I'm going to throw out to you a few titles, and then have you guess the name of the conference where subjects like these may be discussed:
- Administration as Performance
- Honing the Pitch: Promoting and Protecting the Value of Theatre Study
- Managing Up: Developing and Maintaining Rapport with Upper Administration
Ok, fairly impossible task unless you are a Chair or Director of a program in the arts. The italicized topics are recent workshops held at our accreditation conference for the National Association for Schools of Theatre (NAST). There's also one for dance (NASD), for music (NASM), and for art (NASAD), and each of our art programs is heavily involved not only to accredit our disciplines, but also to encourage other institutions to do the same.
Texas Tech is justifiably proud that we are one of the few public universities in the state of Texas where art, music, theatre, and dance are all accredited. Each unit works hard to achieve this distinction, and while the assessment criteria between the arts are related, each discipline faces challenges inherent to its specific field to earn this honor.
Establishing and Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries Onstage and Off
The previous institution where I worked for 27 years did not bother with accreditation. Many universities don't, and this does not reflect badly on them. Not only is earning accreditation expensive, but it requires an immense amount of reflection, a hard look at what works and what doesn't. And some universities just can't afford the time or the expense.
Mental Health: Broadening Awareness
When I arrived at TTU ten years ago, our theatre program had just earned probationary accreditation, and this was largely because our facilities did not adequately support the number of degrees we offered. It took three years to rid ourselves of the 36 infractions our program faced, culminating in a new Costume Shop, one that was no longer in the basement amidst the air handling units cooling/heating our building. During that time, I was elected to serve for six years on the Board of Directors, so I was able to truly understand the accreditation process.
Trends in Higher Education: Addressing Anticipated Realities Through Proactive Planning
Having just returned from the National Association of Schools of Theatre Association (NAST) meeting, I thought I might share some thoughts related to what this organization represents. While the philosophy and goals of NAST (and, indeed, NASD for dance) are too lengthy to list here, NAST advocates that “theatre, though dependent on talent, inspiration, and creativity, requires much more to function as a significant spiritual and educational force. Talent without skills, inspiration without knowledge, and creativity without technique can account for little but lost potential.”
The organization strives, then, “to help individual students turn talent, inspiration, creativity, and dedication into significant potential for service to the development of theatre culture in its multiple dimensions.” To that end, NAST has comprised a list of criteria necessary for students to be educated at levels to best prepare them for success not only professionally, but also spiritually, emotionally, and philosophically, by thoroughly evaluating every aspect of their education—from the size of a studio to the number of students taught by a single professor to the roles necessary to justify a Bachelor or Master of Fine Arts degree.
Workshop: Preparing for NAST Evaluation
The strengths of the organization are many. NAST literally fights to perpetuate the arts by challenging institutions to have the means to support the degrees they offer. It's a humane task, one that consistently examines standards necessary to assure excellence in arts education. Still, to earn such an honor, a School must truly adhere to the difficult and time-consuming process, repeatable every ten years.
We are facing re accreditation in the coming two years, which necessitates a huge self-study, literally a document of well-near 1,000 pages, including the vitas of all employees, transcripts, curricular maps, and spatial concerns, among many other indicators of value. Because the conference participants are mostly Chairs or Directors of programs, I can think of no better event that allows leaders to share ideas, express concerns, and discuss conflict resolution. The sessions include everything from training new leaders, retraining experienced administrators, and sharing ideas about career trajectories, alliances with professional organizations, legal matters, and establishing health boundaries in the classroom and rehearsal halls.
Roundtable for Faith-Based Institutions
This year, at our first in-person conference since the pandemic, participants had much to discuss, especially the health of theatre arts and the ethics of training students with an uncertain career trajectory. As one of my friends from Arkansas playfully suggested, “This year was one long therapy session.” We all shared recent challenges (misery loves company?—ha), especially pivoting to online education and performances. My fellow chairs were most interested in redefining education to serve our industry, even to the extent that we rethink the names of classes and programs, transitioning from theatre classes to more inclusive performance and entertainment designations. [But that's too much information, right?]
In the next two years, we in theatre and dance will be doing a deep dive into all aspects of our programs, and while the task ahead is immense, earning accreditation gives the faculty and staff an opportunity to reconsider our degrees so that our students have the best chance of success in a world that offers myriad challenges. And it offers us the chance to truly examine how we best serve students while maintaining a sustainable lifestyle, always an onerous task considering the long hours associated with education and rehearsal.
Briefing: Federal Issues for Theatre Administrators
While you may not be privy to our work re accrediting our theatre and dance programs, I thought you might enjoy knowing that education is constant and evolving, and the professors in our program are more than up to the challenge. While we remain daunted by the process, we know that it will reveal much about the success of our program, always keeping our students in the forefront of all we do.
Adjournment of the 57th NAST Annual Meeting and Retreat for Administrators of Theatre Programs in Higher Education