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Arts Innovation Steering Committee dreams big but offers few concrete goals for future of arts at UNC

The Arts Innovation Steering Committee is still looking for its focus.

In its second meeting last Friday in the Student Union, Student Body President Hogan Medlin’s collection of University officials in artistic and academic policy offered few concrete goals.

But the committee, which Medlin hopes will form the backbone of his eventual legacy at UNC, continues to foster big dreams.

“I’d love to create a central resource on campus where a student interested in painting can rent paintbrushes and paint, just like you can do with basketball,” Medlin said.

Committee members are quick to compare UNC and its artistic and innovative community to those at other universities for inspiration and otherwise.

“We’ve always had a desire for a more creative campus,” said Jim Hirschfield, chairman of the Department of Art. Hirschfield encouraged the committee to examine the successes of Vanderbilt University’s Creative Campus initiative, a project that has significantly increased the artistic presence on that campus.

“All art all the time is well worth working on,” Hirschfield said.

Earlier discussions in meetings and on the committee’s e-mail listserv concerning a distributed report on the state of the arts in 2008 at Harvard University frequently mentioned the areas in which UNC has an advantage over Harvard.

Even as it searches for meaning, the committee’s high-profile membership could help it impact arts policy decisions.

Friday’s meeting saw the first appearance of College of Arts and Sciences Dean Karen Gil, former Chancellor James Moeser and McKay Coble, chairwoman of the faculty and the Department of Dramatic Art, in the discussions.

The committee also includes Emil Kang, executive director for the arts, Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and Chancellor Holden Thorp’s wife Patti Thorp, among a variety of campus notables and student arts leaders.

“We’ve come together to look at the big picture,” Medlin said on Friday. “What is arts innovation? And how can we better support our student arts groups and help prepare artistic pursuits academically?”

Medlin plans to present the committee’s findings at the March meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees.

Positioning itself as a functional part of the University’s slew of current planning processes — the Innovate@Carolina fundraising campaign, the new Academic Plan and ongoing curriculum review among them — the committee is looking inside and outside UNC for inspiration on where to head next.

The committee heard a presentation from Mark Meares, director of corporate and foundation relations, on Innovate@Carolina, Chancellor Holden Thorp’s recently released road map on the future of innovation at the University.

Bill Andrews, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and co-chairman of the academic plan steering committee, suggested that the arts innovation committee might serve as one of many sounding boards for the academic plan, currently in draft form.

“The chancellor wants to draw from the widest constituency on campus as possible.”

Medlin foresees the committee eventually taking a strong stand on the state of arts funding at UNC — something he said is a growing concern.

Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.

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