Franklin Pierce University defines itself as a small Liberal Arts College. Yet according to the Keene Sentinel, Franklin Pierce University made the decision to cut programs in Theatre and Dance, Graphic Communication, Fine Arts, Math, and Arts Management in order to focus resources on programs that “attract, retain and prepare students for the personal and professional futures that await them.”
It is very difficult to understand that point of view since the entertainment industry generates billions of dollars each year. How does that not represent a desirable future? Not to mention that a well-educated and informed person should have a great foundation in the liberal arts to live a fulfilling life. How can Franklin Pierce use the nomenclature of liberal arts without arts?
The unilateral decision to obliterate creative programs from the curriculum is an assault to the potential of students’ minds. Who will be the next visionary artist that will inspire and enrich our lives? How will students learn to produce work through the use of abstraction, imagination and innovation without creative programs?
Has Franklin Pierce University lost its sense of purpose and obligation toward the current faculty, students and alums that have brought national recognition to their institution on numerous occasions? There is a wealth beyond monetary value in the quality of the dedicated faculty. How is this good management, to reduce the creative mind of outstanding professors to solely teach survey courses? What a waste of potential!
It is also a very narrow-sighted organization that cannot recognize the impact creative programs have beyond the wall of one’s institution. By removing these programs from the curriculum, you are essentially amputating a limb from the cultural life of our region.
Professor Céline Perron
Scenic and Lighting Designer
Theatre and Dance Department Chair
Keene State College