Art and design majors find a new home in the School of Humanities

BY EMMA DONLEY Staff Writer

Majors in the Rosemary Adams Department of Art & Design are now part of the School of Humanities as a result of a redesign of the School of Fine Arts and existing connections between fields of study in humanities and art. The changes will be official this summer, although the new lineup was in place for the recent Early Registration of the incoming freshmen.

The School of Fine Arts will focus on music and theatre. Discussions between faculty and administrations in both schools took place for months before a firm decision was made earlier this spring to reposition art & design in the School of Humanities.

Majors in the Adams Department of Art and Design include graphic design, studio art and art education for K-12 teacher certification. Graphic design in particular is a close fit with the communications major in the School of Humanities, but studio art also fits as a natural companion of English and Spanish, also in humanities. In the long term, the faculty of both schools believe they’ll find additional ways in which their work can create new opportunities for students.

“The connection at Ouachita between graphic design and communications has existed for decades, but I believe the new school structure will create more conversations about how we can work together and strengthen each other,”

Dr. Jeff Root, dean of the School of

Humanities, said. “Literature and studio art are creative expressions that date back to our earliest civilizations. It just makes sense to see where those connections can lead us, and we also believe art education is tremendously important and has a bright future.”

Some graphic design majors choose a second major, which often proves to be communications. Printed publications of all varieties depend on graphic designers as well as writers and editors. Ouachita continues to have an abundance of student talent in each of these areas, and the new structure will enhance those relationships, Root said. The study of literature and art includes significant consideration of the periods in time in which the works were created. It’s important for students to see these connections between related ideas which happen to reside in different academic departments, he said.

While the new arrangement will be meaningful to students, but it will not have an immediate impact on their degree plans or the location of their classes. The Department of Art & Design will remain in Moses Provine, while the Department of Language and Literature and the Department of Communications will remain in Lile Hall.

The bigger effect will be on the faculty, as they will work together to consult within each department and brainstorm potential new classes or other changes to the majors.

Donnie Copeland, chair of the Department of Art & Design, shares his thoughts.

“I do think that there are some good connections between art and design and areas like English and literature and communications, of course,” Copeland said. We all share, for instance, the creative process, which is clearly part of so much work happening in all of these areas.

“Whether we are talking about creative writing, literature and storytelling, film or other forms of communication, we share much in common with our friends in the School of Humanities.”

Students in the future will benefit from the joining of departments that already have so much in common. There are exciting possibilities that may come in the future when these faculty members are able to work together.