Notes from the Dean

29 June 2021

As I write these words, I am surrounded by the warmth of the June sun in State College. The days are among the longest all year and afford more opportunities to spend time outdoors. This time of the year has always been restorative for me and 2021 is no different. In fact, it appears our collective navigation of the pandemic is beginning to allow us to participate in activities similar to those we took for granted over a year ago. You may also be sensing a degree of restoration and the possibilities in the months to come. In the college, we are a couple of months away from the start of a new academic year and a new set of possibilities.

The idea of “MakingPossibilitiesPossible” has been on my mind of late. In some ways, the four goals in the college strategic plan are built on this notion. Revised during much of 2020 to align with the revised University strategic plan, the college plan is constructed on four goals. In short, these goals seek to:

• Cultivate transformative opportunities and experiences,
• Establish, foster, and promote a culture of anti-racism, anti-oppression, inclusion, and equity
• Advance innovative practices; and
• Develop strategic alliances.

As a collective effort, we developed these goals through a series of workshops, conversations, and editing exchanges. These four goals are described in more detail in the full strategic plan, but you can find a one-page summary here. This plan has always been imagined as a living document. As such, it is designed to morph and take the form of the spaces we imagine and create over the next four years.

In addition, I have constructed a list of my own priorities for the next four years, as well as specific goals for 2021-22. One of these goals is to socialize and begin implementation of the strategic plan and my priorities for the college. By sharing my priorities here, I am initiating that action. They are:

• Enable student success and achievement;
• Create space and spaces of possibilities;
• Support programmatic innovation, research, and creative practice;
• Endow positions, departments, and schools;
• Secure support for the educational and operational initiatives of the Palmer Museum of Art;
• Center/advance/normalize policies and practices of access, anti-racism, and social equity;
• Recruit and retain students, staff, faculty, and administrators from marginalized populations & diversify the demographics of our councils, committees, and affiliates;
• Increase the visibility of our research, creative practice, accomplishments, and programs.

We have already seen evidence of some of these goals and priorities taking shape as our students, staff, faculty, and alumni continue to achieve, succeed, and have a positive influence on our world. These priorities are all about #MakingPossibilitiesPossible. I will elaborate on these priorities in future messages. Keep an eye on the college website, Penn State News, and our social media accounts across the college for stories about what we are up to, including—in this issue—alumnus Bill Holloway’s Presidential appointment, recent graduate Leo Wang’s innovative exhibition in downtown State College, and more.

I trust the remainder of the summer will treat you well. Enjoy! The fall is right around the corner.

27 April 2021

As the spring semester draws to a close, we mark the conclusion of another academic year. For many people, the official conclusion is signified by the commencement ceremonies held in honor of our graduating students. While commencement will not look like it did pre-pandemic, we are grateful for the opportunity to recognize our College of Arts and Architecture graduates in person at Beaver Stadium on May 8, as part of a joint commencement ceremony with the Eberly College of Science, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and the College of Nursing (livestream will be available here).

As was the case for other colleges and universities, at Penn State the past year-and-a-half was defined by an extremely challenging collective shift from in-residence instruction to online, hybrid, and modified in-residence teaching modalities. We essentially had to reconfigure the merry-go-round while we were riding on it. In addition, the heightened visibility and injustice of racism compounded by divisive political rhetoric have added layers of unease, fear, and frustration. While the University may have adopted the idea of resilience as a goal—or at the very least a mantra—survival and endurance are terms I believe best reflect the daily existence of many of us.

Over the past year, we have reflected more than ever on how what we do in our college—the creative collaborations, the studio instruction and discussions, and a host of events and experiences—will inform critical conversations in the present and influence future generations. Among our many roles in the college is the responsibility to make spaces for such opportunities and conversations to empower our students to make future possibilities possible.

In the here and now, we revised and finalized our five-year strategic plan as part of the University-wide strategic planning process, Our Commitment to Impact. We staged virtual performances over Zoom, both live and streamed, and hosted workshops, symposia, town halls, and awards ceremonies. Many people and programs in the college have been recognized with awards for excellence. We have mourned the loss of friends and alumni of the college. We have sent well wishes to colleagues who have decided to move on, and have recognized others as their long careers have come to a close, with retirement plans shaping the next steps on life’s journey. These changes in turn have welcomed new members to our college community, ready to become part of this amazingly complex, innovative, and inspirational academic unit.

