A new decision by officials in the College of Visual and Performing Arts will now allow freshmen to declare a major in surface pattern design.

Originally, the college planned to let only sophomores, juniors and seniors finish the degree. The change came after students vented their frustrations to VPA administration at a controversial March 4 meeting, according to an e-mail obtained by The Daily Orange March 6 that VPA Dean Ann Clarke sent to SPD students, faculty and alumni.

The program will still be cut after current students finish their degree, the e-mail said, and administration will ‘reassess circumstances as they evolve.’ The deadline for freshmen to declare a major in VPA is Thursday.

Lucinda Havenhand, Department of Design chair, and Clarke did not return multiple calls and e-mails for comment.

Arthur Jensen, associate dean of VPA, did not return calls for comment, but gave an official statement from Clarke via e-mail on the program cut and the direction the Department of Design will be taking.

The decision to not accept additional students into the SPD program was driven by several factors, the statement said, including breaking down barriers among design disciplines, integrating curricula and linking classes and projects to VPA’s Collaboration Laboratory.

A 2004 National Association of Schools of Art and Design review of several smaller programs within the department also propelled the program cut, the statement said. Chairs and faculty across VPA proposed possible mergers of smaller programs, aimed at creating shared curricula across these programs. SPD’s curriculum will be integrated into the school’s interior design and fashion design programs.

‘Our students are passionate about their work and the existing program, and it is understandable that many of them see what is happening as a loss rather than a venture into new directions,’ Clarke said in the statement. ‘We feel that in time these and future students will recognize the new vision emerging among the design disciplines as not only cutting edge but as ultimately enabling our students to present themselves as even more marketable to a greater variety of design industries.’

The decision to allow freshmen to major in SPD will benefit Ethan Lunkenheimer, a freshman in VPA and one of the first males entering the program in nearly a decade. He said he plans to declare his major as surface pattern design this week.

Lunkenheimer was originally looking into communications design until his Japanese Design History professor asked students if they wanted to explore the SPD studio. When he visited the studio and saw all the designs, he was hooked.

After hearing that SPD would be cut, Lunkenheimer started looking into other schools, like the Fashion Institution of Technology in New York City.

‘I seriously considered it,’ he said. ‘But I like SU because it’s 20 minutes away from home. I didn’t want to be in a major that I didn’t really like though, or when I got out I wouldn’t really be liking what I do.’

SPD students at the required meeting were upset that their classes would be integrated with the fashion and interior design programs – part of the integrative curricula the dean discussed in her statement.

But Lunkenheimer said he thinks it’s this move that shows that SPD is often misinterpreted. He said in trying to rethink the design department, the university is losing out on a specific major.

‘People think it should just be tacked onto this or that, onto fashion design or interior design. But overall, it’s a narrow major and really specific,’ he said. ‘Yet it has so many opportunities to look into other areas. There’s so many other mediums that you can work with.’

Administration has largely ignored the concerns of the students over the years, SPD students have said. Dated and neglected studio space and computer labs have contributed to students’ frustration. Lunkenheimer said instead of making the program smaller, administration should try to help it flourish.

‘I don’t think the school is supporting (SPD),’ he said. ‘And they haven’t been in years, so I think that’s really the downfall of it. If the students put up a fight and we go forward and really show them what surface pattern is and how it affects everyone, they might be able to save it.’

Christine Albanese, a senior SPD major who spoke out against the program cut in the March 4 meeting, said freshmen being able to take the major is an accomplishment for current students who fought for it at the meeting.

‘We basically said that there are freshmen who came to SU for SPD, and VPA has to allow them to declare it, seeing that they’ve already spent a year’s tuition waiting to sign up,’ she said.

Albanese said she thinks the school will be missing out by cutting SPD because of its superior reputation over its 70-year history and its employment rate after graduation. VPA is eliminating the only major that has a purely decorative focus, she said.

The cut will likely create a decline in the number of new designers available to companies looking to hire for pattern design, Albanese said, adding that she’s worried about future networking opportunities. Companies with SPD alumni, including Martha Stewart Living and Victoria’s Secret, frequently look to VPA’s surface pattern design program for interns, advice and information, she said.

‘I hope they take the time to re-evaluate their decision to cut, and to see that SPD is a valuable program here at SU,’ she said. ‘I doubt they will though. They seem pretty set on killing surface pattern.’

Albanese said she encourages freshmen to talk to current students and faculty in SPD before they decide against it.

‘I hope freshmen can see how valuable surface pattern is, and aren’t afraid to take on this major – even if the administration doesn’t believe in us.’

blbump@syr.edu

Published on March 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm