Faculty from both departments recently voted to merge the two departments into a school of art and ?design.
Heather Akou , Department of Apparel Merchandising and interior design department chair, said several previous attempts to merge the two departments have failed.
The latest attempt began last spring semester with the creation of an ad hoc committee of three to four faculty from each department to discuss the merger of the two departments.
“We started talking more seriously about, ‘What would a merger look like? Why should we merge? What’s the philosophy behind it? What might the governance structure look like?’” Akou said.
On Oct. 8, Larry Singell, executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, held a town hall meeting with the entire faculty from both departments, Akou said.
Faculty from the Department of the History of Art voted to secede from Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts to become the Hope Department of Fine Arts.
Meanwhile, faculty from the Department of Studio Art and from the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design voted to merge the two departments into a school of art and design, the name of which is yet to be determined, Akou said.
Faculty from both departments also voted to form a committee to draft a proposal for the Board of Trustees, which Akou said she expects to go to Board of Trustees in June.
“Technically it won’t be a new school like the Media School or the School of Global and International Studies, because those (schools) didn’t exist ?previously as schools,” she said. “Instead what’s happening is that the School of Fine Arts is being reformulated as a school of art and design.”
Akou said she hopes current students will view the merger as a new set of opportunities.
“We’ll be keeping quite a few of our existing programs but also building some new programs,” Akou said.
For example, Akou said, the faculty hope to combine the photography program from the Department of Studio Art with the fashion design program from the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design to create a professional fashion photography program under the new school.
“There are a lot of collaborative opportunities,” said Arthur Liou, Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts director. “By working together, we will be able to form a better curriculum.”
Currently spread out across 11 buildings, the two departments will physically consolidate under the new school, Akou said.
According to the Bicentennial Strategic Plan for IU released last week, Kirkwood Hall and the Radio and Television Building will accommodate portions of the new school.
Akou said the Fine Arts Building, however, will also continue to accommodate portions of the new school.
If approved by the Board of Trustees, the new school will not go into effect for another two to three years, Akou said.
“It gives us time to really determine the logistics and actually put all of the details into practice,” she said.
Current students will not experience any degree changes, Akou said.
She said she hopes current students will view the merger as a positive change.
“I would hate for people, particularly students, to feel like, ‘Oh, where’s my place in all this. I’m to be pushed out. I’m going to lose what I have,’” she said. “That’s really not the case at all.”
