Dean's Messages Archive

In conjunction with Penn State’s strategic planning process, the College of Arts and Architecture is embarking on the development of its own strategic plan for 2025–30, which will serve as both a foundation and a guide for our operations over the next five years. Our strategic plan essentially will be a roadmap for the future—a clear vision of where we want to take our programs, students, and community in the coming months. That blueprint will help us align our resources and efforts to ensure we continue fostering the creative excellence that defines our graduates. As part of the strategic planning process, we will solicit the involvement of alumni and friends, so please watch your email inbox for details. Your participation in the process is crucial, as you are an integral part of the college community.

Architects create digital drawings and 3D models. Artists and designers create sketches, studies, and maquettes. Arts researchers develop research and exhibition proposals. Musicians work from scores, lead sheets, and arrangements. Theatre performers rely on scripts and blocking notes.

In terms familiar to our college, we might conceive of a strategic plan as a model, sketch, maquette, proposal, arrangement, or script. We might also think of it as an opportunity for us to make—model, sketch, propose, arrange, script—the case for why the work we do in our college is so important. Doing so is essential, now more than ever.

Put simply, the college prepares the next generation of artists, performers, researchers, designers, and educators to make a positive difference in the world. I do not need to mention here that an education in the arts does so much more than prepare learners for the studio, the stage, or the recital hall. We produce collaborative, creative thinkers who transfer their skills and experience into a range of professions in the arts and design and beyond.

With federal funding for the arts and culture at risk, I encourage you to be an advocate for the arts and design. Consider engaging with Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading advocacy organization for the arts. Other major arts and design advocacy organizations include the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), which represents state arts councils and agencies; the Arts Education Partnership, which specifically advocates for arts education in schools and communities; the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which promotes landscape architecture programs, environmental restoration projects, and infrastructure investments; the American Institute of Architects (AIA), which advocates for historic preservation, community development, and design excellence programs; and the National Art Education Association (NAEA).

What we do in the College of Arts and Architecture matters. What you do, as alumni and friends of the college, matters. What we do together matters. What #WeCreate matters.

Thank you, as always, for your support of the College of Arts and Architecture, and for being brilliant ambassadors for the work we do. With the launch of another academic year upon us in a few short weeks, I look forward to engaging with you at events on campus and beyond.