What's in a title? The developing role of an artist-critic in the university

Arts professionals within higher education struggle with identity. Dual roles across departments, the changing role of the arts professor and non-traditional positions have challenged the notion of the studio arts instructor and whether institutional expectations are the best way to think about the future of the arts in higher education. As a veteran arts professor, dean, art historian, art critic and artist ‐ my role is not as straightforward as I originally thought it might be as an undergrad studio art major. Through a series of significant streams in my education and personal life, including successes and failures in the academic and professional art world ‐ a new identity emerged that is not represented in search profiles, academic departments or administrative positions.

Morrison, George (1919–2000)

George Morrison was a Native American (Chippewa) painter who played an active role in the formation of Abstract Expressionism. Morrison attended the Art Students League in New York City from 1943–1946, and was considered a member of the New York School, exhibiting alongside Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Ad Reinhardt, Louise Bourgeois, Mark Rothko, and others. Morrison’s paintings rarely contained overtly Indian signifiers, yet his early interest in nature and the unconscious, as well as his engagement with Surrealist practices such as automatism, made him an ally of modern primitivism. His experimentation with non-figural and biomorphic forms led him to develop a mature style of abstraction that combined color field and gestural approaches: he is best known for large-scale paintings, drawings, and wood collages that convey rhythmic and tactile sensations of the urban and natural environments. From 1970 to 1983 Morrison was a member of the faculty of Studio Arts at the University of Minnesota, and from 1983 until his death in 2000 he lived and worked on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation on the shore of Lake Superior. In 2004, Morrison was one of two artists featured in the inaugural exhibition of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Nudging waste diversion at Western State Colorado University: application of behavioral insights

Purpose This paper aims to test a nudge, or intervention, designed through behavioral insights at a university campus to discover cost-effective means for increasing recycling participation and methods for estimating waste removal cost savings. Design/methodology/approach A series of studies were conducted demonstrating the effectiveness of behaviorally based recycling interventions. Study locations included an academic building, a performing arts/studio arts building, a sports complex and a campus library. All locations already had robust and visible recycling programs in operation. Following an observation period, modifications were made to the locations of waste and recycling containers. Waste auditing procedures were used to quantify existing waste diversion rates, and changes to those rates following changes in choice architecture. Findings Waste diversion rates improved and significant reductions in the proportion of recyclable materials in the trash were observed at all four study locations. Results indicate that the nudge of changing choice architecture can enhance recycling programs that are already recognized as successful. This paper also explains methods for estimating waste removal, which are important as it enables calculations of cost savings from such interventions. Finally, targeting plastic bottles to increase return on investment is recommended. Practical implications Other colleges and universities can apply these methods to improve existing recycling programs and realize cost savings. Originality value This is the first study to investigate the use of a nudge on waste management issues on a university campus. An easy-to-replicate method, which allows measuring realized cost savings, is explained.

MOOCs and the Art Studio

The challenges of MOOCs are currently a significant issue for universities. New contexts of openness, massiveness and collaboration on the Web are challenging traditional forms of university education delivery. These challenges are catalysts for change both generally and in studio pedagogies in particular. This chapter focus on how disruption caused to traditional art studio teaching models occur through intersection with MOOC activity. The provision of studio arts subjects by MOOC providers is also shown to be innovative for MOOC design and delivery. The authors show these challenges by drawing on their participation in two arts based MOOCs, The Art of Photography and Practice Based Research in the Arts. The MOOC pedagogies of openness, massiveness and collaboration, provide opportunities inherent in studio-based arts delivery which contemporary MOOC platforms rarely achieve. The authors draw into question potential frameworks for evaluating choosing and designing contemporary MOOC activity. This chapter falls within the ‘policy issues in MOOCs design' with specific relevance for the topic of ‘technology and change management for the MOOCs environment'.