Department of Art
a. Description and Function
The Department of Art and its instructional programs provide an essential ingredient in the
environment, academic offerings, and abilities of a liberal arts institution. Specifically, programs
and activities in the arts help to fulfill the stated purposes of the University by imparting
society’s cultural heritage (global awareness) and, through creative activity (visual
communication), opening the students’ minds to alternative ways of creative thinking (problem
solving) and living. The Department supports the teacher preparation mission of the University
by providing aspiring teachers with an understanding of the importance of the arts in education at
all age levels, and with ideas and techniques for the use of Art in classroom instruction. In
combination with the Department of Music, the Art Department supports the General Education
course, HUM 203, Fine Arts and Aesthetics, required of all students pursuing the bachelor’s
degree.
The Department of Art offers major and minor curricula in Art both for teaching and nonteaching degrees. In the past composite major in Art was deleted to enable students to broaden
their educational backgrounds with less exclusive concentration in the single area. However,
today more of our students are seeking graduate school in studio arts. Those that wish to
continue their education find that the B.A. in Art and the B.S. in Art Education are shallow
degrees. Perhaps the composite major in Art should be re-visited.
All of the programs are modern and rigorous, and are periodically evaluated by the students, and
the Department and divisional faculty. The Department maintains the currency of its courses and
curricular structures using the guidelines of such professional associations as the College Art
Association, NASAD, and the National Art Education Association.
The primary means of instructional delivery are presentation, guided discovery, mastery of
technique, and individual inquiry. Other instructional methods include use of digital equipment,
laptop computers, and the Title III computer stations and the use of the multi-media stations for
visual presentations and videotapes in the Humanities, Art History, and studio art courses. The
Interactive Television Laboratory has also been used in courses for Art teaching methods.
b. Organization and Resources
Student Enrollment
Table 34 following displays the numbers of students graduating with a major or minor in Art
from 1992 through 2000.
TABLE 34
Graduates with Art Majors and Minors
1992-2000
Major
Art
Minor
Art
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
0
1
1
4
2
3
3
1
4
(3)
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
2
1
(1)
The number of students pursuing curricula in Art decreased during the 1985 to 1994 time period.
A major factor in that decrease was the elimination of Art from the curricula of the smaller North
Dakota school districts. This circumstance has a dual effect. Only those students graduating
from the larger high schools have had the opportunity for Art instruction prior to their enrollment
in institutions of higher education. Their interest in Art is limited accordingly. In the second
place, the demand for Art teachers in the schools had severely limited employment opportunities
for teachers especially prepared in Art. In the past five years the number of art students has
rebounded slightly. This trend could be connected to the recent stability in the Department, the
laptop initiative, and the increased demand for quality art educators.
Faculty
There are two full-time faculty members in the Department of Art. Both hold the M.F.A. degree,
one is female the other is male, one holds the academic rank of Associate Professor the other
holds the rank of Assistant Professor, and one is tenured. Their average age is 42 years. The
average number of years of experience in the University is 5.5, and their average annual salary is
$28, 483.
The faculty has developed their knowledge and skills in the application of computer graphics and
drawing software packages. One faculty member serves on the Visual Art Standards Writing
Team for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, and serves as a liaison with the
Community School of the Arts and the Bridges Arts Council. That faculty member also directs
the Art Camp Session at International Music Camp located at the International Peace Gardens.
She also received recognition with the 1999 North Dakota Governor’s Awards for the Arts for
work with her work with children. Both faculty members have exhibited their work in area,
regional, and national galleries and have worked with Music and Theatre productions as set
design consultants. One member has led a number of cultural tours to Fargo, Grand Forks, and
Minneapolis, Washington, D.C.
Support Staff
The Art Department shares the half-time divisional secretary with the Department of Music. The
secretary’s workstation is in the Music building across the campus from the Art Department.
The Department is assigned one Work-Study student and a Student Assistant who work between
eight and ten hours each per week. Both students help prepare materials, maintain supplies and
equipment, and assists with various projects connected with the all of the studios in the
department. A major support inadequacy is the inconvenience of assess to the divisional
secretary. One former student has been hired on a part time bases to work in the Ceramics
studio. He monitors the kiln and assists in mixing clay and maintaining equipment.
Facilities and Equipment
The Department has reasonably well-equipped classrooms, offices, and studios. The spaces are
located on the third floor of McCarthy Hall, and they are accessible to physically handicapped
persons. The Ceramics studio is located in its own separate building. The studios are well
equipped and adequate in size.
The books, journals, and publications in the University library are adequate for the programs.
Other learning resources such as videotapes, slides etc. are also adequate.
Budget resources allocated to the Department have been satisfactory, but increased funding will
be required to bring the Department up to standard with respect to the institutional mission
emphasis in the application of computer technology in instruction.
