Welcome to the College of Fine Arts, home to 21st century conservatory-style programs in Art, Music, Theatre and Communication, located within a dynamic liberal arts university.
With 650 students, 41 full-time faculty members, BA/BS and BFA degrees, and a tradition of nationally-accredited programs, we are committed to becoming a 21st century destination college of fine arts. The future is collaborative. The College is in the midst of building innovative new spaces with emerging technologies that will bring people together. We opened a beautiful new 3D Art facility in 2015. Last year, we broke ground on Strong Hall, a new communication center with HD broadcast capability and digital production labs. We also launched our first, annual FORTE: Festival of The Arts with the Montevallo Arts Council, celebrating creativity across traditional disciplines. We are planning an arts “collaboratory” of facilities for all four departments which will provide new, state-of-the-arts spaces for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
The College of Fine Arts is committed to the following guiding principles:
- Creativity as a core 21st century competency. We believe that creative engagement is the “habit of mind” or disposition our students develop by investing themselves in the process of creating. They are trained to be open and inquisitive, think critically and embrace plurality to generate solutions to complex problems. They have the capacity to lean in on their own potential and work collaboratively as explorers within and across artistic fields to get things done.
- Innovation. Our graduates generate and invent new platforms for creative practice and the enrichment of the human experience because the future of work is constantly evolving in a gig economy. A liberal arts foundation and development of the transferable analytic and communication skills of their disciplines empowers them to support their creative work and livelihood as circumstances change.
- Social Engagement. Artists and communication specialists must be embedded as makers and storytellers in networks and communities. Our graduates have the ability to use creative expression to construct their lives, define who they are, relate to others and shape their community’s evolving story.
- Professionalism. The College of Fine Arts is committed to placing fine and communication arts graduates at the center of public life where their drive for personal and professional fulfillment can lead to transformation.
- Excellence. By striving to be experts in their chosen fields, our graduates understand that excellence is a journey in which one’s best keeps getting better. We are committed – though equity and inclusion – to supporting every student because we believe the pursuit of excellence includes the desire and talent to add one’s creative voice to the world’s evolving story. Through persistence, our students find their own voice and stretch their talents and themselves to achieve consistent and worthwhile results.
Come meet our teaching artists, tour our studios, gallery, digital labs, theatres, shops, recital hall and classrooms and you will see how the arts at CoFA are on the move. Bring us your dreams and passions — together, we will turn them into pathways for creative careers.
Sincerely,
Steve Peters, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
College of Fine Arts
University of Montevallo
