"We have a very strong group of music, theatre and dance faculty that put on amazing productions but don't collaborate as much as they possibly could," said the Dean of the University of Rochester’s College of Arts and Sciences, Gloria Culver.
By next spring, the school will launch an Institute for Performing Arts, hoping to embrace the school's strengths in STEM programs, and stoke the interest by many students to sing, act, dance or play music.
The Institute should strengthen the relationship of some strong existing programs such as The Eastman School of Music, Memorial Art Gallery, and Liberal Arts College. Dean Culver told WXXI she would like more collaborative interaction between the U of R's strong faculty in music, theatre and dance. She says they put on amazing productions but could collaborate more.
"The liberal arts is a very important part of what we do at the University of Rochester, and while we're historically very, very strong in STEM, we want to make sure that we don't lose the liberal arts aspect of what makes us the university we are."
Culver expects the Institute to raise the profile of the arts on campus.
"What we really see is students that are chemists, who want to play in an ensemble, and maybe the ensemble would then accompany people doing a dance performance. It would be really bringing all aspects of the university together."
Culver wants to see students pursuing careers while participating in the performing arts.
"I think it will also allow us to recruit some of the very best students that would come to the university for some of the areas of strength, but knowing they could then participate in the performing arts without necessarily having that be their career path."