Shirley Howell, Dean
The School of Fine Arts, the only School of Fine Arts in Montana, is a comprehensive professional school committed to leadership in teaching, scholarship, professional performance and service at state, regional, national and international levels. The School is comprised of outstanding artist/faculty/scholars, staff and administrative personnel, all of whom are committed to providing a challenging, positive education environment for students as well as an atmosphere characterized by collegiality, cooperation and interdependence.
The mission of the School of Fine Arts is to serve the University, the State of Montana, and the nation as a cultural center of national significance and as a leader in the performing and visual arts, arts education, and new media and technologies. In pursuit of this mission the School seeks to:
- serve students at The University of Montana-Missoula by teaching each of the performing and visual arts with rigor and devotion, and by offering preparation and experience that will enable students to take their places in the world of art, to perform and create with grace and maturity, and to teach with expertise and perspective;
- serve the University at large, as well as the community, state, region and nation, by presenting concerts, productions, and exhibitions of high quality, and by offering educational and research opportunities in the arts for non-majors as well as majors;
- provide national leadership in the arts by enhancing the excellence of traditional arts curricula, instruction and research with innovative and imaginative programs that utilize new technologies, new media, and new cultural and intellectual environments;
- inspire the pursuit of excellence, encouraging creativity and expression through the arts;
- preserve artistic values and traditions of the past, and provide fertile soil for the arts of the future.