A new cultural heart

Science, technology and business have changed the world in many ways during the last 25 years. The explosive growth of JMU's campus has paralleled those changes. It is now time, however, to regain a balance.

In a presentation to the JMU Board of Visitors last year, President Linwood H. Rose said, "Just as in the '80s we looked at business and education and met their needs, and then in the '90s we looked at science and technology, I think it's now time we look at the arts." The board agreed.

The fine and performing arts must play a prominent role in the lives of JMU students, says Richard Whitman, dean of the College of Arts and Letters. "The fine and performing arts, while very important in their own right, supply a vital element to students' education, which is an understanding of humanity."

According to Cole Welter, director of the School of Art and Art History, "It's an understanding of humanity that gives students the ability to lead a meaningful life." And since the university promises to prepare students to live productive and meaningful lives, that's fully half of the equation.
During his presentation to the board last year, Rose and Charles W. King Jr., vice president of administration and finance, presented a six-year capital outlay plan, which included several projects constituting a new Fine and Performing Arts Complex. The first stages are on the drawing board now. But the project's future is far from certain. Of the $69 million in total project costs, $10 million must come from private funds raised by the university. While JMU will seek $9 million from the state later to fund equipment and furnishings, the critical step occurs this fall. More than $50 million will be funded by a state bond issue. But that's only if enough Virginians vote "yes" on Nov. 5, 2002, for the General Obligation Bond Referendum for Higher Education.

Once the funds are secured, construction will begin. The first phase is a center for the arts, which will house the School of Theatre and Dance. It will be built on the site currently occupied by Anthony-Seeger Hall on the west side of Main Street and is planned to be 108,490 square feet. It will contain a 500-seat auditorium, dance studios, an experimental theater and more.

"The center for the arts will be impressive," says William Buck, director of the School of Theatre and Dance. "But it will not be a luxury. Accreditors of our theater and dance programs have cited our current facilities as completely deficient."

The second phase will be a music recital hall adjacent to the center. In his presentation to the board, Rose noted that while the music department is housed in a relatively new building, it never was completed fully. A statewide budget crunch in 1989 eliminated plans for the recital hall. Consequently, all JMU music performances are presented in spaces designed with no acoustical or logistical considerations. The music performance center will rectify that with 67,000 square feet, a state-of-the-art main recital hall with 400 to 500 seats, rehearsal areas, an expanded music library and more.

The third phase will be to renovate Duke Hall, home to the fine and visual arts. All these plans will create the Fine and Performing Arts Complex on the northwest corner of campus, creating a new gateway to JMU on Main Street.

"Without a doubt, the arts complex as planned is absolutely required for our programs to continue their excellence. And it would also become the Shenandoah Valley's new cultural heart," says Kathy Stafford, vice president of university advancement. "That's very exciting. But at this point we need to work hard to get the vote out for the bond issue in November and we need to reach out to everyone ever connected to JMU and show them that this project deserves their support."

JMU projects included in the General Obligation Bond Referendum for Higher Education.

Center for the Arts - $29,808,900
Music Recital Hall - $20,900,000
Steam Infrastructure Improvements - $3,978,000
Handicapped Accessibility - $1,780,000
Harrison Hall & Annex Renovations - $9,732,700
Library, CISAT Campus - $19,792,600
Miller Hall Renovations - $13,927,700

If passed on Nov. 5, 2002, this referendum
will not increase any Virginia tax.

Story by Andy Perrine ('86)