National Task Forces
ArtsEngine will establish national task forces to advance the work begun by working groups during the Michigan Meeting. Task forces will be convened on the following topics:
- Advocacy structures and strategies: To compile information on current advocacy structures and arguments for integrating art-making into Research I institutions, and to propose stronger arguments and structures.
- Co-curricular programming: To compile information on how co-curricular programming is currently being used in support of arts-integration in the research university, and to explore new co-curricular strategies.
- Curricular strategies: To compile information on courses and curricula that currently support the integration of art-making in the research university, and to explore new, potentially scalable strategies.
- Research agenda: To compile information about what we know about the impact of art-making on undergraduates, university communities, and university functioning, and to articulate an agenda for research to expand that knowledge.
Original vision and background statements for Michigan Meeting working groups, and preliminary plans that emerged from the May meeting, can be reviewed here. Immediate action steps recommended by the working groups are summarized here. A new summary of short-term goals to support task force work can be viewed here.
Task force goals and operations
- Goals. Between September 2011 and May 2012 each task force will produce a concrete, actionable product to be distributed nationally.
These products will aid implementation of immediate action steps recommended by working groups, and/or be refined goals and action steps to aid short-term (2 – 5 years) progress. Each task force will clearly define its target product by the second meeting. - Meetings. Task forces will meet monthly for 60 – 90 minutes by tele- or video-conference (technology TBA) beginning in September 2011 and ending in May 2012. Meeting notes and drafts will be circulated to all task force members so that those unable to participate in calls are able to contribute to the work. ArtsEngine will staff and facilitate calls.
- Time commitment. The time required for active participation will vary with specific goals task force members set for themselves and availability of staff or student support in their home institutions. Participation in monthly calls, data-gathering, and editing processes is likely to require at least 5 hours per month.
- Membership. Colleagues (including graduate students) from any of the arts disciplines, architecture, engineering, sciences, higher education, and administration who are committed to better integrating art-making into the university can sign up for a group below. To manage group sizes, please sign up for one group only.
- Leadership. Each group will need one or two leaders who will help ArtsEngine staff ensure that the task force members’ suggestions are fairly integrated into revised documents, that task force participation is robust, that process during calls remains focused, that a monthly statement about task force progress is provided for the newsletter, and that the task force’s goal is met. When you sign up to participate in a task force you may nominate yourself or a colleague for a leadership role in the group. Leaders are likely to spend a few more hours per month than other participants, and will receive recognition for their roles.
- Decision-making process. Decisions will be made by consensus.
- Benefits of participation. Task force participation will bring the inherent pleasure of new working relationships with colleagues nationally and the fulfillment of contributing concretely to important goals, as well as the benefit of engagement on the ground floor of an important initiative, conferring ongoing opportunities for national leadership and recognition.
