The department guides students for life-long involvement in the fine and applied arts through preparation for graduate study, teaching, museum and gallery work, graphic design and studio art. The primary goal of the Art Department is to encourage and develop the creative potential of each student. This is dependent upon a broad liberal and fine arts background in order to develop technical expertise, aesthetic sensitivity, critical artistic judgment, and the ability to question and experiment with creative ideas. One of the major objectives of the art department is to create an atmosphere where diversity can take place.
Flexibility creates an attitude of openness and receptivity to new and innovative ideas.
Students concentrate their course work in the areas of drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics or sculpture in order to develop expertise. A professional and critical atmosphere encourages them to extend their artistic involvement beyond studio exercises into juried exhibitions, internships, independent study and travel. It is the intention of the department to prepare students as competent, creative artists, equip them with technical knowledge in their field and through the study of history give them an appreciation for their heritage and the relationship of art to understanding the past, themselves and contemporary culture. To these ends, Clarke's Quigley Gallery 1550 hosts frequent exhibits of student, faculty and visiting artists' works. This exposure to new ideas and techniques is intended to develop and strengthen professional and critical sensibilities.