Dear Editor,

The publication last week of Jamie Solomon’s column, “On the Margins, Between the Lines: The Art Department hates me,” shined light on a problem that, from a certain perspective, seems to be borne of success. The picture might be described as follows: Interest in the visual and performing arts has been gaining momentum among Stanford students for years. It has been nurtured by the University’s Arts Initiative and the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts. Thanks to the Arts Initiative, this interest is also taking palpable form in a new arts district around the Cantor Arts Center, with the construction of the Bing Concert Hall, the future McMurtry Building for the Department of Art & Art History and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University, all of which will increase the arts opportunities on campus.

Given the attention that has been focused in recent years on how the arts might play a more significant role in the educational experience of all Stanford undergraduates, it is gratifying to see increasing demand for courses in art practice. However, at times it has been difficult to adapt existing spaces and procedures to accommodate all students who wish to take introductory courses that involve hands-on practice and individual attention.

The fact of the matter is that small courses taught by Stanford’s outstanding arts practitioners may always be oversubscribed–I know from colleagues that this can be a problem with popular courses in other fields as well. For this reason, arts programs and departments need to develop mechanisms to ensure that students will not be repeatedly turned away. Once might be understandable, a second time would be unfortunate, but three times (or more!) is simply not acceptable.

What are we doing today to ensure that Jamie Solomon’s experience will not be repeated? In the Art & Art History Department, we are reviewing our waitlist procedures and working to develop a computer-based system that will track students who plan to major, minor, or simply wish to take a course in some aspect of Art Practice. We are committed to devising better means of advising which courses are likely to top out and directing students to enroll in alternatives where space is available. We are also continuing to explore how to increase usage of our classrooms, which in the past has sometimes allowed us to double or even triple offerings during a single quarter in the most sought-after media–photography, for example.

Space continues to be a tremendous challenge and, therefore, we look forward to our move to the new McMurtry Building where we anticipate having better storage facilities and greater studio classroom flexibility. Efforts are also underway to increase the capacity for student arts-practice opportunities in the residence halls and other facilities around campus. All of these steps will help ensure that students like Jamie Solomon know they are not hated but instead welcomed by all of Stanford’s arts programs, and particularly the Art & Art History Department.

Nancy J. Troy

Chair, Department of Art & Art History