Department of Visual and Literary Arts

Art and Art History

110 Visual Arts Building, (307) 766-3269
Web site: www.uwyo.edu/art
Department Head: Ricki Klages

Professors:

ASHLEY HOPE CARLISLE, B.F.A. University of Southern Mississippi 1997; M.F.A. University of Georgia 2002; Professor of Art 2019, 2003.

LEAH HARDY, B.F.A. Kansas University 1987; M.F.A. Indiana University 1990; Professor of Art 2014, 2002.

MARGARET HAYDON, B.A. Oberlin College 1977; M.F.A. San Francisco State University 1989; Professor of Art 2015, 2002.

RICKI KLAGES, B.F.A. University of Arizona 1984; M.A. University of New Mexico 1991; M.F.A. 1993; Professor of Art 2012, 1996.

MARK RITCHIE, B.F.A. University of Kansas 1986; M.F.A. Indiana University 1990; Professor of Art 2007, 1995.

DOUG RUSSELL, B.F.A. Columbia College 1990; M.A. University of Iowa 1995; M.F.A. 1996; Professor of Art 2019, 2005.

Associate Professors:

DIANA BAUMBACH, B.F.A. Washington University in St. Louis 2003; M.F.A. Southern Illinois University 2007; Associate Professor of Art 2015, 2009.

PETER FINE, B.A. California State University, Chico 1993; M.F.A. University of Arizona 2004; Associate Professor of Art 2017, 2013.

RACHEL SAILOR, B.A. Oregon State University 1992; M.A. University of Oregon 1994; Ph.D. University of Iowa 2007; Associate Professor of Art 2015, 2011.

SHELBY SHADWELL, B.F.A. Washington University in St. Louis 2003; M.F.A. Southern Illinois University 2007; Associate Professor of Art 2015, 2010.

Assistant Professors:

BRANDON GELLIS, B.A. University of California at Santa Cruz 2002; M.F.A. University of Denver 2015; Assistant Professor of Art 2015.

KATHLEEN FRYE, B.F.A. University of Colorado at Denver 1987; M.F.A. Colorado State University 1995; M.A. City College, New York; Assistant Professor of Art 2018.

Senior Lecturer:

PATRICK KIKUT, B.F.A. University of Colorado 1990; M.F.A. University of Montana 1994; Senior Lecturer 2019, 2014.

Associate Academic Professional Lecturer:

BAILEY RUSSELL, B.A. Princeton University 2001; M.A. New York University 2004.

Associate Academic Professional Research Scientist:

DAVID L. JONES Jr., B.F.A. University of Georgia 2000; M.F.A. University of Tennessee 2004.

Assistant Academic Professional Lecturer:

RANI ROBISON, B.A. University of Utah 1999; M.F.A. University of Oregon 2008.

Professors Emeriti:

Deaderick, Edwards, Evans, Flach, Forrest, Reif, Russin (Distinguished Professor of Art), Schaefer

The department of Art supports the creative, aesthetic and cultural development of students within the university community and serves the cultural and educational needs of the state. The department is dedicated to preparing its graduates to assume leadership positions in their professional lives while maintaining an inner commitment to the aesthetic standards of their chosen discipline.

The department fosters a unique combination of innovation, tradition, aestheticism and practicality, by providing a professional visual arts education built on a strong University Studies Program (USP) foundation.

Undergraduate Major

The department offers course work leading to the B.A. and B.F.A. degrees in art. Based on their goals and career plans, students in consultation with a faculty adviser select the appropriate degree plan. Students major in art with areas of study in one or more of the following areas:

Drawing
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Ceramics
Sculpture
Metalsmithing

Students may also declare an art major with a concentration in graphic design.

The department also offers course work leading to the B.A. in Art History and to the B.A. in Art Education.

University Studies Program (USP)

First-Year Seminar (FYS) Credits: 3
Communication I (COM1) Credits: 3
Communication II (COM2) Credits: 3
Communication III (COM3) Credits: 3
Human Culture (H) Credits: 6
U.S. & Wyoming Constitutions (V) Credits: 3
Quantitative Reasoning (Q) Credits: 3 (test level)
Physical & Natural World (PN) Credits: 6

College of Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum

U.S. Diversity (ASD) Credits: 3
Global Awareness (ASG) Credits: 3
Upper division requirement Credits: 42
42 credit hours of 3000- and 4000-level courses.

Visual Communications Center. The graphic design/visual communication area provides students with a “human centered” approach to learning that challenges and nurtures them to think conceptually and prepares them to be flexible in an international community that is continually being influenced by new ideas, tools and technology.

The visual communications center is a facility for undergraduate research that functions as a classroom, studio and high-end technology space and incorporates industry standard tools for graphic design, computer graphics and digital art exploration.

Department Policy. An art class may require additional meeting times, so that students may fully participate in the Visiting Artist Program and the UWAM lecture series.

As a matter of policy, the art department reserves the right to retain any works created by students it deems worthy for the purposes of exhibition until the end of the academic year.

The art department studios are the primary instructional classrooms. As a matter of policy, access to the studios and use of the equipment is reserved for students who are formally registered for scheduled courses and are following a prescribed curriculum.

Scholarships. The department has several scholarships for qualified students at all stages in the program. See Department of Art for a full list of scholarships.

