December 13, 2017, Filed Under: Development UpdatesWinter 2017 Update from Sondra Lomax Dear Friends, One of our biggest changes this past year is an internal one: the reorganization of the college’s development operations. We now share resources and staffing with the University Development Office and have hired several new team members. First, many of you already know Andrew West from his previous position as Director of Development for the Butler School of Music. He will now be the college’s new Director of Principal Gifts. In this well-deserved promotion, Andrew will be focusing on the highest level of gifts across the college while working closely with Doug and me, plus the Chairs and Directors, on COFA’s top fundraising priorities. Andrew has more than 10 years of fundraising experience, along with an impressive track record for his recent successes with the Butler School and the Longhorn Band. We also have two new gift officers who have recently joined our team, Marcela DeFaria and Alex Scull. Please read more about them below. Our appreciation to Vice President for Development Scott Rabenold for his support in this expansion, which will allow us to greatly increase our fundraising for the benefit of the college and the university. Continue Reading Winter 2017 Update from Sondra Lomax
December 13, 2017, Filed Under: From the ChairWinter 2017 Message from Vicki Bartholow Dear Friends, It was wonderful to see so many of you at this year’s fall meeting in October. Thank you to everyone who attended. We on the council support the College of Fine Arts with our time, talent, and treasure, so I appreciate those of you who were able to give us your day. If you were unable to come this year, see below for a full recap. I hope you all will save the date for our fall 2018 meeting on Friday, October 12. As you know, we also used the fall meeting to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Fine Arts Advisory Council. It was so fun to see photos of our cohorts from 10 to 30 years ago and reminds me how we are part of an ongoing tradition of arts advocacy. The council has a great track record of recruiting outstanding members, so as we honor the past, I can’t help but be excited about where we are heading. Continue Reading Winter 2017 Message from Vicki Bartholow
September 1, 2017, Filed Under: From the DeanAnnouncing the New School of Design and Creative Technologies Dear Friends, As Advisory Council members, you are by now familiar with my refrain: technology, globalization, and new forms of creativity are rapidly changing the arts, artistic practices, the way we access and participate in cultural activities, the commerce of the arts, and the way “creatives” can and must make a living in the cultural and creative industries. And it’s incumbent on a public university arts college to adapt to those changes as rapidly—and radically—as our students need. With that in mind, I am excited to share news of the creation of the new School of Design and Creative Technologies, a fourth major academic unit of the College of Fine Arts that will include a new Department of Design, a new Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, the Design Institute for Health, the Center for Integrated Design, as well as a new creative entrepreneurship and innovation initiative. Continue Reading Announcing the New School of Design and Creative Technologies
June 26, 2017, Filed Under: From the ChairSummer 2017 Message from Vicki Bartholow Dear Friends, What a busy spring it has been! I appreciate all of you who were able to join us for the regional meetings in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, I’d like to share some updates on the college and its current initiatives. Now that students have left campus, major construction has begun in the Level 4 renovation project in the Fine Arts Library. Over the next three months, this 9,000 square foot space will be transformed from library stacks to a newly renovated, state-of-the-art workspace for the extremely popular and ever-expanding Arts and Entertainment Technologies and Design programs. Earlier this year, the Executive Committee had the opportunity to tour the renovation area, and I can tell you these facilities will provide current and future students with the technology, equipment, and space they need to get a world-class education and flourish in their professional careers. Please join me in supporting Level 4 renovation. Continue Reading Summer 2017 Message from Vicki Bartholow
June 26, 2017, Filed Under: Development UpdatesSummer 2017 Update from Sondra Lomax Dear Friends, How wonderful to see so many of you at the spring regional meetings around the state! Special thanks again to our hosts: Margaret Gunn in San Antonio, Ginger Head Gearheart in Fort Worth, Vicki Bartholow in Dallas, Mimi Smith in Austin, and Melissa Ison in Houston. We look forward to these small, more intimate gatherings every year, as they give us an opportunity for more personal and in-depth conversations regarding current affairs in the College of Fine Arts. I also want to share a university-wide change that will impact the college. Under the recommendation of our new Vice President for Development, Scott Rabenold, the UT Austin Development Board recently approved new endowment levels for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Continue Reading Summer 2017 Update from Sondra Lomax
