Reinventing theArts What do By Gaile Robinson
you put an animator, D
Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.
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utdallas.edu
on’t anticipate a punch line; there isn’t one. Not yet. “The answer will come in the future,” said Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. “In a place designed to create pathways among people, projects and ideas.” As dean, Kratz has developed an interdisciplinary curriculum that fosters collaboration at the intersection of arts and humanities, science and engineering. “There is a statistical correlation between Nobel Prize winners and art,” Kratz said. “It enables them to see from a different viewpoint.” Kratz’s viewpoint, a broadminded administration, and a creative faculty eager to transform the traditions of a typical liberal arts program, have redefined how the arts and humanities are viewed and taught at UT Dallas. “This isn’t about putting art in a science-based university. It’s about reconstructing the way we educate people to bring science, art and humanities together,” Kratz said. “We want to suffuse everything. “Our goal is, first of all, to put art and humanities right smack in the center of this place.”
