On July 1, 2018, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arts Institute will be renamed as the Division of the Arts. A year-long process of consultation with multiple stakeholders laid the groundwork for this change, culminating in formal approval by the University Academic Planning Council on November 16, 2017. The division’s new name clarifies its role as the chief unit responsible for connecting the arts in a vital and vibrant research university. Structurally, the Division of the Arts is an academic administrative unit under the Office of the Provost.
Some of the division’s key programs include the Arts on Campus initiative, Creative Arts Awards, Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program, Madison Early Music Festival, The Studio Creative Arts Community, and Wisconsin Film Festival.
The new name signals the widespread presence of the arts on campus and clearly and publicly re-brands the division as a central coordinator and sponsor of collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching/learning, arts research and community outreach.
To view the history of the division, please visit: artsdivision.wisc.edu/history.
Additional details about the name change will be sent closer to July 1, 2018, including a new website link.
Please contact Staci Francis, Associate Director, at sfrancis@wisc.edu or Kate Hewson, Assistant Director for Academic Programs, at kate.hewson@wisc.edu with any questions.