The Sherman Fairchild Foundation has awarded a grant to Carleton College for the project Collaborative Directions in Art and Technology.
The $300,000, three-year project will support Carleton arts and technology faculty in developing new class modules, courses, collaborative courses, and curricular models for multi-disciplinary student projects. The project will enable Carleton faculty members to make full use of the new Weitz Center for Creativity, which will be providing staff, technological resources, and facilities in support of project efforts.
The Collaborative Directions project emerged out of a six-year planning process that has aimed to position the arts more fully at the center of a liberal arts education. The foundation grant will support faculty in combining art and technology to inspire and enhance creativity throughout the curriculum.
Project director Ron Rodman, Dye Family Professor of Music, sees the grant as a jump-start for interdisciplinary activity in the Weitz Center. “The College has long-terms goals related to arts, technology, and the Weitz Center, and the Sherman Fairchild grant will help accelerate the implementation of many of these goals,” he said.
The Weitz Center for Creativity, which opened in September 2011, combines cutting-edge technology and historic preservation, including renovation of an original 1910 building in its entirety, preserving much of its history and unique architectural features. The Sherman Fairchild Foundation, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, founded in 1955, is a leading funder of science and technology education.