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Art department becomes School of Art

Arizona Summer Wildcat

Name change brings national recognition and money

The UA's department of art has achieved elite status by meeting the requirements to receive a name change.

The Arizona Board of Regents approved a proposal during its June meeting to change the name to the School of Art.

A new name will result in greater prestige and some small structural changes in the department, allowing for more autonomy for the divisions of study.

"The name change most directly signifies with who we are," said Harold Jones, director of graduate and undergraduate programs.

While the change just came at the last ABOR meeting, faculty members have felt they have been acting as a school for a while.

"The new name allows us to be called what we have been doing all along," said Paul Ivey, assistant professor of art history.

The name change officially earns the School of Art recognition as one of the top art programs in the nation. There are less than 30 departments in the nation that have earned the title of school of art.

"The school structure allows us to respond to student needs in the modern art world," Ivey said.

Changing the name from the department to the School of Art has involved the entire faculty and has taken more than six years and passed 15 committees.

The department received its accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design two years ago.

Accreditation was one of the major steps in getting the name change, Jones said.

Autonomy will allow each of the divisions to make decisions affecting curriculum without going through a central faculty committee governing all the divisions.

"I hope that it will strengthen our program," said Aurore Chabot, head of ceramics.

Currently there are about 880 undergraduates and 104 graduate students in the department.

Two of the main keys to earning the title of School of Art are depth of curriculum and breadth of programs offered, Jones said.

The breadth of the department is in its three main divisions, education, history and studio art. Studio art is the largest department with more than 700 undergraduate students.

The name change will not be official until the start of the fall semester. Students who graduate during the summer will receive a degree from the department of art not the School of Art.