Arts courses to be offered as planned for fall semester

Despite incredible flooding on the UI arts campus, the School of Music, the Department of Theatre Arts, and the School of Art and Art History will offer classes as planned during the fall semester. Photo by Tim Schoon.

The University of Iowa will be back in business in the fall, and that will include the departments most affected by the flooding: the School of Music, the Department of Theatre Arts, and the School of Art and Art History, all of which are located next to the Iowa River on the arts campus.
 
"This university is known for its commitment to the arts, and we will honor that commitment to the fullest," says University of Iowa president Sally Mason.
 
Among the buildings closest to the river are the UI Art Building and Art Building West. John Scott, summer director of the School of Art and Art History, says that no classes or courses had been canceled for the summer, and there are no plans to cancel any courses for the fall.
 
Some of the school's facilities have been harder hit than others—particularly the photography, ceramics, metalsmithing, and sculpture studios, which were under 6 or 7 feet of water. Those studios will not be available in the fall, and the first floor of Art Building West will also be unavailable until recovery and repair work is completed.

Classes and administrative offices will be moved to other buildings on campus, Scott says, and the school is identifying suitable space for the affected studio areas.
 
Scott says no other details are available at this time. "We are already planning for the fall, while recovery gets under way," he says.
 
The Division of Performing Arts has also been hit by flooding, particularly the School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts. Conditions are not yet known in the Theatre Building; it is fairly certain that Clapp Recital Hall and the Voxman Music Building will have to be closed in the fall. Currently, the division staff is housed in Halsey Hall with the Department of Dance. Their primary mission this summer is to identify locations on and around the UI campus for classes that have been displaced by the flood damage.
 
Kayt Conrad, director of operations for the division, says, "There is much to be grateful for. We were able to save much of our costume collection, many of our musical instruments, and the majority of our technology from the floodwaters.
 
"Ensuring the continuity of our academic missions in theatre arts and the School of Music is our highest priority," Conrad adds. "As of today, no classes in the Division of Performing Arts have been canceled, and there are no plans to cancel any classes due to flooding. Scheduling staff in theatre and music are working on relocating fall classes, performances, and recitals—a process that will take several weeks to complete. The dance department was largely unaffected by flooding and will continue classes as usual in Halsey Hall.
 
Conrad says a full schedule of School of Music, theatre arts, and dance events will be posted on departmental web sites and on the ArtsIowa Calendar in August.

by Peter Alexander