USF College of the Arts may be down, but not out

A broken piano sits in the corner of one of the the School of Music's practice rooms.

The Arts tend to be underfunded, but the University of South Florida's College of the Arts (COTA) is determined to enrich its students' experiences by raising money through fundraisers and accepting donations in order to provide scholarships, endowments and master classes taught by renowned artists. Click Read More >> below for Jamie Oakes' article. For Jill Case's article about the long-awaited, new music building and a slideshow by Thayesha Lewin click here. College of the Arts doesn’t give up hope By Jamie Oakes TAMPA, Fla.— Tampa isn’t considered a San Francisco or a New York City art mecca. It can create a burden for some starving, aspiring creative types when they are in a world of prosperous Division One athletics and innovating research programs, like the Moffitt Cancer Center. However, the University of South Florida’s College of The Arts (COTA) doesn’t give up on enriching and expanding the student’s experience and greatest potential. The university is a not-for-profit institution, which means it relies on state government funds to help support The Arts. But there are other ways to help raise money, including the fundraising campaign called “USF: Unstoppable.” The fundraiser is where each of the schools within the university participates and hopes to achieve $600 million. It’s already halfway there, said Ashleigh Gallant, the Director of Marketing and Communications at COTA. COTA, which includes: The School of Art and Art History, The School of Architecture and Community Design, The School of Music, The School of Theatre and Dance, the Graphicstudio, and the Contemporary Art Museum have their own separate goal within the fundraising campaign--$16.5 million. Within that goal, it includes scholarships and fellowships worth $6 million, endowed chairs and directorships worth $8 million, and academic enhancements worth $2.5 million. So far, the school has raised over $6.5 million. Karen Frank, the assistant to the dean of COTA, who put an emphasis on keeping “the” capitalized in The Arts, said the college relies heavily on donations and gifts from the Tampa community to help reach their goal. “We accept contributions from everyone: alumni, faculty, and even students, but mostly from the community, who appreciate the arts,” said Frank. Donators have the opportunity to choose where their donations go to, which usually results in some of the schools receiving more than others. “It’s mostly due to the size of the program,” said Frank. “The dance program is very small compared to the music program, so there may not be as much awareness. Not to mention, it’s easier to put on jazz event than putting on a dance recital.” Nonetheless, COTA isn’t giving up on their desired goal. The school offers over 70 scholarships providing $150,000 to help make the experience worthwhile for the students. But that’s not the only way someone can help give to the college.              “Our students learn best from other artists, but again, that’s costly,” said Frank. “Artists might be more interested in teaching master classes and we welcome that, too.”   The college enriches the experience by endowed chairs and dictatorship. According to the USF:Unstoppable website students can even expand the experience with “hundreds of opportunities each semester, in every discipline, whether on stage, at an exhibition, in a concert hall or at an architecture charrette.”