Dean's Message: At the Meadows School of the Arts, we know the arts will play an increasingly greater role in society and the world as creativity becomes the economic engine of the 21st century. Meadows is an exciting place because we truly are training artists for the future; we don’t just talk about art, we make art.  At the same time, you’ll have the chance for a great liberal arts education at one of America’s finest universities.  The communicative, visual and performing arts indeed have a power beyond reason and other forms of knowledge, but to influence others, you must have more than just technique. 

Whatever you study at Meadows, be it journalism or theatre, advertising or music, it will be creative and it will be global.  As the world becomes more diverse, art becomes ever more important. Art is about communication and cultural understanding and provides a way of interpreting not only the worlds of others, but the world to ourselves.  Diversity of expression, ideas, cultures and mostly of people is essential at Meadows.  In addition to the art and guest artists and speakers who come to Meadows from abroad, last year our students studied, filmed, dug, presented or performed in Japan, Sweden, Venezuela, France, South Africa, Colombia, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, England, Brazil and Belgium. Come explore the world at Meadows.

Only the power to imagine can change the world, so being a creative person makes you a leader. Creative new solutions to problems are artistic by definition and artists have always been at the forefront of change.  At Meadows, we embrace a philosophy of learning that is focused on engagement, which leads to "deep learning," or learning for understanding.  Not only is this better learning than memorizing for an exam (and then forgetting), it is learning with a purpose.  Why am I here and how can I make the world a better place with what I have learned? Meadows is an exciting place because we don’t just make art, we make art that matters.

What sort of world will the next century become?  That depends on what sort of artists we create.  It depends on you.  As a Meadows artist, I hope you will have something to say when you speak, paint, play, argue, direct, design, write, light or sculpt: what in the world could be more important than imaging a better future, crossing cultural boundaries and using creativity to solve problems?  That’s what we do.  Come to Meadows to hone your craft, engage with other brilliant students, work with inspired faculty and challenge yourself, but also come to change the world.

José Antonio Bowen, Ph.D.
Dean
Algur H. Meadows Chair
Professor of Music