In that light we are united in our mission to guide our students in both the making of their own art and in their conceptual, historical, social, and professional understanding of our many arts, which vary widely in our multi-disciplinary department. Included are drawing, painting, sculpting, and computer-imaging; musical composition and performance; theatre design and its crafts, along with directing and acting for the stage; and the effective communication of ideas, beliefs and of the self through the rhetorical arts, especially for business, the professions and for public service.

Our standards of excellence match the scope of the Department.From personal discipline and responsibility; to the intellectual, emotional, and imaginative rigors of creativity; on to technical and formal execution of a high order: we expect our students to "maximize their humanity", as Aristotle said. Freed from the bondages of artistic disengagement and cultural provincialism, they are able thus to make their own telling signatures, to appreciate their own and other cultures, to gain happy livelihoods, or - as we would prefer and as many choose - to do all three.

Finally, and integral to our mission, is our leadership in the cultural life of the College. Whether they be visual exhibitions, plays, concerts, readings, lectures, workshops, or jam sessions, the events that students, faculty, and guest-artists have mounted and continue to mount bring joyful enrichment to York and its surrounding communities.