Dean's letter

Time is flying as we approach the end of the 2018-18 academic year. Our last day of class is April 25,  with graduation set for May 8. The time for final student recitals, exhibitions, theatrical productions, and speech presentations is upon us. It is also a time when we reflect on what our students and faculty have accomplished this past year and a time when we begin to plan our 2018-19 calendar of events. I can tell you now that the next academic year is looking full and exciting with many guest artists to grace our campus.

On the last day of class, we will celebrate the accomplishments of our students at the annual Arts Excellence Awards. At that time, we will honor individuals who have made the Dean’s List, our scholarship recipients for next year, and those students who have distinguished themselves in creative talent and academics. This last group will received the Arts Excellence Award, voted on by the faculty of each department. This award signifies that the recipient is among the best of the best. It is an honor bestowed on a chosen few. Many of the past recipients have gone on to further their education in graduate school or continued on to thriving careers, making an outstanding contribution to the world of the arts. 

It has been a year of student and faculty accomplishments. More grants have been written and awarded to faculty, and students earned honors and accolades never before achieved in our past. The work of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts is being seen by more people across our state. On a recent visit to Mitchell, Ind., one of the faculty at Mitchell High School remarked, after a presentation by one of our faculty members, “Wow, this makes me want to go back to school. I had no idea your program had such depth!” Depth is what we have and our students and faculty are putting it on display.

Come and visit us this month as we prepare to bring this academic year to an end. There are BFA exhibitions, student recitals, concerts of our performing ensembles, classroom presentations in communication studies, the ACT fine arts conference, and the list goes on. Thank you for your continued support and for keeping us inspired so we can aspire to greater things.

Marvin Curtis
Dean, Professor of Music