Efforts to improve coordination and advocacy for the arts on campus have been underway for decades. However, recent planning and discussion suggest that the time to establish a College of the Arts is now. A 2008-2009 strategic planning process showed widespread support for a unified college among faculty, students, and staff. Additional discussions and town meetings in 2010-2011 brought greater focus and potential to such a College's design and benefits. And a charge from the Chancellor and Provost in 2011 launched a formal process to develop this recommendation for faculty review and approval.

Reorganization of the arts into a College of the Arts would bring great benefit and focused support to the arts at UW-Madison. While the campus community identified many benefits of a unified College of the Arts, five emerged as primarily important for the current challenges and future opportunities facing the arts at UW-Madison:

• Improved visibility of the arts on campus, benefiting students, faculty and staff
• Increased potential for development and philanthropy
• Improved access for the arts on key campus decisions
• Increased potential for resource sharing and management across arts units
• Improved position for the arts in the 21st century and beyond

A unified College of the Arts brings arts faculty, students, staff, and curriculum closer together, to reduce barriers and increase opportunity for connection and innovation.

The recommended creation of a college will require an investment from the campus in the arts. It is our belief that this investment will provide a platform for the arts to work together and face the changing reality in higher education and especially on our campus. In recommending a reorganization of the arts departments into a college, we are asking the campus for a fiscal commitment to establish a dean's office, provide us with additional funds to keep operations ongoing in the departments and to address deficiencies. Because this process will require a set amount of time, we are asking the campus to assist in transition and implementation. We have been assured that the monies required to establish the infrastructure (dean and support services) will not be "taxed" on the departmental level. Goals for new sources of money to support programming and departmental needs would be assigned to a dean's list of duties.

It is our recommendation that a College of the Arts would be composed of the School of Music, the Art Department, the Department of Art History, the Dance Department, the Department of Theatre and Drama, the Design Studies Program, affiliated faculty and departments, as well as a dean and college administrative offices. Assuming involvement at current levels of the units listed, the college would have a faculty of 119, a student body of 1,303 (930 undergraduates and 373 graduates) and a total budget of $27,000,000.

The largest unit by budget would be the School of Music, and the largest by student population would be the Art Department. The administration budget would be $2,500,000, of which $1,500,000 would be dedicated to tech support, student/academic services, and other college-wide expenses. The remaining $1,000,000 would be the dean's office budget. Dean's office staffing would include: dean, associate dean for faculty and research, associate dean for administration, HR manager and assistant, financial specialist, university relations specialist, development specialist for alumni relations, student services coordinator, information tech director and support, office assistant/reception, and student hourly support.

The largest unit by budget would be the School of Music, and the largest by student population would be the Art Department. The administration budget would be $2,500,000, of which $1,500,000 would be dedicated to tech support, student/academic services, and other college-wide expenses. The remaining $1,000,000 would be the dean's office budget. Dean's office staffing would include: dean, associate dean for faculty and research, associate dean for administration, HR manager and assistant, financial specialist, university relations specialist, development specialist for alumni relations, student services coordinator, information tech director and support, office assistant/reception, and student hourly support.

A College of the Arts would add a twelfth to the eleven major schools and colleges. These include (in order of size): School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Letters and Science, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Engineering, School of Education, School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Business, School of Pharmacy, School of Law, School of Human Ecology, and School of Nursing.

A College of the Arts would rank just below the middle of this group when compared in terms of expenditures and total students. It would rank higher than the School of Human Ecology, School of Law, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, and School of Veterinary Medicine. It would rank just above the middle in faculty FTE.

There has been an effort to create a more collective organization of the arts since 1976, when the UW Arts Consortium was established. In 1988, the UW Arts Consortium recommended a formal administrative structure for the arts be developed: "it should not be viewed as a final solution… (and) a logical progression would lead to our ultimate goal, a College of the Arts." In 1992, then-Provost David Ward requested that the Arts Consortium develop a strategic plan for the arts, which led to additional reports and resulted in the establishment of the Arts Institute in 1998. Although not fulfilling the recommendation, the newly-formed Arts Institute was "expected to ameliorate the effects of the 'historic dispersion' of the arts," as stated by then-Provost John Wiley.

More recently, in 2008, the Arts Institute undertook a strategic planning process, and then an exploration of the state of the arts on the UW-Madison campus. It sought to assess its ability to serve its constituency of the arts departments/programs and presenters on campus. In November 2009, the Arts Institute surveyed faculty and staff members regarding their thoughts and opinions on the current state of the arts on campus. It sought feedback on how well the arts units were meeting student and faculty needs, the role of the arts on campus, and the state of the arts community on campus. Following the completion of the survey, the Arts Institute hosted a number of departmental and town hall meetings, in which approximately two hundred faculty, staff, and students shared in discussion.

In these surveys and subsequent meetings, many participants expressed their belief that a centralized administrative structure would ease many of the difficulties highlighted by the survey, including increased campus visibility, help with recruitment and retention of students, and the assurance that tenure for new faculty would be judged by a dean sympathetic to the nuances of arts research. While participants seemed to overwhelmingly support the idea of a centralized structure, it is also important to acknowledge that this support was not unanimous. A small group of participants expressed concerns that the arts would be further marginalized or isolated on campus should such an administrative model be put into place. Likewise, a few participants questioned how the role of humanists in the arts would be affected by this model.

