Augsburg University announced today the creation of the John N. Schwartz \u201967 School of the Arts, a destination arts hub for music, theater, and art and design. An estate gift from Augsburg alumnus John N. Schwartz \u201967 will establish the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith their power to connect, illuminate, break boundaries, and build relationships, the arts have been a vital part of Augsburg\u2019s mission and community life for more than 150 years,\u201d said University President Paul C. Pribbenow. \u201cAt a time when support for the arts in public life and education has become contingent and vulnerable, Augsburg is tremendously grateful for John Schwartz\u2019s visionary leadership in establishing an institutional home for music, theater, and art for many future generations of students.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Schwartz School of the Arts will house Augsburg\u2019s 12 undergraduate majors in the performing and visual arts, as well as the master of music therapy program. Students and faculty in the departments of theater, music, and art and design will have new and greater opportunities for interdisciplinary, collaborative work across disciplines, including with other areas of the university.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that a standalone arts school at a place like Augsburg\u2014a university with deep commitments to access and equity, and one of the most diverse institutions in the upper Midwest\u2014will send a strong message to potential students that the arts are for everyone. Your gifts are valued here,\u201d said Paula O\u2019Loughlin, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs.<\/p>\n
The performing and visual arts at Augsburg have long reflected the university\u2019s mission in the commitments to artistic excellence, intentional diversity, civic engagement, and social justice embodied in each discipline. The new school is a refinement to the university\u2019s institutional structure following the change from Augsburg College to Augsburg University in 2017. It also aligns with Augsburg\u2019s role as an anchor institution in the Cedar-Riverside community of Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Schwartz School of the Arts will be a key venue for Augsburg to explore with our neighbors and our students how to build and expand access to cultural assets,\u201d said Pribbenow.<\/p>\n
As an undergraduate, John Schwartz sang baritone in the Augsburg choir, igniting a love of choral music that persisted throughout his 40-year career as a healthcare executive in Milwaukee, Oregon, Montana, and Chicago.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy experiences at Augsburg are a perfect example of how a well-rounded liberal arts education provides a pathway not just to a career but to a full and meaningful life,\u201d said Schwartz. \u201cWhether singing in a choral ensemble, performing in a theater production, or sculpting in the studio, the arts provide opportunities to grow and connect that don\u2019t exist anywhere else. With this new school, Augsburg is clearly stating that the performing and visual arts are central to our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
A current member of Augsburg\u2019s Board of Regents, Schwartz has long supported Augsburg music students. His previous gifts to the university established the Leland B. Sateren \u201935 professorship and chair of music, the John N. Schwartz professor of choral leadership and conducting, and the John N. Schwartz and James A. Mosley scholarship.<\/p>\n
The Schwartz School of the Arts is one of a number of transformational outcomes of Augsburg\u2019s ongoing Great Returns: We\u2019re All In<\/em> comprehensive fundraising campaign. With a goal to raise $125 million, it is the largest such campaign in Augsburg history.<\/p>\n Augsburg University offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to approximately 3,200 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and nearby Rochester, Minnesota, location. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings. To learn more, visit Augsburg.edu\/about<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Augsburg University announced today the creation of the John N. Schwartz \u201967 School of the Arts, a destination arts hub for music, theater, and art and design. An estate gift from Augsburg alumnus John N. Schwartz \u201967 will establish the school. \u201cWith their power to connect, illuminate, break boundaries, and build relationships, the arts have …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3231],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donors","category-media-advisories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11248"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11250,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11248\/revisions\/11250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}About Augsburg<\/h4>\n