The apprehension that many of us felt last spring as the economic crisis widened and deepened is still with us.
Now, however, it has been moderated and complicated by a range of political initiatives. Yet we still face serious problems and the contours of our future political economy - including the costs of health care and college - are still unclear. As I said in my last message, it is a time of danger and opportunity perhaps like no other we have faced in higher education in fifty years.
Despite the uncertain times, the dedication and enthusiasm of RCAH students, faculty, and staff is evident to all as we continue to build the college inside and out. Over the summer RCAH students studied, worked, and traveled in Costa Rica on a new study abroad program designed to achieve an integrated understanding of eco-tourism in close collaboration with community partners there. Also during the summer, entering RCAH students participated in our groundbreaking Freshman Seminar Away Program in Detroit. This weeklong immersion seminar introduced students to the rich artistic, musical, and literary history of Detroit and how young artists, writers, and community leaders are building on these traditions today.
Once again we are looking forward to a diverse series of visiting artists and artists-in-residence to complement the work that our faculty are doing with our students. These guests include photojournalist Michael Coles, filmmaker Kevin Everson, performance artist Coya Paz, Native American musician Gabe Desrosiers, ceramicist Doug DeLind, oral historians and storytellers Carrie and Michael Cline, painter Guillermo Delgado, book artist Laura Davidson, comic artist Ryan Claytor, and dancers Diane Newman and Beth Post.
The RCAH Center for Poetry is entering its third year. The center has been a focal point for community/RCAH interaction, hosting poetry slams and co-sponsoring special events with local poets. The fall poetry series will include Dan Beach, editor of the Atlanta Review; Canadian poet Carolyn Smart, and Tom Lynch, poet and National Book Award finalist for The Undertaking.
We are also looking forward to the second year of our exchange program, "Strengthening Faith and Community," with the University of Bamako, Mali. A second group of twelve distinguished community and religious leaders from Mali will be in residence at the RCAH during October, learning about religious diversity in Michigan and sharing their own experiences with faculty, students, and community groups here. A "photovoice" exhibit involving the Malian delegation and RCAH students and faculty will be among the many exhibits featured in the Lookout! Gallery this fall. We have also begun to display artwork throughout the RCAH done by past guest artists and artists-in-residence as part of a permanent RCAH collection.
I want to take the remaining few lines of this letter to focus on a matter related to the political-economic circumstances in which we find ourselves: the critical need for student scholarships and fellowships in the RCAH. One of our challenges is to build a support network for students who need financial assistance. MSU provides extraordinary help to all undergraduates in this regard. What the RCAH does not yet have is a fund for providing our own neediest students with additional tuition assistance. We have been fortunate to receive some funds designated for specific purposes, such as the Ruth Dahlberg Smith Fund for Study Abroad and Study Away. Each year students compete for assistance grants through this fund to help them finance their participation in these programs. Now we are finding that many of our students need support just to stay on campus to take their regular classes. Often the support does not have to be anything close to a "full ride." Modest grants of $500 can be enormously helpful to students trying to balance schoolwork and work for pay.
I invite parents of current students, recent and not-so-recent MSU graduates, and community members who have seen the kind of excitement and pleasure that the RCAH is generating to think about how you might help our current students stay afloat. The RCAH has benefited enormously from your generosity already through your tuition and tax dollars. It is not easy to say that even more is needed. But this is one of those moments when it is most important to support programs that can build on existing strengths and carve out a sustainable future for creative undergraduate education in the arts and humanities.
The RCAH will have approximately 300 majors at the beginning of the fall 2009 semester as we welcome our third first-year class. The response to our innovative program has been strong and we continue to explore new ways to combine the arts and humanities for the public good. I invite you to contribute to the new Dean's Opportunity Fund to help us continue along this exciting path and to contact me directly with your questions and comments. I can be reached at (517) 355-0210 or esquith@msu.edu.
-- Steve Esquith