Based on this Campus Arts Assessment, the Arts Institute recommended the following in order of priority: (1) a College of the Arts, (2) a cohesive plan for the arts on campus, (3) an arts requirement, and (4) a centralized physical space. School of Education Dean Julie Underwood and Arts Institute Executive Director Norma Saldivar presented the findings of the survey to then-Chancellor Martin and Provost DeLuca on May 25, 2010.

In September 2011, the Arts Institute Executive Committee hosted a meeting with Chancellor David Ward, Provost Paul DeLuca, Vice Provost Aaron Brower, Dean Robin Douthitt (SoHE), Dean Gary Sandefur (L&S), and Dean Julie Underwood (SoE) to discuss the Arts Institute's recommendation. The administration presented a supportive stance and encouraged the Executive Committee to move forward in developing a proposal to be submitted to the faculty for discussion.

In November 2011, a Project Charter was approved for a "College of the Arts Proposal," with Chancellor David Ward as executive sponsor and Dean Julie Underwood as sponsor. It has the charge to create and vet a proposal for the formation of a College of the Arts at UW-Madison.

A Curricular Committee and a Governance Committee were established, each composed of representatives from all arts units. Each committee met five times from November through January and arrived at a draft proposal which you are presently under your consideration.

At their January 23, 2012 meeting, the Arts Institute Executive Committee unanimously approved a motion to request the arts units to each schedule a departmental vote on membership in a College of the Arts. This includes the School of Music, the Art Department, the Department of Art History, the Dance Department, Design Studies Program, the Department of Theatre and Drama, the Program in Creative Writing, and the Film Studies Area.

The current Arts Institute would be disbanded and its many of its functions and programs would be integrated into the office of the dean. Cross-campus initiatives and the relationship of the non –academic units such as the Union Theatre and the Chazen to the College would require the input of the dean's office.

Many feel the name should reflect the arts units that choose to move to the College. FP&P Chapter 3.01.D states that "A school or college shall be created or discontinued, or the name of an existing school or college changed, by the chancellor after consultation with the University Committee, subject to the approval of the Board of Regents."

FP&P Chapter 6.49. SEARCH AND SCREEN COMMITTEES.

A. MEMBERSHIP. When a vacancy occurs or is anticipated in the position of academic vice chancellor/provost or college/school dean a search and screen committee shall be appointed by the chancellor and shall consist of:

1. A faculty majority, as defined in 6.01.C., appointed after consultation with the University Committee.
2. Administrators, academic staff, and students.
3. A chair designated by the chancellor from among the faculty majority.

B. FUNCTIONS. It is the function of the committee to determine and supply to the chancellor an unranked list of acceptable candidates for the vacant position. It is not necessary that the committee ascertain whether each candidate on the list would accept the position if it were offered. The committee shall also report to the chancellor and the University Committee on the manner in which it conducted its deliberations.

C. FURTHER ACTIONS. If none of the slate of candidates recommended is acceptable to the chancellor and the Board of Regents, or if all acceptable candidates decline, the committee may be requested to submit a new list of acceptable candidates, or a new search and screen committee may be appointed.

Departments will continue to be autonomous in their curricula. The creation of the College of the Arts would provide opportunities to develop new initiatives and minimize barriers to innovations, but only to the extent departments wish to engage in them. Only once a College is formed, and a dean's office established can these types of curricular changes begin.

It is fair to say that details on how a College of the Arts might impact primary and secondary education in the arts will have to be worked through in association with the School of Education. This issue is complex and difficult and will require further conversation. It is the expectation of the Task Force that advocacy on a dean's level may serve to alleviate tensions and lead to a more productive cooperation.

It is the expectation that campus will need to consolidate departmental budgets under the umbrella of a new college. Expenses outlined in the proposal for the formation of a dean's office are being requested in the recommendation to be allotted from the campus level budget annually, as is done for all other schools and colleges. The dean's office with all administrative services is estimated at $2,635,000. The departments and programs will not be responsible for providing these funds. The Task force believes that the dean will be responsible to develop additional philanthropy or grant resources to fund departments and programs' needs.

For the Chancellor to consider and establish a College of the Arts, he requires a positive recommendation from the departments involved. This proposal was developed to inform the discussion and determine the recommendation of each department through their majority vote. Based on the departmental vote, the Chancellor will determine whether to advance the College of the Arts through the appropriate governance committees, including the University Committee, culminating in review and approval by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. Upon their approval, the official planning and development of the College of the Arts will begin.

All programs, degrees, students, faculty, staff, state monies, facilities under their control, and Foundation assets move with the unit to the new College.

FP&P Chapter 5.14 addresses this:

5.14. FACULTY TRANSFERS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS.

A faculty member may request transfer of his or her department's continuing commitment in his/her tenured appointment on professional or academic grounds. In considering such a transfer, those involved should take into account the programmatic interests of the faculty member, the affected departments, and the school(s) or college(s) concerned.

A transfer of a department's continuing commitment to a faculty member requires the concurrence of the faculty member proposing the transfer, the executive committees of the respective departments, and the approval of the appropriate administrative officer(s). When a proposed transfer involves a single school/college, the dean is the appropriate administrative officer. When a proposed transfer involves a unit outside a single school/college, in addition to the deans and executive committees, the approval of the chancellor must also be sought. In the event that the executive committees or dean(s) directly affected do not agree, the chancellor will seek to negotiate a final settlement after consultation with the University Committee and the appropriate academic planning council(s). In no case, however, can a continuing departmental commitment to a faculty member be made without the consent of the majority of the accepting departmental executive committee.