The School of Art is implementing a new foundations coordinator position for the fall semester to turn introductory classes into an introductory program.

“Foundations provide a kind of way for everyone to begin to get to the same place, regardless of where they came from,” School of Art Director Christine Havice said.

Foundations courses are the basic lower-level classes in the School of Art, professor Gianna Commito said. Commito is part of the search committee made up of different faculty members who are looking at the candidates.

There is currently a series of foundations courses, but the school is looking for someone who can tie those courses together.

The four final candidates came to campus to hold lectures as part of the regular interview process,

Havice said. The candidates talk about the experience as well as their primary research or creative activities.

“We’re looking for somebody who has the experience and the skill to teach classes that are offered at the foundation level in the School of Art,” Commito said.

The foundations coordinator position will offer a direct line of communication between the introductory level classes and the upper-division faculty.

Commito said the professors in the School of Art will benefit from the new position because the students will be a step ahead of where they might have been without the tight-knit introductory classes.

The professors in the School of Art will not be the only people to benefit from the new foundations coordinator position. With the foundations coordinator, students will have a tool they would not normally have until their upper-division classes.

“The most important thing is [the students] will have contact with a full-time professor right from the beginning,” Commito said.

The committee has made its recommendation, but that selection has to be approved before the job can be offered.

Contact Student Affairs reporter Nicole Aikens

at [email protected].