Provost’s Message As the Interim Provosts, we are delighted to welcome you to Otis. You are joining a community of talented and dedicated artists, designers, scholars, and educators whose mission is to prepare “diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skills, and their vision.” Our first-year Foundation program will teach you the critical core fundamental skills to your major; starting in the sophomore year, each of the studio majors will sequentially advance you through a curriculum grounded in academic excellence, advancing your work and professional preparation. The liberal studies program will complement and extend your studio experience, preparing you to better deal with the tumult of an increasingly complex and constantly changing world whose challenges demand self-reflection and creativity. Our graduate programs advance those practices through rigorous, practice-based studies with distinguished faculty. Undergraduates will participate in our Integrated Learning program, collaboratively learning in interdisciplinary teams in projects that bridge the gap between school and community, neighborhoods and generations, cultures and histories. The Sustainability Minor launches this year with an Integrated Learning course that introduces you to the current sustainability perspectives and challenges of the 21st century. Our Interdisciplinary Concentrations allow you to compose a concentration outside of your major, and our minors are defined course sequences that you may study alongside your major. Your progress, learning, and accomplishments will be evidenced by the Learning ePortfolio you will create in which you will reflectively make connections across disciplines, courses, and years. We strongly encourage you to participate in the thriving art scene of Los Angeles. Economist Ann Markusen referred to Los Angeles as “America’s Artist Super City.” “Since 2007, the annual Otis Report on the Creative Economy of Los Angeles Region has established by hard data the combined economic impact of the arts, design, and entertainment industries in Los Angeles and Orange counties”; last year’s event, themed “The Power of Art and Artists,” showed the dramatic impact that creative organizations and professionals have on the community and culture of Los Angeles. You are joining us at a serendipitous time. This fall and spring Otis is participating in Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, a collaboration of over sixty southern California cultural institutions that will tell the story of the history of the art world in Los Angeles as it became a rich international artistic hub. As part of our continuing commitment to extending learning beyond the classroom, many classes offered this year will be connected to this vibrant event. More information on these initiatives is located in this Course Catalogue, a resource for you which includes curriculum, degree requirements, course descriptions, important dates, faculty biographies, policies and procedures. Again welcome and we look forward to meeting you. Debra Ballard and Randall Lavender
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