Of course we have also recognized our students throughout the year as they have met and exceeded our expectations, as they always seem to do. Our roles as artists, educators, scholars, designers, and cultural change agents demand we widen the views and perspectives of the students who move through our programs, readers who consider our scholarship, and visitors who experience our performances and view our productions and creations.

A highlight for me over the past year has been my conversations with numerous alumni—some captured in our “Movers, Shakers, Designers, Makers” series. For a twist, School of Visual Arts alumnus Brian Kappel and his daughter, current photography student Emma Kappel, interviewed me for the latest installment—check it out here.

Each of our alumni has had different Penn State experiences, yet they have all remained connected to the University and the college in some way, whether through vivid memories, mentoring, networking, or volunteering, to name a few. Thank you all for the many ways you have remained connected to Arts and Architecture. Best wishes for a safe and healthy summer.

B Stephen Carpenter II
Dean, College of Arts and Architecture
The Pennsylvania State University

19 March 2021

On behalf of the College of Arts and Architecture, I mourn for the eight victims of the murders in Atlanta, Georgia, last week and extend my heartfelt sympathy to their family and friends. While details of these murders are still being assembled, it appears the majority of the victims were Asian American women. Over the past year, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of vicious acts of hate and racialized domestic terroristic violence against Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other members of the Asian Diaspora have increased across the country.

Mortal acts of violence, and the bigoted discourse that surrounds them, are reminders of the centrality of racism, hate, and xenophobia in the historical narrative of the United States. Acts of violence and hate based in race, identity, ethnicity, and nationality are intolerable.

I have written more of these statements in the past year than I had imagined I would need to write, yet I am compelled to do so once again. Hate and violence in any form, and particularly when motivated to diminish others based on their race, gender, ability, ethnicity, nationality, or sexual identity, is never acceptable.

I trust the students, staff, and faculty from the Asian and Pacific Island Diaspora know you have the support you need in the wake of the violence last week. Students in the College who seek support may reach out to Curt Marshall, coordinator of multicultural and recruitment programs. Similarly, any member of the College may contact me at [email protected].

B. Stephen Carpenter II
Dean, College of Arts and Architecture

25 February 2021

As we conclude the month of February 2021, spring is on the horizon, as well as hope that we are making our way out of the pandemic. Of course, some degree of pre-pandemic normalcy rests in front of us, although there is still uncertainty about vaccine distribution, access, and timeframe. With the University’s recent announcement of plans to increase the number of in-person courses this summer in hopes of having a full on-campus learning environment this fall, we have reason to be cautiously optimistic.

February is the second month of the calendar year, the month with the fewest days, and the month in which Black History Month and Valentine’s Day are both situated. I cannot take credit for this less than insightful observation – my recollection is I first heard this fact pointed out by a stand-up comedian on some late-night television show – however, the point raises questions for consideration. This year, during February, Penn State and other institutions fell victim to racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic Zoom bombings, a stark reminder of ongoing issues related to campus climate and our need to stand firm in our commitment to establishing a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression in combating social injustice, inequality, and systemic oppression.

This month severe weather conditions produced power outages and interruptions in services across the country. Yet during this same short month, the University resumed in-residence instruction for some courses. The College of Arts and Architecture continues to make necessary adjustments to teaching, creating, researching, performing, rehearsing, and working within the context of heightened attention to health and safety regulations, including increased testing for on-campus students.

While in-person activities are still limited, we continue to offer numerous virtual options. Look for engaging conversations in the “Movers. Shakers. Designers. Makers,” series in which I conduct 1:1 interviews with alumni from our college. The most recent interviews are with Alumni Award recipients such as Landscape Architecture alumnus Adrian Smith and “Frida Kahlo,” an alumna and founding member of the Guerrilla Girls. We hope to honor these and other Alumni Award recipients in person in the fall.

