Dean's letter

December is here, and so too is the end of the fall semester as well as the end of the calendar year. The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts is grateful for your support of our students, faculty, and programs this year, and wish you all the best for the upcoming holiday season. We are all looking forward to some down time as we prepare for an exciting 2018 with all eyes focused on graduation day, May 8th.

During this season of joy, I must acknowledge the passing of a vital member of the Raclin School of the Art community, Mrs. June Edwards. Mrs. Edwards served on our Arts Foundation Board for many years and supported many of our programs. She was a small woman in statue but a giant in her support of the arts. I nominated her for the 2011 Governor’s Arts Award and she was one of the recipients of the governor’s awards. June had a way of being persuasive without being pushy, and she loved the fine details of a presentation. The city of South Bend will remember her for her support of the South Museum of Art and the June H. Edwards Mosaic Series for the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. June lived to be 91 and her legacy will live on for many years to come.

This is the season of wonder, the season where wishes and dreams can come true, the season where the promise of good things to come is more abundant, and the season of hope. Let us make this a season of love for each other and for our world. The arts can be that bridge that brings people together. It can be that unspoken but visible language of reconciliation. It can manifest itself in ways that can heal the human spirit. We teach our students to be change agents in an ever-changing world, and I am constantly inspired by their achievements. I am grateful to the faculty that nourish them, the staff that supports all of us, and you—the public—for whom we perform, exhibit, and demonstrate. The happiest of holidays to you all and best wishes for 2018!

Marvin Curtis
Dean, Professor of Music