School of Fine Arts

As an acclaimed professional school and the center of cultural life at the University of Connecticut, the School of Fine Arts is committed to providing superb education as well as stirring arts exhibits and performances. The school endeavors to continue growing and become a magnet for artists and intellectuals across the region.

The School of Fine Arts enriches the cultural life of the University of Connecticut community, as well as the state, providing an artistic environment that offers unique expressions of emotion, intellect and spirit. As UConn continues gaining national recognition for excellence, the School of Fine Arts is playing a key role in the University’s ascendance into the list of top 20 public institutions. Our University. Our Moment. The Campaign for UConn will raise support to meet the goals of the school’s strategic plan: increasing support for undergraduate and graduate programs, creative activity, community outreach and new programs to meet the changing needs of the arts world.

Broaden the Undergraduate Experience

Our University. Our Moment. will bolster support for academic programs and experiential learning. The school is expanding diverse interdisciplinary programs in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and the School of Business. The strategic plan calls for expanding conservatory-based education for theater and music studies and professional training for visual arts studies through existing and new partnerships with arts organizations like the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Opera. Private support also will help develop study abroad programs that will enable students to experience the diversity that is embedded in the universal language of the arts.

Invest in Graduate and Professional Education

The School of Fine Arts is an internationally recognized professional school. The strategic plan prioritizes investing in the areas of greatest strength, including the M.F.A. in studio arts and M.A. in art history, to continue UConn’s rise to prominence in the arts. Private giving also will support expanding distinctive programs that enable graduate students to gain invaluable experience working with national and international artists, actors, designers, musicians, and scholars both on campus and abroad.

Create New Centers

Private support will enable the school to establish two new important centers that will meet areas of growing demand in the marketplace and help position UConn to be a leader in new media arts. The interdepartmental digital technology center will offer an interdisciplinary approach to visual arts, dramatic arts and music in preparation for careers in the film and television industries. Through the new contemporary music center, students will study composition and performance of digital arts and music for the film industry and train for the burgeoning music technology field.

Stimulate Creative Activity

Creative activity by the faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students is the essence of the School of Fine Arts. Creative endeavors in combination with a comprehensive education in history, theory and pedagogy produce broad-based artists capable of adapting to the varying demands of the artistic world. The school’s goals are to increase support for new projects in the visual arts, musical composition, playwriting, stage design, performance and the digital arts. The school also seeks to establish endowed awards to honor and support faculty members who are leaders in the arts.

Expand Outreach

Performances, exhibitions and children’s programming attract tens of thousands of visitors annually to UConn. With private support, we plan to expand youth programs held both on campus and at schools throughout the state. We also intend to enhance our participation in UConn’s growing human rights program by expanding artistic productions that reflect social justice themes.

School of Fine Arts Campaign Objectives

School of Fine Arts Building Fund	$4 million
Merit Scholarships	$4 million
Professorships in Music, Drama and Art	$2.25 million
Digital Arts Technology Center	$1.25 million
All-Steinway School Initiative	$500,000

Campaign Total	$12 million