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Flourish Online Magazine | Winter 2009 |
The college with big ambitions: A look back on the 10th anniversary of the College of the Arts
By Cheryl Anderson Brown
Less than 50 years ago, the governor of Georgia decided to build a two-year college north of Atlanta to give people better access to higher education. The leaders in Cobb County helped secure an old cow pasture for the new school and everyone hoped it would do well.
Not even the most optimistic person could have envisioned that a few buildings scattered in a field at the end of a winding country road would quickly rise to become one of the top universities in Georgia, with a booming enrollment, international recognition and more than 65 graduate and undergraduate degrees.
Much less could they have imagined that a school with such humble beginnings would one day boast a dynamic arts culture, with destination venues offering world-class exhibitions and performances, innovative degree programs and a growing national reputation for excellence.
When the college opened its doors in 1966, it offered a selection of liberal arts programs that could be transferred to other schools. Among these programs were art and music, with one faculty member for each of these programs.
“I came to perform a recital at Kennesaw Junior College in the early 1970s, and there was literally nothing here—no big roads, no restaurants, no businesses, but there was something special about this place,” said Joseph Meeks, dean of the KSU College of the Arts. “From the beginning, the school had ambition and energy. You could feel the excitement from the students and the faculty.”
That excitement led Meeks to leave a tenured position at another college and take a leap of faith at Kennesaw, where he joined Wayne Gibson on a two-person music faculty. “People thought I was crazy at the time, but I knew this was where I needed to be,” Meeks said.
The art and music programs shared close quarters in the old Humanities Building, now Willingham Hall, working to build ever stronger arts programs.
“We had tremendous support from the administration and the community from the very beginning,” Gibson recalled. “That was critical to our success.”
By 1980, the college had grown into a four-year college with a new name, Kennesaw College. In 1983, the Division of Arts and Humanities was created and, a few years later, the music department added a theater major.
By the mid-1990s, the institution had expanded so much that it was granted full university status as Kennesaw State University, and it became clear that the arts programs were ready to stand on their own. In 1997, the theater program was separated into its own department. One year later, the music, theater and visual arts departments were re-organized into their own School of the Arts.
Since then, the School of the Arts has been re-named the College of the Arts and has continued to reach new heights, including full accreditation for all of its degree programs, the expansion of the theater program to include performance studies, a new undergraduate degree in dance, invitations for students and faculty to exhibit their work and perform internationally, and exciting study-abroad opportunities.
During this time, the College of the Arts has generated a lot of excitement in the community and has been able to build a substantial donor base. This has allowed the college to expand its facilities and to greatly enhance its scholarship endowments. In 1998, there were only a handful of scholarships available to arts students; now, there are dozens.
“I am so proud to be associated with the arts at KSU,” said Gibson, who retired in 2000, but who has continued to be a donor and scholarship sponsor. “When I think about what the campus looked like 40 years ago and what it is like today, it’s hard to believe it’s the same place. However, I think the college still has the same heart and the same drive. I believe it will continue to grow stronger and more renowned because of the wonderful faculty and students.”
As Meeks often says, “artists cannot rest on their laurels.” Upcoming plans include a Master of Arts in Teaching Art, which is slated to launch later this year, and the completion of an Art Museum, which is in the fundraising stage for Phase II—Phase I opened in 2008.
Clearly, the little school in the cow pasture has come a long way in a short time, but as it always has done upon reaching one milestone, it continues to reach for others.