TABLE 35
Department of Art Budget
Compared with the Total Instructional Budget, 1995-2001
1995
Salaries and Wages
Art
Total Instructional Budget
Operating
Art
Total Instructional Budget
Equipment
Art
Total Instructional Budget
Totals
Art
Total Instructional Budget
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
61,205
59,160
59,160
3,011,339
61,432
3,034,016
63,053
3,096,342
63,053
3,127,575
6,650
10,150
10,150
394,936
6,650
230,699
7,320
316,445
7,320
290,897
0
0
0
27,818
84,655
84,510
84,510
3,434,093
0
9,278
85,962
3,273,993
2001
63,497
3,247,628
7,320
286,326
0
14,373
0
19,000
0
37,400
88,253
3,427,160
88,253
3,437,472
92,717
3,571,354
c. Assessment
Program quality is measured by internal evaluation at the department level and by comparison
with state program standards. The Department meets all requirements in teacher preparation
established the State Department of Public Instruction and NCATE.
The Art Department has developed a portfolio review process. A small minority of students
entering the art program has fairly developed art-making skills. Those students enter the
program through an entrance portfolio review. The faculty members use this review to assess the
student’s development and place them in the appropriate classes. The majority of the students,
entering the Department, have limited verbal communication skills. Those students take a
foundations course in order that the faculty can better assess the student’s skills and guide the
development. The students, generally, follow a direct path of studio skill building courses. Each
course in the program has been developed to build on the previous one. The Foundations course
leads to Design, Design to Drawing I, Printmaking I, Painting I, and Ceramics I. The first level
studio courses lead to the second level studio courses, and the second level to the third. If the
student is not successful in fulfilling the requirements of any of the courses they work closely
with the faculty, through tutoring, to accomplish the criteria of the course. The student receives
the same guidance through the art history sequence. From the beginning of their art program
experience the student is preparing for their senior portfolio. The senior portfolio is a screening
for the senior exhibition. The student will present a professional exhibition, complete with a
written artist’s statement before they qualify for graduation. The student will graduate with a
completed professional portfolio that demonstrates the student’s course criteria accomplishment.
The art education students also need to accomplish the professional education track for their
degree. This track includes a successful PPST test, the professional education sequence, the
student teaching review, student teaching, and the education portfolio. The art faculty members
work closely with both the student and the Education Division through this track.
The Department is in the process of developing and integrating ability language assessment into
the existing portfolio assessment process. The Art Department has mapped the abilities in the
program and is working on the assessment as it relates to the abilities portfolio. (See attached
abilities document.)
Strengths
In conducting the self-study, the following strengths were identified:
1. The Art Department is determined to continue to foster enrollment growth in existing
programs by continuing to develop a learner-center environment. The faculty members
believe that they possess the expertise in this area to offer the kinds of courses that will
expand the range of employment opportunities for its graduates.
2. The Department has adequate space, facilities and equipment to support its current
enrollment.
Concerns
The following items were identified as concerns for the future:
1. With the addition of the computer based teaching and learning the Art Department has
added important computer graphics courses. The laptop initiative has given students an
opportunity to begin the development of excellent graphics skills but the lack of good
quality equipment hampers their employability.
2. Prior to 1992 the Art Department relinquished a significant amount of space to provide
for the addition of a methods classroom for the Department of Education and for the
development of a large, general use multimedia and connected classroom. The
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Department was left without a large painting and drawing studio. In 1996 the shared wall
between room 355 and 354 was removed to create a room large enough to function as
painting and drawing studio. That room is adequate for the number of students currently
enrolled but it will not be adequate with a larger enrollment. The Department is lacking
storage space.
The faculty members in the Department of Art do not have adequate access to secretarial
assistance. This is a function of limitation on the secretary’s time and the location of the
secretarial workstation. Having reliable student assistants or Work-Study students is
crucial to the program. If the Division were allocated a full-time secretary, a portion of
the hours could be spent in the Art Department area.
The Department needs to have a larger exhibition gallery space somewhere on the
campus. The third-floor “walk-through” space of the VCSU Student Art Gallery was
developed in 1985-1986 and has been used as the only exhibition space in Valley City
since 1997. The space is small and lacks security, which disallows many types of
exhibitions.
The Department does not have adequate ventilation in the printmaking studio, and
ceramics studio. Toxic chemicals and dust create health hazards. Progress was made in
alleviating these conditions with the renovation of the Ceramics studio but toxic gas from
the electric kilns is still a concern. The ventilation problems in the print lab will be
circumvented with the installation of a non-toxic printmaking system by fall of 2001.
The VCSU Community School of the Arts has given the Art department funds for the
purchase and installation of the non-toxic system into the print lab.
The Department area is not air conditioned, except for two small window air
conditioners, which do not provide sufficient cooling for general activity in the warm
seasons.
The Department requires an equipment and repair budget in order to purchase need up
grades and keep older equipment in operational condition in both the printmaking and
ceramic labs. The ceramics lab roof leaks causing dangerous conditions in the lab.
d. Plans for the Future
In addition to correcting the inadequacies noted above in connection with space, facilities,
equipment, accessibility, and secretarial support, the faculty intends to work to increase
enrollments in Art courses through recruitments of traditional and non-traditional students,
retention of currently-enrolled students, and encouraging students to take Art courses as part of
the Cultural Block for the Bachelor of Arts degree. The faculty intends to improve the image of
the Department by promoting student art exhibits, working with area public schools and other
educational organizations, sponsoring educational trips to art galleries and museums, and
conducting other cultural tours.
The Department plans to incorporate into its courses the use of the newest computer software
and other audiovisual resources, and CD-ROM technology.
The Department will continue to seek suitable larger exhibition space for student artwork and
alternative space for educational exhibitions.