Jim Christie, a Villanova University professor and professional director, with some of his theater students. Named best director in the region for 1997, Jim Christy stood before Philadelphia' s theater community during last fall' s Barrymore Awards and used the opportunity to discuss higher education. And a production put on by students alone might not have been so powerful, lacking the insight and experience of professionals like Christy, who is both a Villanova theater professor and a professional director. Together, they won not one Barrymore, but three. Arts breathe life into the culture of a university.
Universities lend a certain stability to the arts community.
And while the grit and vibe of a city itself can attract the arts and their fans, it can' t be coincidence that a city so full of artistic expression also lays claim to one of the world' s largest collections of higher education institutions. More practically, they' re a source of technical and management support. The Philadelphia Orchestra, for example, draws on advice from Wharton students who study the orchestra in arts management classes, said orchestra president Joseph Kluger. Warmups at a dance class at the University of the Arts. Perhaps most essentially, arts classrooms provide local professionals with the day jobs they need to feed their families.