Vision: To be a premiere center for interdisciplinary education in studio art, design, art history, and art education dedicated to creative research and socially engaged practice.

Mission:

  • To promote art and design as a significant means of inquiry, integral to problem-solving and the production of knowledge
  • To educate students to be empathetic and engaged citizens and to prepare them for careers as creative professionals
  • To address critical issues facing Georgians and the nation through innovative research in art, art education, and design.

GOAL: Enhance Reputation and Visibility Locally and Globally

Objectives:

  • Enhance institutional presence in national and international venues through support for publications, conferences, and exhibitions, etc.
  • Advertise the flexible, interdisciplinary structure of our graduate program of study and opportunities for cross-campus engagement
  • Create a consistent identity system and brand guidelines
  • Improve recruitment through additional publicity and funding
  • Develop a summer continuing education program for high school art teachers
  • Create a downtown presence via a gallery / workspace
  • Improve external communications, including website and PR materials
  • Strengthen alumni connections and community engagement

GOAL: Enhance Research Excellence

Objectives:

  • Develop initiatives to assist faculty in earning external research support
  • Develop research-oriented initiatives such as colloquia, round-tables, and year-long school-wide thematic inquiry
  • Further recognize and reward research-active faculty
  • Establish graduate research assistantships to aid faculty and to develop student research skills

GOAL: Increase Diversity

Objectives:

  • Develop a long-term plan to enhance diversity among students, faculty, and staff
  • Charge all standing and ad-hoc committees to prioritize diversity in accordance with their mission
  • Identify resources, funding, and opportunities to attract and enhance the experiences of students from underrepresented populations
  • Reach and attract underrepresented audiences through programming, outreach, and new course offerings

GOAL: Foster a Fluid, Sustainable, and Supportive Culture

Objectives:

  • Consolidate all Dodd facilities and areas onto East Campus
  • Improve internal communications and clarify roles of administrators, faculty, and staff
  • Develop and implement effective models for mentoring all faculty, staff, and part-time and graduate instructors
  • Create opportunities within the course schedule for school-wide dialogue and engagement such as guest speakers, workshops, workgroup discussions, and faculty sharing research
  • Streamline, recognize, and compensate faculty administrative work in the various areas of the school
  • Establish departmental awards for excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service
  • Establish centralized, intra-departmental resource-labs for faculty and student use
  • Transform four major spaces (front entrance, atrium, loft, and garden) to increase visibility, cross-disciplinary and collaborative practices among students and faculty

GOAL: Develop a Fluid and Integrative Curriculum and Enhance the Quality and Effectiveness of Instruction

Objectives:

  • Develop courses and programs of study that support interaction between students from different areas of concentration and courses that integrate with other disciplines on campus
  • Support team-taught courses and collaborative projects
  • Streamline curriculum by reducing redundancy, support shared courses between areas, and reduce multi-level courses
  • Support team-taught courses and collaborative projects
  • Periodic review and development of curriculum and graduate programs
  • Create an effective model for assessing and guiding junior faculty, part-time, and graduate instructors
  • Measure the effectiveness of instruction, e.g. through peer review, student learning outcomes assessment
  • Consolidation and organization of online resources related to instructional support
  • Increase opportunities for international teaching and learning experiences