Syndicate: Support Interdisciplinary Program in peril

["J.B." <jbstudio@sirius.com>]

Dear Fellow Syndicalists:

As a long-time subscriber, I have mostly lurked in the background,
contributing only an occasional posting. As an artist, I've corresponded
with other Syndicalists (off-list), and have been inspired by your postings
and sites. I've often shared these sites with my students, along with
articles and features on art and artists from Eastern Europe, Japan, Russia
and so on--much of it sparked by various postings/links from Syndicate. Now
I'm asking for your support for an interdisciplinary arts program where I
have been a long-time visiting lecturer.

San Francisco State University is planning to eliminate their InterArts
Center for financial reasons, although classes in their graduate program
are filled to overflowing. (This comes at a time when huge numbers of
artists are being forced out of the city due to skyrocketing rents and
evictions from their spaces.) Many, many California-based
interdisciplinary, video, sound, and performance artists are graduates of
IAC or have been visiting faculty at IAC (including some Syndicate
subscribers). IAC is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest interdisciplinary
arts programs in the country.  IAC was at the forefront of the burgeoning
of interdisciplinary arts practice and theory 50 years ago, and by
eliminating the department, SFSU is turning its back on one of its most
innovative and historically significant programs, one that university arts
programs across the country look to as a model.

A group of faculty and students are working to retain IAC as a viable and
vital arts institution and part of San Francisco State University. They are
requesting letters of support to present at the Academic Senate meeting on
Tuesday. Please take ten minutes right now to compose a brief email in
support of this important interdisciplinary arts program. An international
response would be invaluable. Even a couple of sentences would be
appreciated. Emails are needed as soon as possible.

Address your letters to:
sfsu academic senate pamela vaughn, chair san francisco state university -
adm 551 1600 holloway avenue san francisco ca 94132

please send a copy via email to each of the following:

lise swenson: lisetim@dnai.com chris novak: cnovak@sfsu.edu scott macleod:
<mailto:macleod@dnai.com>macleod@dnai.com

send the hard copy, on letterhead (if appropriate) to:
scott macleod 540 alabama street #225 san francisco ca 94110

Thanks and Best Regards,
Julie Blankenship

>
>From: Lise Swenson <lisetim@dnai.com>
>Status: U
>
>VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
>
>Earlier this year Dean Morrison of the Creative Arts Dept. proposed
>discontinuing the InterArts Center, the nation's oldest interdisciplinry
>art department, which currently offers two MA programs, one in
>Interdisciplinary Arts and one in Arts Education to about 40 students. His
>main rational for doing this is to save money by consolidating a program
>which he contends has been replicated by other programs in the University.
>He says that this is necessary because there isn't enough money to
>properly support the program.
>
>We contend, among other things:
>
>1) that there are financial resources and that it is the Dean's own
>priorities which divert funding from IAC to other departments. We are
>saying that IAC has a unique value to the community at large and should
>receive more support than it's gotten. We think we can show that IAC is
>one of the most efficient programs, providing exceptional and long-term
>value for every dollar spent.
>
>2) we also contend that the IAC program approaches interdisciplinarity in
>a unique and valuable way which has in fact NOT been replicated by other
>departments.
>
>3) our other main contention is that if the Dean had consulted with the
>lecturers who represent the majority of the IAC (he only consulted with
>the Director, who is the only tenure track person left), we could have
>helped find solutions to the very real issues concerning resources, etc.
>
>Basically, we feel that the discontinuance of a successful, valuable and
>committed IAC (or any other academic department) is a very serious issue
>and should be given due consideration & investigation.
>
>If you need or want more information any of the people listed above can be
>contacted and asked for the full 10 page rebuttal that was written or the
>condensed 2 and a half page summary statement.