The Palmer Museum of Art reopened earlier this month with a new timed-ticketing system and a new website. The Center for the Performing Arts, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre continue to make the performing arts accessible to audiences locally and elsewhere. Check out the college calendar for a complete list of events, talks, and performances.

Over the past month, as has been the case throughout the past year, former classmates, alumni, donors, and friends of the college have shared notes and e-mails of support and encouragement. They have posed questions inquiring about how staff, students, and faculty are managing. I appreciate your gestures of concern and hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. I recognize this year has been difficult for many of you – keep in mind the winter weather will soon be behind us with another spring soon to follow.

May you and those around you take care of each other. I hope to see you in person on campus in the near future.

7 January 2021

The events on January 6 in Washington, D.C., gripped the country and the world. The actions of the mob who invaded and terrorized the U.S. Capitol Building and the procedural actions of the elected leaders of the country stood in contrast to and yet reflected points on a continuum of what it means to live in the current state of our democracy.

In response, President Barron issued a statement earlier today. He noted our responsibility, as members of the University community, to put aside differences and to rise above hate. I remain steadfast in making sure the arts and design work we do in the College of Arts & Architecture occurs within a space supportive of open dialogue, critical discourse, and creative inquiry informed by the lived experiences of those who create it, learn from it, and respond to it. I know personally how difficult and painful it can be to be subjected to systemic oppression and social inequity. Our conversations and actions in response to oppression and discrimination, and in service of equity and social justice, are not exercises. They are imperatives.

As we prepare to enter a third semester of academic work under the cloud of COVID and within the context of remote teaching, learning, and working, we must persevere. We must step forward with renewed resilience as we attend to our responsibilities just as the resilience of the foundations of this country must continue.

Civil unrest and illicit acts are not the same as civil disobedience and civil disagreement. Fomenting hate and provoking violence are not the same as inspiring peaceful protest to resolve matters of conflict.

Artists and designers certainly understand the power of embodied and performed means of conveying ideas and beliefs, but not at the cost of someone’s life or the dissolution of respect for the very institutions that enable people to do so freely. The work, research, and creative activity that is cultivated in this college is vital to ensuring our society has access to means through which discordant, divergent, controversial, and even questionable ideas can be made public for the purpose of critical consideration, innovation, and positive change.

We will continue our efforts in support of equity through actions grounded in the ideals of anti-racism, anti-bias, and anti-oppression. We will resist caste hierarchies, socially constructed systems of privilege, and the marginalization of difference. We will condemn hate. We will not condone violence. We will not disregard the perpetuation of lies, or the dismantling of the principles of a democratic republic, or the disrespect of others.

As we prepare for the spring semester and more uncertainty to come, you might find these resources for students and faculty and staff helpful.

While we are physically distanced, we are otherwise linked through our common purpose as artists, educators, scholars, historians, designers, colleagues, staff members, and students, all dedicated to our mutual success. The arts can be modes by which social institutions and the actions of individuals are placed on display for critique. They can also be means through which promises of hope and civility are enshrined. They can be channels to encourage and remind anyone brave enough to pay attention, of what is just, right, and virtuous.

17 December 2020

As we enter a holiday season unlike any we have experienced before, I want to thank you, our alumni and friends, for your support, encouragement, and collaboration over the past year.

When I assumed the dean position in January 2020, I was appreciative of the opportunity and optimistic about assuming my new set of responsibilities. I was excited to transfer my experiences as a graduate student, faculty member, and administrator in the College of Arts and Architecture to the next phase of my professional journey. I was determined to visit staff and faculty members to gain a better sense of who they are, and where they work, teach, and create. Two months later my plans—and the world—came to a screeching halt.

The year 2020 has been defined in part by myriad challenges and losses brought on by the global pandemic. We are all struggling, in various ways. There is no denying that. Yet, we also have reasons to be hopeful. The distribution of vaccines is on the horizon. The start of a new calendar year is just around the corner. We also have reason to be proud. As artists and designers, we have played an integral role in helping people get through the pandemic. Through our work, we have provided an escape, a respite, and some entertainment. We have risen to the challenge of creating in unusual environments and physically distanced circumstances in small apartments, at dining room tables, in makeshift garage studios, and on late-night living room stages.

