M.A. in Art Education program, which launched this summer.
With the new master’s degree, the Art Department now has three graduate programs, which include an M.A. in Art History, a one-of-its-kind program ranked No. 1 in the world, and an MFA in Visual Art, which is only one of a few like it within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.
While the two new departments are positioned well to grow into a thriving future, they continue to stay grounded in the mission of cultivating difference makers through exceptional artistry, grounded in authentic Christian faith. According to Roe, “When creating design or any other art form, displaying traits like compassion and humility are important wherever someone works, whether it be a local church or a major design firm. That is a responsibility as educators we will continue to prioritize.”
To witness the Department of Design and Department of Art in action, guests are encouraged to attend one of over 10 events being offered this fall showcasing the work of students, faculty and guest artists and designers.
