A&A Dean

If you have been keeping up with current events in higher education, you are aware of the many changes taking place nationally and at Penn State. New directives and decisions about federal funding for research have required us to assess some of our practices and to explore options for securing continued and future external funding. As another example of change, although there is no direct impact on the College of Arts and Architecture, the recent decision to close seven Penn State Commonwealth Campuses and to reimagine the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem requires us all to consider what lies ahead in a shifting and changing future. We recognize changes for the campuses will be felt across the entire University, including alumni and friends of Arts and Architecture whose Penn State identities include ties to University Park and another campus.

Such shifts require adjustments and can prompt modifications in strategy without sacrificing our college vision—to investigate, inspire, and improve cultural, social, and environmental conditions. Regardless of these changes, the College of Arts and Architecture is committed to our strategic mission of preparing artists, designers, scholars, teachers, performers, and professional practitioners to further research and creative activity and to interpret and preserve cultural heritage.

We are also committed to creating, as evidenced by #WeCreate, the hashtag we developed to succinctly capture the essence of the College of Arts and Architecture. We use #WeCreate on social media as well as in ads and other materials to communicate what the college is all about: creating art and design, creating performances, creating new knowledge, creating experiences, creating opportunities.

No other time in the college better exemplifies #WeCreate than the end of the spring semester, when every day on the calendar has a recital, exhibition, critique, performance ... not to mention all the special events planned to mark the end of the academic year. We celebrate the “creation” of our new alumni who graduated during Penn State’s commencement ceremonies May 9–11. We celebrate the college’s annual student, faculty, and staff award winners, whose efforts and creations earned recognition from their peers, professors, and administrators. We celebrate the hard work that brought us to end of another academic year.

While the summer is a quieter time on campus, we are still creating plenty of excitement, including the Penn’s Woods Music Festival (PWMF), a variety of camps for K-12 students and educators, and the University’s annual We Are Weekend. If you take advantage of this lovely time to visit State College, I hope you will consider visiting the Palmer Museum of Art, attending one or all Penn’s Woods Music Festival performances, or taking in the annual Juneteenth exhibition at the Woskob Family Gallery.

As always, thank you for your support. I hope to see you on campus soon.