RISD INVITATION (from Jon to RISD Provost)

Jay Coogan, Provost
Rhode Island School of Design
Two College Street
Providence, RI 02903-2784

Dear Provost Coogan,

I write to to inform you of an invitation recently extended to Barbara van Eckardt, made on behalf of the Consortium for the Liberal Education of Artists (CLEA). She has been invited to attend CLEA's 2007 bi-annual conference, to be held at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, from April 11 – 13 . We hope that you can encourage her attendance at this gathering.

CLEA was founded more than a decade ago to provide a forum for liberal arts teachers and scholars who have made their careers at conservatories and schools specializing in the training of artists. We are dedicated to conversation and exchange that will help us to better fulfill our mission on our respective campuses. Participating CLEA schools currently include Columbia College Chicago, Cornish College of the Arts, The Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, New World School of the Arts, North Carolina School of the Arts, the Peabody Conservatory, Purchase College--SUNY, and the University of the Arts.

Over the years, the brief our members carry has expanded. At first we met every other year to discuss issues of mutual interest, but over time we found new ways to help one another. For several years we worked with funders to support varied projects on our home campuses. In recent years teams assembled from member school have paid site visits to other CLEA institutions to help each other evaluate and develop curricula, and to partner with administrative leaders to advance our programs. At present, we are exploring how we can use new technologies to share teaching materials and courses electronically.

Our conferences have never--not once--hosted the reading of a paper! Conference sessions are designed around initiatives launched at member schools and around issues of common concern. Our April conference will follow this model--its explicit focus is currently under discussion, and we hope to speak with Dean van Eckardt as she considers the possibility of joining us.

We make this invitation with hope that RISD will consider membership in CLEA.

We plan to discuss this with Dean van Eckardt in a phone conversation within the next several weeks. We also expect that Steve Tarantal, Dean of the College of Art and Design at U Arts, will be contacting you to explain his school's involvement with CLEA and to solicit RISD's interest.

Thank you very much for your consideration, and we look forward to these conversations,

Sincerely,


Jon Esser