Ivy Tech to offer 2-year arts degree

The Commission of Higher Education in Indiana has approved the new associate of fine arts degree at Bloomington’s Ivy Tech Community College.

The creation of the degree aims to meet the demand for arts employment in the region and will allow students to transfer to four-year universities to pursue a bachelor of arts degree.

The program requires 64 credit hours. Amy Brier, Ivy Tech instructor and a master stone sculptor, will teach many of the required courses.

Brier is also the co-founder of the Limestone Symposium. Required courses include drawing, intermediate drawing, color and design, 3-D design and painting. Currently, Brier has her students collaborate on art pieces for community events such as the Lotus Festival.

The AFA degree program transfers to many area schools, including the Herron School of Art and Design, the School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana State University and Saint Mary of the Woods College.

Martin Wolfger, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Ivy Tech in Bloomington, explained that all of the general education courses, as well as some drawing classes, involved with the AFA degree will transfer to IU, allowing a student to begin working on a bachelor of fine arts degree.

Wolfger mentioned that several theater and dance courses might become a part of the AFA degree in the future.

This degree will allow Ivy Tech to offer more art courses in response to a growing community interest in art.

The new AFA degree will also “further advance Ivy Tech Bloomington’s mission to serve as a truly comprehensive community college and allow us to strengthen our partnerships with IU Bloomington and other four-year partner institutions,” Wolfger said.

“Since we have acquired the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center, interest in the arts at Ivy Tech has exploded,” said Paul Daily, artistic director for the Ivy Tech Waldron, in a press release.

“The Ivy Tech Waldron currently houses student art exhibits, student productions and student music. Offering an associate of fine arts degree and courses in the arts are natural steps to expanding opportunities for our students.”

Bloomington’s region is home to 493 art-related businesses that employ 1,734 individuals. The nonprofit arts in Bloomington compose a $4.5 million industry, and the new AFA degree can help support aspiring artists.

“Offering an associate of fine arts degree at Ivy Tech-Bloomington will allow us to support the growing number of aspiring artists who are combining their talent with entrepreneurship to form businesses and employment in the arts,” Wolfger said.

— Sarah Boyum