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Finding the art in science, math, language… and life<br />
Message from the President David B. Smith<br />
The hypothesis is simple: If you teach students to think critically and<br />
creatively, they’ll apply these skills in the course of all their studies –<br />
and throughout their lives.<br />
Creation. Innovation. Discovery. It all starts with a question.<br />
Whether that questioning happens at the laboratory bench or in the<br />
artist’s studio, alone or in collaboration, the process of exploration and<br />
discovery is the same. In a word, it’s research.<br />
In this year’s President’s Report, we turn the spotlight on <strong>NSCAD</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong>’s growing influence as centre for academic excellence in<br />
visual arts research. And we do so by focussing on its singular defining<br />
feature: the creative process.<br />
In its many forms and iterations, all creative practice is a journey:<br />
one where the process is as instructive as the destination. Where the<br />
tangents you take along the way lead to new perspectives, new possibilities<br />
and new understandings. Where inspiration is made manifest.<br />
This is where innovation lives.<br />
As one of North America’s leading visual arts universities, we nurture the<br />
creative process through studio practice and research. And we’re ideally<br />
suited for the role. <strong>NSCAD</strong> is long-renowned as a creative crossroads:<br />
a place where stellar faculty and leading critical thinkers come together to<br />
shape new ideas and journeys. Our interdisciplinary tradition encourages<br />
forward-thinking, collaborative inquiry across faculties - and beyond, with<br />
other universities, institutions and organizations worldwide.<br />
In the stories that follow, you’ll see the rigour of the creative process at<br />
work. From transforming traditional disciplines to tackling urgent social<br />
needs through design and education, <strong>NSCAD</strong>-driven research is helping<br />
change the way the world thinks and acts.<br />
In early 2012, <strong>NSCAD</strong> will put a public face on the creative process. Our new<br />
Institute for Applied Creativity will serve as a collaborative hub, designed to<br />
meet a growing realization that creativity is the foundation for all innovation,<br />
which in turn drives productivity. Here, individuals and organizations from<br />
outside the visual arts will work alongside <strong>NSCAD</strong> researchers, using a common<br />
medium – creativity – for a common purpose: discovery.<br />
And therein lies the power of the creative process.<br />
“ I’ve always believed in the importance of<br />
critical and creative thinking skills to learning,”<br />
says President David B. Smith. “While<br />
there’s anecdotal evidence demonstrating<br />
how the arts increase learners’ engagement,<br />
I wanted to prove that through a comprehensive<br />
longitudinal research study.”<br />
“ I want to make that link.”<br />
Designed by Smith and authorized Western<br />
Cape Department of Education in South<br />
Africa, <strong>NSCAD</strong>’s Art in Schools Initiative is<br />
a four-year study that measures the impact<br />
of visual arts programming integrated<br />
directly into the non-arts curriculum.<br />
Launched in January 2011, the project<br />
tracks a cohort of 360 students as they<br />
progress from Grade 9 through to Grade 12<br />
at Modderdam High School in Bonteheuwel,<br />
an economically disadvantaged township in<br />
the Western Cape.<br />
“ We look at all the courses – math, science,<br />
social science, Afrikaans and so on – and<br />
pull out assignments that can be turned<br />
into visual arts projects to enhance learning<br />
and exercise the right side of the brain,<br />
not just the left.”<br />
Smith and his team will assess how creative<br />
programming increases learning outcomes<br />
and student engagement by measuring<br />
results like test scores, final grades, class<br />
attendance and graduation rates against<br />
students in the years immediately preceding<br />
and following the study group.<br />
“ The students are already growing in selfesteem,<br />
and we hope they’ll apply this new<br />
confidence to life beyond the classroom.”<br />
On behalf of the faculty, staff, students and Board of Governors of <strong>NSCAD</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong>, I am delighted to present my fifth President’s Report, for the<br />
fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.<br />
view video profile ><br />
www.nscad.ca/report2011/profile-smith.html<br />
<strong>NSCAD</strong> UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2011