Q&A with the Chancellor: Philip P. DiStefano – Summer 2016
Art Is All Around Us
Astronauts, the Mars explorer andour top-ranked physics department instantlypop to mind when people thinkof CU-Boulder. Do the arts get lost?
No, CU-Boulder is a dynamic, multi-dimensionalplace, a major public comprehensiveresearch university in whichthe arts play a powerful role. The FolgerShakespeare Library chose us as the onlyColorado stop for its traveling exhibit,“First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare.” I consider this an internationalrecognition of the significance ofthe arts on our campus.
The campus is complementing FirstFolio! with a summer-long programof 40 exhibitions and events calledShakespeare at CU, but you can’tpin a reputation for the arts on onemajor exhibit.
CU-Boulder is a cultural hub: home tothree museums, six galleries and theGrammy-winning classical Takács Quartet.It’s a repository for cultural artifactsand a venue for innumerable performancesand lectures. More than 380,000citizens come to campus annually forarts and culture, and of course our studentsalso greatly benefit.
What are some other cultural “bighits” on campus besides First Folio?
Here are just a few examples. The CUMuseum of Natural History has a remarkabledisplay of ancient tools used tobutcher ice-age mammals 13,000 yearsago in present-day Boulder. It will be thereat least through the summer.
The Conference on World Affairs inApril attracted 20,000 unique attendeesand featured a by Apple co-founder SteveWozniak. The Colorado ShakespeareFestival is celebrating its 59th summerseason on campus. It attracts 30,000 visitors, and its education programs reachtens of thousands of children.
The Artist Series has been bringing inworld-class music and dance performers tocampus for 80 years, including cellist Yo-YoMa next February. We also offer numerousfree performances every year by our highlyaccomplished faculty and students.
How are students incorporated intothis cultural hub?
This space doesn’t allow for an exhaustivelist, but let me mention thatstudents act alongside the professionaltheater company in the ShakespeareFestival and student art will be displayedthroughout the University Memorial Centerthis summer. A trio of College of Musicprograms — Thompson Jazz Studies,Ritter Classical Guitar and Eklund Opera— introduce audiences to the musicalleaders of tomorrow and bring worldclassartists to campus for concerts,classes and collaborations.
On a broader scale, why are the artsimportant?
We talk a lot about innovation. Butinnovation is not just technology. Thearts promote innovation by allowing usto think creatively and get outside ourown experience. Performing and visualarts are powerful teachers of differentcultures, perspectives, historical interpretationsand philosophical discourse.You can’t have a great public universitywithout the arts.
Illustration by Melinda Josie