President’s Corner

Welcome back to campus and our winter wonderland. We started this year with a great fall and I am looking forward to a wonderful second semester. Lots of wonderful things are happening on campus and we are trying new ways to support student’s ideas, leadership, and initiatives, both as individuals and in groups. One of the wonderful things happening on campus is a burgeoning student interest in the arts. You only need to take a look around campus to see that a vibrant arts scene is developing. I love seeing our students’ increasing involvement in the arts. Students are leading the way for Colgate to become even stronger in the arts through your accomplishments in creative writing and music, media and visual arts, theatre and dance. We are certainly starting from a good place as Colgate already has a great history of producing accomplished artists. Francesca Zambello ’78 was the first woman to direct an opera at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and is back there again this spring to direct Cyrano with Placido Domingo. Joe Berlinger ’83 has won international acclaim for his documentary films, including “Brother’s Keeper” and last year’s “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.” As you can imagine, the list goes on from there.Engagement in and appreciation of the arts is part of the profile of the 21st century leader. Arts are collaborative, interdisciplinary, and provide plenty of material for good conversation; they help people bridge different perspectives and cultures.If you aren’t already doing so, check out some of the wonderful events going on in the arts this spring. Stretch your imagination and expand your ability to think out of the box. From the Bobik Arts Ensemble’s alumni play reading in memory of Jacques Levy this Saturday (January 29), to April’s Dancefest, exhibitions and lectures at the Picker and Clifford galleries, “One Night Stands” at Creative Arts House, scores of lectures and readings sponsored by departments and programs across campus – there is certainly no shortage of events at Colgate.Involvement in the arts is a way of showing well-roundedness and one of the signs of a liberally educated citizen.