Several years of discussion and analysis among faculty, administration, students, alumni, and peers suggest significant potential and emerging need for a unified College of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With unanimous approval from the chairs and directors of arts departments and programs, through the UW-Madison Arts Institute Executive Committee, and a direct request from the Chancellor and Provost, faculty and staff are now preparing a formal proposal for such a college to be reviewed and approved by the faculty and eventually by the Regents.

Currently, the arts at UW-Madison span three colleges and more than a dozen academic units, serving more than 1400 undergraduate and graduate student majors. More than 100 faculty FTE and 260 FTE staff members advance the important work of these departments and programs, representing a combined annual budget of $27 million. The goal of a College of the Arts would be to bring benefit and focused support to the arts at UW-Madison, the learning outcomes of students, the increasing demands for organizational effectiveness and efficiency and the teaching, research, and service pursuits of faculty.

This website is an on-going resource to inform that review and approval process, and to share details on the proposal with the entire campus community. We encourage your input and your ideas to ensure the best possible proposal of what's next for the arts at UW-Madison.