As scholars, educators, students, and staff, we had to shift, adjust, and in some cases change completely how we do our work. Who could have imagined teaching music remotely from home while students are in their dorm room? Hosting awards ceremonies and retirement celebrations through Zoom? We found ways to remain connected while being mindful of doing so while masked and from a safe distance.

Our entire College of Arts and Architecture community, of which you are a part, has rallied. You have supported us and each other in so many ways. As proud and dedicated alumni, you have performed in Penn State Centre Stage Virtual productions and have delivered remote lectures. You have remained active on alumni group boards. You have made connections with students through internships even as so many job options appear to be uncertain.

Our donors have also stepped forward during these challenging times. Through your generous contributions, we have established six Educational Equity Scholarships over the past few months, among numerous other gifts in support of our many programs. Friends of the college also showed up in a big way for #GivingTuesday, contributing generously to campaigns across the arts and design.

Thank you for being members of the College of Arts and Architecture family. I know this holiday season will be different from those we have experienced in years past. Yet, like we have demonstrated this year, we will find ways to make the most of the situation. May you find some joy and hope with friends and loved ones.

Be well. Be safe. Best wishes for a healthy and hopeful 2021.

30 October 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the country last March, it quickly became clear to many that the arts were more than creative outlets and modes of cultural expression. Artistic and creative forms of resilience were beginning to emerge in myriad ways.

We watched elaborately edited ensemble performances with each singer occupying a tiny box on our computer screens instead of situated on a well-lit stage. Visual artists took their work in new directions, using unconventional materials and exhibition formats while they grappled with our “new normal.” As an entire industry shut down with no reliable reopen date in sight, theatre professionals figured out how to stage performances via Zoom.

While our current available opportunities to experience the arts in person remain limited, there is no denying what the arts “do.” The arts bring us together. The arts reflect our current circumstances. The arts assist us as we deal with what is likely the most challenging period in our collective lifetimes. The arts help us feel like we are not alone, even if we are no longer together.

As alumni and supporters of the College of Arts and Architecture, I know you are intimately familiar with what the arts “do.” So, you may be wondering how, in the midst of a global pandemic, we are “doing” the arts at Penn State. For sure, it does not look like what you remember or may have experienced when you were a student. What is similar, however, is how our academic and outreach units have continued to offer a robust schedule of visual arts and performance opportunities, visiting artist and scholar lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and educational programming—all in a virtual format.

While it seems like very little of what we do is the “same,” teaching and learning in the arts and design at Penn State is not as different as you might imagine. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of our staff and faculty, we have figured out how students can work safely in studios, on stages, and in classrooms. Health guidance and safety protocols have required us to call into question many of our uses of indoor spaces. That is, the likely locations for doing what we do have yielded to other spaces in which we now perform, design, and learn.

Too many students for a rehearsal hall? The Nittany Parking Deck has proven to be a suitable site to rehearse and perform music. Concerned about adequate ventilation in small music and theatre studios? Limit the number of students in the space for 30 minutes, and allow 30 minutes for the air to change before the next group can enter. Design studios are following strict schedules with small numbers of students allowed at one time. Faculty members have developed more sophisticated and creative ways to engage students via remote learning informed by what they experienced during remote instruction last spring. These are but a few examples of how we are making it work.

We cannot “make it work” without your support—as volunteers, as mentors, as donors, and simply as friends. On December 1, you will have an opportunity to support several different initiatives in the College of Arts and Architecture as part of Giving Tuesday: Glee Club Endowment Fund; Blue Band Legacy Fund; Penn State School of Theatre Future Fund; George Trudeau Endowment for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Center for the Performing Arts; K–12 education and diversity programming at the Palmer Museum of Art; and African American Music Festival hosted by Essence of Joy. Check arts.psu.edu and our social media channels in the coming weeks to learn more about how you can contribute to these initiatives. With your support, we can continue to do what we do and “make it work.”

