After three years of discussing an organizational affiliation between the arts and the department of communication, CSU East Bay is welcoming the School of Arts and Media.

Approved by President Leroy M. Morishita in May 2012, the School of Arts and Media will be the first of its kind in the CSU system and will encompass the Departments of Music, Theatre & Dance, Art and Communication, as well as the Multimedia Graduate Program, and is expected to open fall 2013.

“Students ought to have a broader base of studies, not only in their own disciplines, but in others,” says Phillip Hofstetter, chair of the Art Department.

He says the creation of the School of Arts and Media aims to not only attract the best and brightest students, but also maximize the opportunities for students to broaden their study of the arts, media and the intersection of the two.

He adds that by working together, these five disciplines will allow students to achieve greater and exciting new possibilities for creative work in the arts and media. It also encourages collaborative work amongst the departments.

The ability for students to major in music, theater, or any of the other disciplines will not be eliminated; in addition to the opportunity to study a single subject, students will have greater opportunities for minors, certificates, or new majors in multidisciplinary fields within the arts and media, says Dean Kathleen Rountree of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences.

“The curriculum in which students are currently enrolled will not change when the school is created, nor will the requirements for any current degree,” says Rountree. “In the future, it is possible that new courses and possibly new degrees will be created to maximize the opportunities for students to broaden their study of the arts and media.”

Programming and new curriculum, as well as a broader exposure to the all of the arts, is an example of some potential benefits arts and media students will receive, according to Hofstetter.

“This new school will benefit students who have a passion for the arts and media. The incoming students will have a plethora of new opportunities,” says Jamel Jackson, a CSU East Bay student. “I really could have benefited from this.”

Discussions have already taken place regarding the new courses that will be added as core courses for the new school; Hofstetter tells of a class titled “Arts of the Golden State” that will examine music, theater, television, film and art-making in its entirety.

He says that California is the place where everyone is involved in arts and media and, in large part, the Golden State is known for its entertainment, arts, media and information technology industries.

“This is a very exciting opportunity. During its initial launch year, the school will host a number of special public events to celebrate the launch,” says Rountree. “The search for a director of the school is underway now, with an appointment hoped for within the next two months.”

On Feb. 18, the search committee established the process of how they would be searching and the process by which they will generate questions they want to ask the candidates.

As of right now, the interviewing process is the only thing left to be conducted; Hofstetter believes this will be going on for the next three or four weeks. He says they will be choosing someone from a current department who fits the qualifications.

“Hopefully we can identify our recommendation to the dean sometime in the beginning of the spring quarter,” he says. “We already defined that it has to be someone from one of the four departments.”