Standing in front of the Royall Tyler Theatre this afternoon, surrounded by an enthusiastic gathering of students and faculty, Executive Director Kelley Di Dio, Ph.D., formally introduced the University of Vermont’s new School of the Arts.

This unique, collaborative arts community brings programs in Music, Theatre, Dance, Art, Art History, Creative Writing, and Film and Television Studies together for the first time. Led by world-class, award-winning faculty dedicated to nurturing the artistic voices of the future, the School of the Arts offers small classes, inclusive liberal-arts curricula, and an extensive array of community partnership opportunities to create a rich, student-centered environment of technical advancement, exploration within and across media, professional development, and experiential learning.

In addition, the School of the Arts aims to serve as a creative hub for both the university and its home state, encouraging collaboration and relationship-building with community arts organizations across Vermont. As part of the broader liberal arts tradition, it also provides a pathway for students to explore and develop the creative work and skills that will help them build successful, rewarding post-collegiate lives.

Classes within the School, which is located within the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), are taught by 62 faculty plus affiliated artists. For the 2022-23 school year, roughly one-quarter of CAS students are in the School of the Arts, equaling 1164 students, 500 majors, and 662 minors. The Lane Series, one of the nation’s premier concert series, and the Fleming Museum of Art, Vermont’s leading museum of art and world cultures, are also affiliated with the School.

“Our School is centered on communicating the value of the arts in society, making our excellent faculty and curriculum more visible, and helping our students prepare for their future careers,” says Di Dio. “Facilitating cross-discipline learning will allow for more collaboration and a wider range of experiences for both faculty and students and help us build relationships with community arts organizations across the state.”

CAS Dean William Falls said the new school is being introduced at a time when interest in the liberal arts is surging at UVM. “We have seen two years of record classes for the College. This fall, we welcomed over 1500 first-year students, our largest-ever incoming class, and the number of students returning for their second year is the highest since 2004. The students joining UVM this fall are also the most academically talented and diverse we’ve seen, and they are coming to the College to study across the entire range of liberal arts majors,” Falls said.

“The School raises the profile of the arts on campus and in our community, creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and provides greater opportunities for faculty and students to engage with the local community,” Falls added.