Mission

• Embraces the values of a liberal arts education
• Fosters lifelong intellectual pursuit
• Develops creative, collaborative, and communication skills
• Enables professional careers

Vision

Core Values

Diversity - We respect others values, diversity of opinions, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We are committed to promoting greater diversity in the college.

Integrity - We are committed to the principles of truth, honesty, and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service - We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Intellectual Freedom - We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge. We are committed to academic freedom.

Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors, and we are committed to continuous improvement. We are committed to outstanding research, scholarly, and creative activity, and effective high-quality teaching.

Stewardship of Resources - We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1: Broaden theatre student’s artistic experiences and opportunities on and off the campus.

Critical Success Factors:

• More students out on internships, placed in better companies
• Increased number of guest artists
• More students going to URTA’s and other unified auditions
• Students participating in regional and national conferences

Objectives:

• Build external audition requirements into BFA and upper division performance and production courses
• Establish internship opportunities with select companies
• Recruit casting directors to audition students on our campus.

• Regular applications for Norris Funds to support guest artists
• Capitalize on Assessment funds to have jury reviewers present workshops while in residence
• Seek external funding source to support regular schedule of guest artists who can contribute to the department productions.

• Organize Audition trips to make efficient use of funds
• Seek external funding support to develop travel scholarships for outstanding students to attend unified auditions and other events which afford employment opportunities
• Promote attendance at URTA auditions as part of assessment.

• Seek external funding to provide financial support for student travel
• Develop department wide competition for funding support for travel to professional meetings
• Encourage faculty attending professional meetings which have debut panels to take qualified graduate students
• Encourage Graduate students to take advantage of GSA travel funds.

Goal 2: Enhance the learning environment to be more conducive to an arts education.

Critical Success Factors:

• More cross fertilization between the arts programs on campus
• Development of interdisciplinary multi-arts programs
• Increased participation by students from music, creative writing and art
• Broaden awareness and involvement of campus, local community and region in OSU cultural events

Objectives:

• Explore establishment of music theatre component to the curriculum with music program
• Expand minor opportunities with other arts programs to address specific student career goals
• Explore script development projects utilizing student performers with creative writing program
• Explore acting for the camera curriculum with Journalism Broadcast department.

• Develop a dance series which integrates music students and dance students in a public performance
• Explore alternative performance venue’s in non traditional spaces such as art galleries, Union Balcony etc. in non traditional public performances
• Explore digital media as a crossroads to inter-departmental collaborations.

• Apply for student activity fee funds to support productions costs
• Establish an internship opportunity for Public Relations students interested in promotions and marketing
• Create an external sponsorship program through sale of ads and other options to partially fund publications and paid marketing efforts
• Identify faculty from respective programs who have marketing responsibility for department arts programming.

Goal 3: Attract and retain talented and qualified undergraduate and graduate theatre students.

Critical Success Factors:

• Higher academic entrance scores for incoming freshmen and graduate students
• Improved quality in production program
• Increased student placement in MFA and PhD programs
• Increased student placement in professional theatre companies

Objectives:

• Enhance recruitment materials to better reflect the quality and nature of the programs
• Seek funds to expand availability of scholarships for entering and continuing theatre students
• Provide outreach throughout the state at the secondary school level to better expose students to the quality of the department
• Develop national print.

• Enhance graduate recruitment materials to better reflect the quality and nature of the programs
• Cultivate relations with strong undergraduate programs in the regions that produce students for whom our MA would be an appropriate degree
• Expand the curriculum to appeal to a broader range of interests within the discipline.

• Accelerate student recruitment at secondary schools with high rate of diversity within the student body
• Enhance production programming to better serve a more diverse student population.

• Develop upperclassman mentoring program
• Improve freshman advising to create a stronger, more immediate bond between students and the department
• Monitor student performance to help identify at risk students earlier during their freshman year.

• Monitor student progress through faculty academic advisors
• Develop consistent production eligibility program based on academic performance
• Maintain regular course offering list to ensure availability of courses to keep students on track.