I encourage you to check out some of our virtual programming in the coming weeks and months—I promise you will not regret it! As always, I appreciate your support of and engagement with the College of Arts and Architecture. Thank you.

28 August 2020

The new academic year is officially underway and you likely have visions and memories of campus at this time of the year, filled with new students roaming the halls, friends hugging and reconnecting, and faculty and staff prepared and ready for another promising semester ahead. Yet, as we know, this fall will be unlike any we have faced previously.

As we frame our path forward, we will do so in the spirit of a #CultureOfChange. In short, the ways we reimagine what and how we do what we do will define who we are as a college and where we will go.

Within this evolving landscape of change, some elements have remained essentially the same but taken on different formats. For example, I have maintained the ability to meet many long-time donors, friends, and alumni of the college through events; however, the locations for these meetings have been confined to our computer screens.

The online space has also enabled us to rethink some of our work and the engagements we make beyond campus. Penn State Centre Stage has produced a series of streaming video evening performances. The Palmer Museum of Art has provided a host of virtual museum resources to keep access to our collection, exhibitions, and educational programs available. Penn’s Woods Music Festival offered a rebroadcast of some of last year’s concerts along with live, virtual discussions with some of the performers.

One of our new efforts is a conversation series called “Movers, Shakers, Designers, Makers,” in which I talk one-on-one with some of our inspirational alumni. Check out the second installment in the series, with architect Samantha Josaphat, lower on this page. The first interview was with social media entrepreneur Mike Karns, and next up is visual artist Roberto Lugo. You can see them all on the College of Arts and Architecture’s YouTube channel.

While we deal with health and safety issues directly related to the pandemic, the past several months have also elevated the national conversation on racial injustice and the need to address systems of oppression. The College of Arts and Architecture is committed to resisting racism, bias, and oppression is many ways, not the least of which includes positioning this goal within our strategic plan. As you may be aware, President Barron has established a matching program to support the creation of equity scholarships for students whose economic and financial situations would otherwise limit or prohibit them from attending college. In essence, these scholarships recognize what many of us already know—to make a positive difference in the world, sometimes we need to make a positive difference for each other.

As we move into yet another semester, one that will certainly be defined by more uncertainty, I am confident in our efforts to forge ahead.

10 July 2020

Racism, Social Media, and Actionable Items for the College of Arts & Architecture

I am writing to acknowledge the numerous emails and social media posts in recent weeks from alumni and current students of color at Penn State documenting personal experiences of racism and racial inequities. Most of these posts are anonymous. I have paid close attention to the posts about issues of racism and marginalization within the College of Arts and Arts and Architecture specifically. As dean, and as an alumnus of the college, these posts ring close to home.

I hear you. I see you. I empathize with you.

As a scholar, artist, and citizen, and now as dean, I am committed to resisting racism, oppression, and social inequity in and through the arts and design. In the week after George Floyd’s death, I commented as much and committed to addressing structural racism through systemic change. To do so, we cannot return to normal. We must instead take deliberate and meaningful action. Our steps in this direction will require us to make shifts in the college’s culture [the way we do things around here], our policies [the agreements that guide what we do and why], and our allocation of resources [the support we provide to act on what we believe]. Shifting our culture, policies, and resources will be key to successful forward progress.

As we revise the College’s strategic plan, we will include a goal to establish a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression through our values, standards, ideals, policies, and practices. Below is a list of just some of the actionable items that will fall under this goal:

• Develop an anti-racism and anti-oppression statement for the College and commit ourselves to specific goals and actions.
• Establish an equity audit series in which scholars, artists, and designers conduct anti-racism and anti-oppression equity audits of the College.
• Conduct a College-wide anti-racism and anti-oppression audit of curricula, policies, and practices.
• Conduct a national search for an assistant/associate dean whose charge will be to foster social equity, access, and impact through the lens of anti-racism and anti-oppression.
• Revise curricula and degree expectations for every student in the College to complete at least one anti-racism/anti-oppression course before graduation.
• Commit funding to support anti-racism and anti-oppression research, creative activity, and outreach initiatives.
• Hire faculty, staff, and student interns to advance racial justice, anti-racism, and anti-oppression initiatives.
• Increase anti-racism and anti-oppression programming.

