Dean’s Message – Fall 2015

Greetings!

The start of the Fall 2015 semester in the College of the Arts brings with it exuberant energy along with multitudes of new programs,  events, and anticipated accomplishments from our talented students and faculty.

In recent months our students, alumni and faculty have been hard at work making strides in their fields and fostering growth within our creative community. 

In late spring, 20 students in The Montclair State University Orchestra had the unique opportunity to rehearse and perform on an international stage to which they traveled to collaborate with students from the East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai.  In exchange, eight students from ECNU are on campus this semester pursuing a new and customized International Artists’ Diploma from the John J. Cali School of Music.  The Cali School has also just launched its remarkable performance season, kicking off with a dynamic Faculty Showcase slated for mid-September.

The School of Communication and Media (SCM) recently broke ground on a new 105,000-square-foot facility which will a include a state-of-the-art newsroom and broadcasting studios, a 150-seat presentation hall, an integrated media lab, a film-screening room, as well as acting and dance studios, set to open by December 2016.  SCM also announced the launch of a new Arts and Health Graduate Certificate program for Fall 2015.  It is the first program of its kind in the state, and is designed to merge arts instruction, research, and performance, within the fields of healthcare and the medical humanities.

Graduating MFA Studio Art students in the Department of Art and Design held their 2015 Thesis Show in late June at the Central Booking Gallery in New York City’s Lower East Side, exhibiting their student work as they transition towards professional careers.  The Department is also excited to launch its Fall-semester Art Forum series which will feature notable artists, designers, historians and critics.

The Department of Theatre and Dance has much to be proud of.  See what our alumni have been up to, going from studio to stage, and plans for the department’s new low-residency MFA in Dance. Also to note, a recent Buzzfeed poll ranked the Musical Theatre program one of “the top 10 collegiate Musical Theatre programs in the United States.”

Over the coming year we look forward to communicating with you more “efficiently” as we combine periodic newsletters and calendars into one monthly publication.

As always, we welcome your feedback on all that we do . . . and I look forward to seeing you on campus!