Goal 4: Continue to enhance the programmatic offerings of the department to enrich the education of our students and add to the cultural life of the community and campus.

Critical Success Factors:

• More diversity in the student body within the major
• Expanded production program involvement
• More highly skilled student performers, technicians and designers
• Increased student placement in advanced training programs and the industry
• Greater public access to public performances by campus and local communities

Objectives:

• Redevelop production schedule to enable regularly dance concerts
• Integrate production needs of dance concerts into production course curriculum
• Re allocate course load release time and production assignments for faculty to allow the additional production assignments.

• Seek funds to upgrade salary and subsequent job qualifications for the costume shop manager
• Seek funds to add a professional staff scene shop foreman to oversee day to day operations and maintenance of the Vivia Locke Facility
• Increase student apprentice salaries in production support areas.

• Re-allocate funds to hire adjunct faculty in ballet
• Seek additional funding to add a dance specialist to the faculty
• Continue to integrate dance into the department production program.

• Dependant on student interests and faculty backgrounds, develop funding to support a culturally diverse performance ensemble.

• As student demand increases, add course work to support sub-specializations in areas of technical production and design to include costume, sound, technical direction and other areas as appropriate
• Develop related curricula opportunities outside of the department that can supplement and enhance individual areas of specialization.

• Re-assign faculty within the department to teach Arts Management Core courses in Stillwater
• Work with Tulsa administration to secure funding to add Arts Management program coordinator
• Re-develop supplemental courses to replace MBA classes not available from Business
• Work to re-establish internship opportunities for graduate students in Tulsa at appropriate arts institutions.

Goal 5: Upgrade the teaching facilities to better suit the educational activities necessary to a professionally focused theatre-training program.

Critical Success Factors:

• Courses will be taught in spaces conducive to learning
• Multiple production activities can occur simultaneously
• Production activities will not impinge on instructional activities
• Enhanced performance activities

Objectives:

• Work with the college development office and staff to identify potential funding sources to support an addition to the Seretean Center
• Explore existing space that might be re-assigned for department use that would be more suitable for student production work.

• Work with the Colvin Center to secure dance studio space for use by Theatre Department Dance Students
• Work with College development office and staff to identify potential funding sources to support an addition to Seretean Center
• Identify replacement space so that the basement of the Locke theatre can be returned to its original purpose.

• Seek reallocated space suitable for small rehearsal studios
• Work to include student rehearsal spaces as part of Seretean Center renovation plan.

• Identify renovation funds to make more efficient use of Gundersen hall space
• Seek reallocated space suitable for our script library holdings.

• Work to include extended shop as part of Seretean Center renovation plan.

• Continue to seek Tech Fee funds to supply students with up to date technology
• Devote a portion of each year’s production budgets to acquire new equipment and technological innovations for the department
• Work with College and University to develop an ongoing capital equipment replacement program.

Goal 6: Enhance the professional development opportunities for the faculty enabling broader regional and national creative activity opportunities for faculty.

Critical Success Factors:

• Increased regional and national visibility of the faculty
• Increased faculty knowledge of the professional practices of the entertainment industry
• Expanded faculty involvement in professional organizations
• Improved faculty retention, tenure and promotion rate
• Enhanced image of the University, College and Department

Objectives:

• Continue to monitor excessive use of independent study courses
• Look to the addition of adjunct faculty to assist in the performance and intro courses.

• Work with College and university to increase faculty travel support for faculty to attend national and regional conferences
• Encourage faculty to present at national and regional conferences to remain competitive for college travel programs.

• Work with the college to identify new funds to augment current staff salaries so that more qualified staff can be hired for the department production program
• Work with the college to secure funding for a shop, facility manager that can assume some responsibilities for technical support and facility and equipment maintenance allowing faculty TD more time to work with students.

• Assign TA position to individual faculty needing additional production, or administrative support
• Work with College to increase TA funding to attract more qualified graduate students with the skills to provide efficient support to faculty in various capacities.