A Welcome from the Dean to the College of the Arts

Welcome to fall, College of the Arts faculty, staff, and students! While many of you were enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation, the College has been busily preparing for the semester in anticipation of a significant renovation project in the Visual Arts complex, expected to be completed in fall 2024. Offices and classrooms were relocated, sculptures were moved, trees (sadly) felled, and Building F along St. College was demolished. At the heart of the modernization project are two new buildings: one that will house our art galleries, and a multi-level structure filled with modular, high-tech classrooms and project spaces – changes that will impact how we teach, learn, engage with, and experience the arts. 
 
Despite the interruptions the renovation project has and will undoubtedly cause, we remain committed to delivering the same high-quality, pre-professional arts training our 2,800 students expect. This includes a search for a Chair in Visual Arts, and faculty searches in voice, animation & entertainment art, lighting, sound, and musicology. The College of the Arts at Cal State Fullerton has been an essential part of the creative fabric of Southern California for more than 60 years, proudly serving as both an academic hub and arts resource for the community. As we look toward the next 60 years and beyond, we envision a college that continues to lead with innovation and inspiration. 
 
Last year, we presented a full schedule of in-person programming for the first time in three years, demonstrating our students' tenacity and the arts' endurance. It felt exhilarating to be in the presence of live performers and physical works of art, to see and hear them in their most authentic forms. This season, the Begovich Visual Arts Lecture Series kicks off the fall season on September 28 with Kori Newkirk, an artist who centers his work on issues of race, identity, and place. In theatre, brave women dominate the production schedule: Blue Stockings dramatizes the fight for a woman's right to an education in 18^th century England; and in She Kills Monsters , an average woman becomes an unconventional hero while navigating the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons. CSUF's dancers and choreographers return in a series of works exploring the concept of momentum with Fall Dance Theatre .  In the School of Music, a beloved past choral director is celebrated during the David Thorsen Tribute Concert featuring the CSUF University Singers, Concert Choir and Thorsen Alumni Singers. 
 
As we begin the 2022 fall semester anticipating the transformative changes ahead, the College of the Arts remains dedicated to ­­­­enhancing the academic and creative potential of our current students while embracing the limitless possibilities our future holds. I invite you to join us on the journey.
 
Be Well,

Arnold Holland, Ed.D
Dean, College of the Arts