Academic Council listens to arts proposals

Richard Riddell, Semans Professor of the Practice and chair of theater studies, presented two initiatives at Thursday's meeting of the Academic Council--the Provost's Council for the Arts, which will ensure a stronger voice for the arts at the University, and Duke Performances, which will act as the major presenter of professional arts at Duke.

Both initiatives are a response to the University's strategic plan, Building on Excellence, which in part calls for improved "integration of the arts into the academic mission of the University."

 Riddell has spent the past year as a special assistant to Provost Peter Lange on various arts-related issues. He said that when he began his work this fall, he and Lange were pleased with the progress on facilities for the arts. Riddell cited the Nasher Museum of Art, the theater studies addition to the Bryan Center and the proposed renovation of the Smith Warehouse, a space near East Campus that will house music and visual arts projects, as examples of the University's commitment to the arts.

 Nevertheless, he said he found that "organizational and programming issues" needed attention. On the organizational side, Riddell said, the Provost's Council for the Arts will "address the need that was perceived for the arts to have a stronger ongoing voice in the University administration."

 The council will be made up of faculty from the various departments and programs in the arts, as well as by faculty selected on an at-large basis by the Executive Committee of the Academic Council. The council will also include voices from student groups as well as members from the Triangle community.

 In terms of programming, Riddell said Duke Performances will aim to fulfill three major goals: to increase quality of performing arts brought to Duke, to increase access and awareness for students and to increase the appeal of events by making them as diverse as possible.

Based on a model used at Dartmouth College, presentations by Duke Performances will cost only $5 each for students during a two-year experimental phase, in order to increase access and appeal for students.

 "We tested this out on some students at Duke, and they said that's good because that's about the price point," Riddell said. "We are trying to encourage a change in [students'] mindsets that they can have fun going to a ballet on Friday night and then maybe go out afterwards and talk about it."

 Riddell also announced plans for a "galvanizing event in the arts" for the 2005-2006 season called the Provost's Event in the Arts. The event would create academic discourse centered around a large presentation.

 "It will be an event that gets planned over a period of time in conjunction with several academic programs so that it becomes a point for teaching, perhaps a point for research... and a more visible part of the cultural scene in that particular year," Riddell said.

 Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services, asked if the new Duke Performances would curtail the efforts of the Duke University Union, which also presents professional arts. Riddell said that groups such as the Union would retain autonomy, but added that co-productions between arts groups and Duke Performances would allow shows to qualify for the $5 price tag.

 IN OTHER BUSINESS: President-elect Richard Brodhead made his first appearance at an Academic Council meeting, giving informal remarks peppered with humor and positive observations from what he called his "period of learning" about the University.

 "I have had the very elaborate, sometimes strenuous and almost always exhilarating tutorial of Duke," he said. "The mailman's arms are tired from carrying the boxes of materials that have been sent to my home."

 He also offered anecdotes from his on-campus tours of Duke and added that he was greatly impressed with the "amazing collaborativeness" he had seen among the various schools.