Last year Phoenix became the fifth largest city in the United States, behind only New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. Despite its growing national stature, the Valley of the Sun still is considered by many an unconventional setting for one of the top fine arts colleges in the United States.

It may be the area’s relative “youth.” Arizona has been a state for fewer than 100 years. It may be our unique desert environs, which still are considered rugged and inhospitable by some.

But much like our desert home itself, the Herberger College rewards those who journey here with a unique blend of inspiration, beauty and exacting demands. The college offers a new kind of creative space for truly outstanding students and faculty to learn and grow. Most of our academic disciplines are ranked in the top 20 nationally, many specialty programs are listed in the top 10, and some have surged into the top five.

The sharp ascent of Herberger College programs in national rankings reflects a growing appreciation of the work being done here and the college’s rising stature on the national scene. ASU’s university-wide design imperative, spearheaded in 2003-2004 by

ASU President Michael Crow and intended to transform ASU into a “new American university,” also is gaining national attention. Dr. Crow’s plan calls for all ASU’s colleges and schools to grow and prosper to the extent of our individual intellectual and market limits. The Herberger College will do just that, developing a presence on the new ASU Downtown Phoenix campus and the ASU Polytechnic campus (formerly ASU East).

The plan fits well with the college’s mission to push past conventional boundaries and incubate creativity in new kinds of spaces. In 2003-2004, the college’s students, faculty and staff could be found at:

• The Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, where we have collaborated since 1998 on projects for patients, families and caregivers that promote community and healing through the arts;
• Schools in Tolleson, where our art education faculty are working with school district arts specialists on potential programming and program support, professional development, recruiting and admissions;
• Schools in Phoenix’s Murphy School District, where an expanded partnership is enhancing arts education and enrichment in school and after-school programs for an intergenerational community;
• The Sylvestre S. Herrera School for the Fine Arts, Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley, the Thomas J. Pappas School for Migrant Youth and the Peoria School District, where the Department of Dance’s student dance troupe, Dance Arizona Repertory Theatre (DART), engage youth in collaborative artistic workshops;
• The YWCA Haven House, a transitional housing program for women and their children who have left abusive relationships, where art professor Muriel Magenta continues to help residents develop a forum for personal expression through an Internet art workshop;
• Catholic Social Services, where associate professor of dance Naomi Jackson facilitates weekly movement sessions for a group of refugee Muslim women as a means to enhance their health and well-being;
• The offices of nine major arts organizations around the Valley, where 18 Herberger College student interns work each academic year through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant from the City of Phoenix;
• The Kerr Cultural Center, where faculty and student performers present a series of entertaining and informative family-oriented public arts events throughout the year; and
• The MonOrchid gallery in downtown Phoenix, where office space put us in close proximity to the many arts and civic groups with whom we are forging relationships.

Though we will continue to reach outwards, as called for by Dr. Crow’s imperative and our mission, the Tempe campus will remain our primary home. Soon we should have a new space here in which to carry out that mission. In 2006, ASU is scheduled to break ground on the Arts and Business Gateway, a multi-use complex to be located on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive. The team of builders and architects being assembled to lead this project is perhaps the strongest in the world at this moment in time. The results of their efforts at long last will provide us with facilities appropriate to a college recognized as a national leader in artistic innovation and collaboration.

I thank you for your past contributions on behalf of the college’s students, faculty and staff. I also look forward to your continued support as we work together to build the future of the Herberger College of Fine Arts in this rare and wonderful land of cactus, clouds and canyons.

J. Robert Wills, Dean