These actionable items align with my personal priority to foster and sustain a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression in the College. While we cannot revisit the past and revise what happened previously, we can take ownership of where we are now and make meaningful change in our present moment. This incomplete list of actionable items begins to take up that work.

There are two other actionable items that are under development. First, I plan to initiate a conversation series to discuss systemic inequities, oppression, and racism generally, with specific attention to the ways in which these systems operate within and as the arts and design. The format of the conversations is under development but will require participation by students, staff, faculty, alumni, and others associated with the College who are willing to share their stories, contribute to meaningful dialogue, and work toward positive action and change. Second, I am prioritizing the establishment of endowed scholarships to improve our recruitment and retention of students with financial need and whose race, ethnicity, gender, culture, and/or national origin would diversify the student population in the college. These two initiatives are additional examples of my commitment to resist racial injustice and dismantle systemic oppression.

The current visibility of racial injustice occurs in tandem with the coronavirus pandemic. We must be attentive to both life-threatening circumstances. I trust you will keep yourselves and others safe as we make our way through the summer.

25 June 2020

As I write this, in late June, we at Penn State are addressing issues we never could have imagined just a few months ago. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip the world in March, we could not have anticipated the confluence of issues we are facing currently as we prepare for the University’s planned return to campus in late August. Like the rest of the University, the College of Arts and Architecture is still working out details, asking questions, and piecing together answers on everything ranging from how students and faculty can safely return to studios and classrooms, to how we as a college can address the mounting racial tensions across the country.

On June 15, Penn State announced its plans to resume on-campus work and instruction in the fall. The announcement, “Back to State,” outlines guidance to date for resuming “on-campus, in-person classes and other activities this fall in a limited fashion,” with a “highly flexible mix of in-person, remote, and online instruction throughout the semester.” This guidance is evolving on a daily basis as we ask more questions and make informed decisions accordingly.

From the onset of the remote teaching/remote working mandate, I have maintained a position that privileges the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students, and a commitment to not endanger the lives of the college community when we can do otherwise. Our faculty and academic unit heads have been working diligently to determine the delivery mode of courses for the fall, based on pedagogical and instructional needs, as well as the current safety protocols and guidance on keeping themselves and students as safe as possible.

Like other universities across the country that are making purchases of hand sanitizer, masks, and plexiglass, we are also reacting – along with the rest of the world – to the ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death and other incidents of racial bias. As you may be aware, Penn State unfortunately found itself in the national news for several alleged incidents of hate speech on the part of students. In response, President Barron has established a Student Code of Conduct Task Force and Select Penn State Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety to work together to provide concrete, actionable proposals to the University on how to address issues related to racism, bias, and religious intolerance on campus. The Board of Trustees has appointed an oversight group to hear regular updates from the select commission.

In addition, the University has launched a roundtable series, “Toward Racial Equity at Penn State: Social Difference, Social Equity, and Social Change.” I am proud to be a panelist for the first conversation, “Race, Our Campus Climate, and Workplace,” on Tuesday, June 30, 3–5 p.m., which can be watched live at watch.psu.edu/toward-racial-equity. I encourage you to tune in if your schedule permits. Furthermore, in recent meetings with members of the Philanthropic Council and the Arts and Architecture Alumni Society Board, I discussed our progress on revisions to the strategic plan, as well as a set of actionable items our college will pursue to promote student success, to advance research, creative practice, exhibitions, and performances, and to confront racial bias and systemic oppression.

As I mark my first six months as dean of this fantastic college, I anxiously look forward to when I can meet more of our alumni and friends in person. In the meantime, please check out the first installment in our new series, “Movers Shakers Designers Makers,” where I chat with alumni from across the college. It was great to reconnect (via Zoom!) with School of Theatre alumnus and social media entrepreneur Mike Karns.

I hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy, and finding creative ways to live and learn in the midst of uncertainty in so many aspects of our lives. Thanks, as always, for your support.