Creative Campus | Wesleyan University: Lessons Learned

Wesleyan University: Lessons Learned

Process lessons

Scenes from the Feet to the Fire Common Moment on August 29, 2008 at Wesleyan University. Photos by Nick Lacy.

Scene from the Feet to the Fire Common Moment on August 29, 2008 at Wesleyan University. Photo by Nick Lacy.

Project Administration and Partnership

Select a highly compelling topic of contemporary societal concern that appeals to a wide cross-section of people as a way to galvanize campus and community collaboration
Have at least a six-month planning period with a campus/community planning committee, including all stakeholders; encourage them to invest in the process by giving them leadership opportunities for various project elements; include students
Engage a high-level, fully-tenured faculty member as one of the lead partners, preferably as a co-PI
Secure the active support of senior level administrators, particularly those who govern curriculum (provost/deans) so that the project may effect lasting change on campus
Delineate roles and responsibilities for project partners during the planning phase
Identify community partners early and ensure that their institutional needs are met by the project; empower them with real tasks so that they share responsibility for the project’s success
Implement the project over at least two academic years
Meet regularly and provide forums for discussion and volunteerism throughout the course of the project; be inclusive in decision making and planning
Invite the lead artist(s) to consider carefully their ability to partner on a project for the long term and be flexible and prepared should those artists need to disengage before the project is over
Brand and market the project as a package that ties together otherwise disparate courses, modules, performances, lectures, exhibits, etc.
Draft the evaluation plan alongside the implementation plan; assign responsibility for evaluation elements in advance; consider hiring a dedicated project evaluator
Engage a videographer who is also a skilled interviewer and document all aspects of the project

Pedagogical models

For successful co-teaching, ensure that research interests of partners intersect, that disciplines are presented to students non-hierarchically, and that adequate planning is invested in co-creation of lesson plans
Advertise to students the incorporation of another discipline into any course in advance
Try class modules as a strategy to introduce faculty and students to interdisciplinary engagement
Advocate for the university to fund course relief in order to enable faculty members to experiment with co-teaching over the course of a semester

Artist integration

Engage resident faculty artists as well as visiting artists
Position artists as senior researchers and co-equal scholars to non-arts faculty
Include visiting artists in curricular planning and programming to emphasize the importance of the arts in a liberal arts university and to illustrate artistic opportunities in the university setting
Emphasize the rigor of creative work; create a frame of reference that exposes students to the role of creativity in all disciplines
Seek the synthesis of arts and non-arts disciplines, where one is not in service to the other, but rather both are acting in dialogue to deepen understanding