Welcome to the inaugural issue of E-News, our first College of the Arts electronic newsletter. Newsletters are not new to our College of the Arts. Over the years, there have been many – some were printed, others were posted to our Web site. Mostly they focused on individual departments. The inspiration behind E-News, however, was to share with you ALL that is happening inside the College of the Arts – the exciting mix of news from our five academic departments, the accomplishments of our students and faculty, the professional strides of our alumni, and the extraordinary work being presented within our art galleries, performance spaces and community programs.

Whether you are a student, alumnus, donor or friend, I hope you will delight as I do with the successes of our creative community. Our DuMont Television Center is well on its way towards producing high definition programming, thanks to the university’s commitment and our staff’s efforts to bringing state of the art equipment to the facility. Likewise the students of our recently named John J. Cali School of Music await with great enthusiasm the soon to open new building which will house all new classrooms, a recital hall and a music therapy suite. We owe a great debt of gratitude to many, but especially to John J. and Rose Cali as well as our university’s president, Dr. Susan A. Cole, without whose unwavering support we could not realize this venture.

Beyond bricks and mortar, our programs and people inspire us daily. This year marked our first “Theatre Night Awards” which recognized the talents of our state’s high school students. Our second annual “Theatre Day for Teachers” likewise supported our high schools’ teachers, providing professional development, networking and more.

Read about Jorge Cacheiro’s production of Homburg, which I hope you will come and see. Then look at our calendars for what else is in store – a potpourri of theatre, dance and music performances in our wonderful Alexander Kasser Theatre (one of six performance spaces on campus); the exhibitions in our award winning George Segal Gallery; and some of our region’s renowned artists, critics and filmmakers participating in our Film Forum and Art Forum speaker series.

Of course none of this happens without some tremendous support. I hope our “Thank You to Donors” page expresses how much we value the help of so many –our donors, community friends and alumni who contribute to the college, attend our productions, and just plain make us proud on their post-graduation paths.

Montclair State University is celebrating its centennial anniversary - recognizing 100 years of tremendous growth and fellowship. The College of the Arts has been a major part of this growth. Please come with us as we continue the journey. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this Spring 2009 issue of E-News.

Dr. Geoffrey W. Newman
Dean, College of the Arts