Academic and Career Advisement. Faculty advisers work closely with art students to guide and direct their progress through the declared degree program and course of study. Through the visiting Artist Program, the UW Art Museum and internship placements, the department provides numerous opportunities and role models for a professional life in the visual arts. Through consultation and discussion with faculty advisers, art students consider their interests and abilities in relation to the many and varied careers in the arts and art related fields. Many graduates go directly into industry, on to pursue graduate studies or take the next step in their career plan. On a competitive basis upon graduation, majors may participate in the Post Undergraduate Internship Program where they prepare a portfolio for graduate school and gain additional experience in the studio and the classroom setting.

Minors

A minor is offered in graphic design, museum studies, all studio areas and in art history. Further information may be found on the department’s web site. Please note: Art Studio B.A. and B.F.A. degree students cannot have a minor in a specific studio discipline. Art History B.A. students may have a minor in studio disciplines, and Arts Studio B.A./B.F.A. students may have a minor in Art History.

Creative Writing

201 Hoyt Hall, (307) 766-6453
FAX: (307) 766-3189
Web site: www.uwyo.edu/creativewriting/
Program Director: Andrew Fitch

Professors:

ALYSON HAGY, B.A. Williams College 1982; M.F.A. University of Michigan 1985; Professor of Creative Writing 2008, 1996.

HARVEY HIX, B.A. Belmont College 1982; M.A. University of Texas, Austin 1985; Ph.D. 1987; Professor of Philosophy and Creative Writing 2015.

FRIEDA E. KNOBLOCH, B.A. Cornell University 1985; Ph.D. University of Minnesota 1994; Professor of American Studies and Creative Writing 2014, 1997.

JEFFREY A. LOCKWOOD, B.S. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 1982; Ph.D. Louisiana State University 1985; Professor of Philosophy and Creative Writing 2006.

BRAD WATSON, B.A. Mississippi State University 1978; MFA University of Alabama 1985. Professor of Creative Writing 2017, 2005.

Associate Professors:

ANDREW FITCH, B.A. University of Wisconsin, Madison 1997; Ph.D. Graduate Center of the City University of New York 2009; Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing 2015, 2009. KATE NORTHROP, B.A. University of Pennsylvania 1991; M.F.A. University of Iowa 1995; Associate Professor of Creative Writing 2008.

Senior Lecturer:

APRIL HEANEY, B.A. University of Wyoming 1998; M.A. 2000. Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing 2015, 2005.

Associate Lecturers:

PAUL BERGSTRAESSER, B.A. Oberlin College 1989; M.A. Northern Michigan University 2000; Ph.D. University of Illinois, Chicago 2007; Associate Lecturer in English and Creative Writing 2013, 2007.

VAL PEXTON, B.A. Humboldt State University 1986; B.A. University of Wyoming 1998; M.A. 2001; M.F.A. 2008; Associate Lecturer in English and Creative Writing 2013, 2009.

We are writers. Our principles follow from what claims us as writers as we guide our students in the creation of their own work. We offer a commitment to art and to the development of community through art. We offer an immersion in making, a chance to discover, to create serious work without pretense, to collaborate, to shake off assumptions and anxieties.

To be first and foremost concerned with making does not mean we take refuge from the world. It means we begin by supporting the deepest, most intelligent engagement with what matters to us as writers. A critical distance from the literary and academic marketplaces allows us to engage with them in a more thoughtful manner once we have found our authentic calling-that which we are truly compelled to explore. Our values will never map perfectly onto the concerns of institutions, and that is good. We strive to create the finest conditions for the making of art when we remain in an eccentric orbit of our own, one that overlaps with the other orbits, yet remains, as much as possible, guided by our own principles which include:

Making: we require the serious, committed, ongoing process of writing and revision.

Range: we cultivate a diversity of taste, form, genre, experience, and background, as well as an open understanding of what might constitute professional accomplishment.

Flexibility: we invite our writers to pursue their own creative and intellectual goals, to tailor the program in individual ways.

Curiosity: we urge creative and intellectual roaming: cross-genre work, interdisciplinary study, the movement across what are usually understood as boundaries; we encourage students to imagine possibilities beyond what is already imagined for them by the program and the university.

Community: we foster an environment that sustains listening, investment in the work of others, collaboration, rigorous expectation, generosity and, at the same time, respect for solitude.

Integrity: we challenge students to engage in deep investigation, to find their intent as a writer and to commit to it fully.

Graduate Study

The Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts offers two areas of concentration: fiction and creative non-fiction.

Program Specific Admission Requirements

In addition to the minimum requirements set forth in this Catalog, the Creative Writing M.F.A. Program requires that students demonstrate by means of an official transcript that they have a solid undergraduate record. The M.F.A. program welcomes degrees in any discipline from four-year colleges or universities. Candidates submit GRE general test scores, three letters of recommendation, a writing sample consisting of no more than 25 pages of prose, a 500-word statement of purpose and a vita. Students should consult the M.F.A. web site or contact the department for specific admission information and deadlines.

Program Specific Graduate Assistantships

We are a fully-funded program, meaning that we accept only as many students as we can support with graduate assistantships. Full assistantships carry an annual stipend and remission of tuition and fees, and require the teaching of one section per semester, or equivalent work assignment. M.F.A. students are expected to teach freshman English.

Each fall, the English department conducts a week-long orientation for new teaching assistants and a subsequent series of colloquia. Each graduate assistant is assigned to an experienced teacher in the English department as a mentor, to be available throughout the semester for consultation on teaching and grading techniques.