Duke’s blue period

As he describes the blossoming arts scene at Duke, vice provost for the arts Scott Lindroth displays his skill as a composer. Masterfully, Lindroth pulls together individual stories of progress—the growing curricular offerings in the arts, the success of Duke Performances—and crafts a coherent narrative of a university that, despite its reputation, teems with artistic life.

In what has become an ever-climbing crescendo in the visibility of the arts over the past four years, Lindroth’s promotion of Duke’s arts community has been both impassioned and effective. His adept handling of the strategic funds reserved for the arts has allowed for the installation and development of new academic programs, and has contributed to the growth in student performances and exhibitions. In addition to adding new arts courses to the registry, Duke has hired half a dozen stellar new faculty members who have been working with each other to create innovative and interdisciplinary curricular opportunities for students. A particularly electrifying new seminar, “Wired,” explores novel ways to present humanities research through visual technologies and draws together students and professors from the Classics, Visual Studies and Computer Science departments.

Progress on the academic front has been paralleled by the resounding success of Duke Performances and projects like the “Artists in Residence” program. Student attendance for Duke Performances currently peaks at about 50 percent of the audience, up from 14 percent in 2005. In that time the University has sponsored over 20 Artists in Residence, and Lindroth’s office has been able to endow the residencies of several visiting artists. Lindroth has also helped to foster greater artistic collaboration between Duke and Durham, providing support for community events like the Full Frame Film Festival and the American Dance Festival.

The vice provost has paid for this renaissance with funds from the Office of the Provost, made available in a five-year “strategic funding period” following the release of the current strategic plan in 2007. If new programs and offerings find success and popular support, Lindroth searches for long-term funding in the form of endowments and grants. The money allocated to the strategic fund has been integral to the growth of Duke’s arts community, and the future of this community relies on renewed funding when the current funding period ends this year.

If, in the creation of a vibrant arts community, Lindroth has played the dual role of composer and conductor, the students have been the musicians, adding volume and texture to the growing arts scene. Student organizations like the Duke Dance Council have hosted and promoted a number of successful student events and new projects, such as a burgeoning collaborative council for the arts, promise to build on this progress. More effective than the work of any one group or individual is the collaboration between students, faculty and advocates in the administration to produce an artistic culture at Duke that seeps into the mainstream Duke experience.

To ensure that the arts continue to grow, the University must continue its current level of financial support. Now, and in its next major fund raising campaign, the University must seek sustainable sources of arts funding. Without this funding, we risk concluding the piece before the final movement.