>Save the IAC campaign update Tuesday April 6, 2001
>
>About 30 opponents (that's us) of Dean Morrison's proposal to discontinue
>the InterArts Center attended today's meeting of the Academic Senate. When
>this issue came up on the agenda, several senators voiced opinions (and
>fairly strong ones too) which were sympathetic to our position. No
>significant opinions in favor of the Dean's proposal were heard today,
>though the Dean did answer a few questions from the Senate. The issue was
>tabled until next week, Tuesday 15th, because the allotted time for
>discussion was used up.
>
>It seems likely that there will be more opinions from the senators next
>week, but we should also be prepared to speak to the salient aspects of
>our position. One very valuable piece of information that some of the
>senate shared with us was that they were very impressed by the number of
>our supporters who attended the meeting and by the number of letters
>(about 8-10) in support of our position which were made available to them
>in hard copy today.
>
>Today's meeting has raised our spirits and made us optimistic about the
>possibility of achieving our goal, ie. of having the Academic Senate vote
>against discontinuance. Of course this is just one step in a complicated
>process. Even if the Academic Senate votes against the Dean's proposal
>it's likely that the Provost will approve the Dean's proposal. If that
>happens we are prepared for a longer and more complex struggle for
>reinstitution of the program. But either way it would really help if the
>Academic Senate came out on our side.
>
>So here's what we need from those of you who can provide it:
>
>1) If there's any way you can come out to State, to the Nob Hill Room of
>the Seven Hills conference center, next to Mary Ward Hall, from 2-3pm this
>coming Tuesday May 15th, please consider doing so. It really really helped
>to show how much people care about the department. One of the
>longest-standing senators said he'd never seen anything like it. The
>Senate was very impressed - let's do it again.
>
>The conference center is located off of Font avenue behind Mary Ward Hall,
>one of the campus dorms. You can find road access to the conference center
>if you travel up Holloway Ave, veering right onto Font Ave. and going to
>the last large round-about before you hit Lake Merced Ave. Follow the road
>alongside the dorms and you will reach the conference center past the
>dorms on the left. For more detailed directions please look at this campus
>map on the SFSU website:
>
><http://www.sfsu.edu/faq/map98.gif>http://www.sfsu.edu/faq/map98.gif
>
>Seven Hills Conference Center is at the bottom left of the map, just above
>Mary Ward Hall. Allow time for on street or garage parking.
>
>2) Letters of support are equally important. These can be as specific or
>as generic as is appropriate in your particular circumstances. Those of
>you who've already received our position papers on this issue can refer to
>them for suggestions for relevant issues. Those who haven't can ask us and
>we'll supply those materials asap by email.
>
>One of our main points which will likely be relevant to you concerns the
>deep connection between IAC & San Francisco's arts, education & cultural
>activism communities. So many of you who are administrators, curators,
>educators, organizers and practicing artists have either gotten degrees
>from, taken classes within or taught in the IAC or one of its previous
>incarnations (CEIA etc). An equally large number of you work with
>organizations created by IAC people or have IAC people on your own staffs.
>
>Many of the supporting letters we've received to date attest to IAC's
>positive, unique and irreplaceable impact on those respondent's lives,
>careers & contributions to their local, national & international
>communities.
>
>We will print your letter out & make enough copies for all the Academic
>Senators. They were very impressed by 10 or so letters so let's try to
>triple that figure this week.
>
>For those of you who can attend next week: when you arrive, sign up on the
>yellow legal pad that is on the table just inside the door. Sign on a
>numbered line and take the piece of paper with that same number on it -
>this allows you to speak to this issue during this meeting.
>
>Only those who've signed in and taken numbers are allowed to speak, but
>signing up does NOT obligate you to speak. If you do want to speak make
>sure you raise your number as soon as the senators start the discussion
>about the proposed discontinuance You will go onto a speakers list and you
>will be called in the order you raised your number.
>
>Please note that the Senate's time for discussion of this issue is
>extremely limited and that we do have serious support among the senators
>already, so we suggest that, if you speak, you keep your comments very
>brief and respectful. Speaking succinctly to one single topic will allow
>more of your fellow students and IAC supporters to speak and we think this
>would work in favor of our argument.
>
>Thanks for your time & consideration,
>The lecturers & students of IAC.


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