Art Department Mission Statement –The program’s primary goal is to develop the visual artist. Students are encouraged to take risks, speculate, explore, research, create and pursue artworks of quality. Students are asked to deal in materials and in ideas, to explore past perceptions of the world of art and their interior and exterior worlds of imagination and values. These expectations call for a commitment to study, a disciplined approach to work and a willingness to integrate personal and cultural identities in their artwork.