How Would a "School of the Arts" Shape CAH?

From fine arts to graphic design to creative writing, CSUDH’s College of Arts and Humanities (CAH) is an integral part of the university, which is why the CAH ad hoc committee is putting together a proposal for a new “School of the Arts.”

If passed, the School of the Arts proposal would support the College of Arts and Humanities by providing grant funding to certain programs within several CAH departments, support events and activities, as well as create an inclusive space for all fields and disciplines in the arts.

There are currently 19 departments within the College of Art and Humanities, including Art and Design, the Department of Music, Theatre Arts, Dance, Digital Media Arts, and Communications. Whether students are majoring in these subjects or taking courses from these departments to earn elective credit, the arts and humanities have always been a huge part of student success.

While the demand for more arts and humanities programs and departments are very high, they are often overlooked because of the poor job prospects. This issue doesn’t only affect CSUDH students. Many college students around the country are having a hard time finding jobs in the arts and humanities field.

According to the 2016 US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 9.1 percent of fine arts graduates are unemployed, while the graduates of fine arts who do find employment only make an average of $40,855.

Fine art students aren’t the only ones who struggle to find a job in their field. Amongst the list of 20 worst college majors for finding a job on Money Inc., more than half of them listed are in the arts and humanities category, with music and history being listed as the top two.

In Forbes Magazine’s list of least valuable college majors, anthropology, film, video, photographic arts, and fine arts are amongst the top three.

In an article from The Atlantic in 2018, Jeffery Selingo mentions that a survey conducted over a fifty year period (1966-2015) found that before the recession in 2008 the No.1 reason for college students going to school was to gain knowledge that they haven’t had before. After the recession, students said that the No.1 reason for going to school was to get a better job.

As jobs in STEM continue to skyrocket, an increasing number of college students have started to seek occupations in science, math, and technology as a more viable option. According to Joshua Wright of the website, Economic Modeling, the number of STEM majors has been increasing since the Great Recession of 2008, going from 16 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2015. This puts arts and humanities departments in an awkward position as they continue to push for more arts recognition and funding.

Due to the current state of the arts at our public universities, it seems that the CSUDH College of Art and Humanities needs a School of the Arts more than ever. One of the rationales stated in the proposal is that the School of the Arts will support CSUDH students in any field of the arts by “preparing them to be at the forefront of an increasingly culturally diverse and inclusive arts and entertainment industry.”

Students in programs like DMA, Studio Art, Dance and Theatre will be able to support each other through various projects, collaborations, and fundraisers. Most importantly, they would be able to connect with other students in the College of Art and Humanities who are also trying to find their way into the bustling world of the arts and entertainment industry after graduation.

The School of the Arts proposal is conducted by 11 faculty members from different departments of the College of Art and Humanities, including Music, Dance, Communications, and Theatre.

Doris Ressl, the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance here at CSUDH, is also a member of the School of the Arts ad hoc committee. She believes that the School of the Arts proposal would bring more focus to the “arts” part of the arts and humanities.

“The visual and performing arts always have different needs than the rest of humanities,” Ressl said. “It would be a central location to put together a performance calendar to direct fundraising toward the arts to have a better management of the arts departments.”

Dr. John Vanderhoef, Assistant Professor of Communications, is also part of the ad hoc committee organizing the School of the Arts. He thinks that the proposal could be a “clearinghouse” for all of the CAH events.

“It could potentially bring in a lot of outside funding to the College of Art and Humanities,” Vanderhoef said.

There’s no telling when the School of the Arts proposal will be voted on, but until then we can look forward to an exciting new chapter in CSUDH’s history and imagine the possibilities of what a School of the Arts might bring.

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