Michigan Meeting
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ArtsEngine’s meeting, “The Role of art-making and the arts in the research university” was held May 4–6, 2011, in Ann Arbor. Attendance was by invitation.
Intent
Our purpose in hosting this meeting was to recognize and advance research university support for art-making and the arts as a matter of great cultural significance. University sponsorship affects not only the nature, quality, and definition of the arts in society, but the intellectual and creative capacity of its faculty, students, staff, and ultimately of the general populace.
Many research universities are devoting considerable resources to building the arts and art-making into the life of the university. All of these institutions are grappling with attendant administrative and conceptual challenges, including curricular impact, funding mechanisms, and theoretical justification. This meeting was meant to address both these philosophical and practical questions.
To learn more about the impetus and goals for the meeting, read this recent Q&A with ArtsEngine’s Executive Director, Theresa Reid.
Participants
Provosts, deans, directors, faculty, and graduate students from 50 peer institutions across the U.S. were invited to participate in the meeting. A full participant list is published online.
Partners
At U-M, the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Communications, and the Office of University Development were actively involved in ensuring the success of this meeting. The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies provided funding, logistical support, and expertise. And arts leaders across campus participated in planning, including the University Musical Society, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Program in Screen Arts and Cultures, the MFA Writing Program, the Residential College, the Department of the History of Art, and others.
We are delighted to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for $25,000 in support for the Michigan Meeting through their arts initiative, directed by Knight Vice President Dennis Scholl. For more information on the Knight Foundation’s work, visit knightfoundation.org.
Expected Outcomes
The meeting was structured to accomplish the following objectives:
- Provide a showcase for arts-integration initiatives at universities across the U.S.
- Initiate a transdisciplinary program of research and exploration on these and other topics:
- The unique contributions of art-making as an intellectual and creative practice in the university.
- Organizational , budgetary, and curricular models for the integration of art-making into university life.
- The potential impact of arts-integration on the achievement and retention of students.
- Initiate a national effort to make a sophisticated case for integrating art-making and the arts into the research university.
- Build a network among leading U.S. research universities to support further research, pilot projects, conversation, and collaboration.
Further Information
Read a précis of the conference concept here. (PDF)
Share your thoughts and ideas on the topic, by e-mailing us.
News about the Michigan Meeting
- Michigan Daily, May 8, 2011: At event, 'U' encourages collaboration between arts and sciences Read the article.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 6, 2011: Syracuse President Urges Reimagining of Arts' Role in Colleges by Alexander C. Kafka Read the article.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 5, 2011: Mellon Foundation President Asserts One Culture, Not 2 by Alexander C. Kafka Read the article.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 4, 2011: Princeton’s Tilghman Calls U’s Crucial to the Arts by Alexander C. Kafka Read the article.
- Michigan Radio, May 3, 2011: U of M conference shines spotlight on the "creative process" Read the article.
- Montage, May: CALL TO ACTION: Higher role for the arts Universities from around U.S. attend symposium; action plan to be published within weeks Read the article.
- R&D Magazine, April 20, 2011: Symposium aims to raise profile of arts, creativity at research universities Read the article.
- Montage, February: Fostering innovation in 21st-century economy National symposium at U-M May 4–6 calls for higher profile of arts, creativity at research universities Read the article.
- ArtsEngine is delighted to have won a “Michigan Meeting,” one of two annual interdisciplinary meetings of national and international scope on topics of broad interest and contemporary importance to both the public and the academic community, selected and funded by U-M’s Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
