Announcement to Graduate Council
From College of Visual and Performing Arts
Submission to University and SCHEV, Request of Name Change: Theater Department to School of
Theater
November 14, 2012
Nature of Proposed Change
George Mason University and the College of Visual and Performing Arts propose to change the name of
the Theater Department to the School of Theater. The request is in response to the expansion of the
unit and of the unit’s facilities.
The proposed change creates no change within George Mason University’s organizational structure. In
addition, the organization chart for the College of Visual and Performing Arts remains the same. This
name change aligns the unit with the similar units within CVPA: the School of Art, the School of Dance,
and the School of Music.
Purpose of the Proposed Change
The College of Visual and Performing Arts was formed in 2001. Over the past 11 years, significant
growth in stature, enrollment, and infrastructure has occurred with over $90 million in capital
investments. The next CVPA facility to open will be the Fine Arts Building, in Fall 2013. Theater and
Music will share this new building that includes a rehearsal hall, sound/audio labs, technology labs,
lighting and design labs, and dual classrooms.
The Theater department has developed concentrations in design for stage and screen, performance for
stage and screen, writing and dramaturgy for stage and screen, a graduate certificate in teaching
theater, and joint certificates in musical theater with the College’s School of Music. Moreover, the unit
is collaborating with the Office of Professional and Continuing Education to make courses, artists, and
special events more available for those working in the profession; the Professional Artist Residency in
Theater (PART) is a new program which has built external funding for exceptional professionals to teach
theater at Mason and, thus, has expanded relationships with external partners and created the
possibility for major gifts and a naming opportunity; Theater at Mason is redefining season planning
(outlining and communication of the shows that will be in production) for connection to growing
academic focus at the graduate level.
Type of Proposed Change
This is a change in name only. Neither the organizational structure of the institution or the academic
unit will be altered in any manner. Neither will the University’s mission be changed in any way. The
change demonstrates Theater’s participation in the University’s mission to, “Provide innovative and
interdisciplinary undergraduate, graduate, and professional courses of study that enable students to
exercise analytical and imaginative thinking and make well-founded ethical decisions.” Moreover,
Theater continues to “Nurture and support a highly qualified and entrepreneurial faculty that is
excellent at teaching, active in pure and applied research, capable of providing a broad range of
intellectual and cultural insights, and is responsive to the needs of students and their communities.”
The proposed change will incur minimal costs, which only relate to the changes for letterhead and
website designations. There are no negative revenue implications with regard to renaming the Theater
Department to the School of Theater.