The College of Fine Arts is now the College of the Arts, but students wonder if the degree will be just as fine.
The change is designed to reflect a more encompassing name for all of the programs under the college, said Leah Craig, the public relations and marketing manager for the College of the Arts.
“‘Fine’ no longer represents the college as it used to,” she said.
“It’s not just visual arts,” Craig said. “Now we have music, dance, theater and digital arts programs.”
The College of the Arts houses the School of Art and Art History, School of Music, School of Theatre and Dance, the UF Center for Arts in Medicine, Center for World Arts, Digital Worlds Institute and University Galleries.
Adreenah Wynn, a 20-year-old UF art and technology junior, said she prefers “College of Fine Arts” over the new title.
“My friends and I wish we could have found out about it through email or a newsletter. I only found out through Facebook,” Wynn said. “I wish we had more input.”
She is also concerned about how the name change will affect her degree.
“The ‘fine’ in fine arts is very prestigious,” Wynn said. She said she thinks that “fine arts” caters to a specific type of discipline and sees “the arts” as too general.
Ivette De Santiago, a 20-year-old UF art and technology junior, is also concerned about how the change will be reflected on her diploma. She doesn’t see the name change having a direct effect on students.
“As long as it doesn’t affect the curriculum, I don’t think it will change what will happen in the classroom,” she said.
She said she fully supported the more inclusive nature of the new title.
“When you think of fine arts, you think of painters, illustrators, drawers,” De Santiago said. “You don’t think of dancers or musicians.”
Craig said the name change will come slowly, but students should start seeing changes happening very soon, particularly over the Summer and Fall, with changes in building names, websites, brochures and other literature.
Students like Wynn don’t see immediate change coming either. She said she thinks that it will probably take at least a year for her and her peers to even start saying College of the Arts.
[A version of this story ran on pages 1 - 4 on 5/22/2014 under the headline "College of Arts name change causes identity crisis"]
