The Arts
A unique strength
Yale’s unique strength in the arts is well known around the globe. No other private university has a full suite of professional schools in art, architecture, music, and drama of comparable distinction. From Maya Lin to Chuck Close, from Norman Foster to Willie Ruff, from Meryl Streep to David Henry Hwang, Yale’s contribution to the arts is unsurpassed. And in the Yale University Art Gallery and the Center for British Art, we hold art collections of extraordinary quality and breadth.
A monumental renewal
To maintain the excellence of our professional schools and the related departments in Yale College and the Graduate School, we need to ensure that the quality of our facilities is commensurate with the quality of our teaching programs. In recent years, we have created the new Gilmore Music Library, renovated Sprague Hall and Leigh Hall to serve the School of Music, and converted an abandoned facility on Chapel Street into Green Hall, the new home of the School of Art. But much remains to be done. We are seeking support for the renovation of Hendrie Hall (for both undergraduate and graduate students in music), Stoeckel Hall (for the Department of Music), and Paul Rudolph’s modern classic “A+A” building to house the School of Architecture. We will also build a new home for the School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theatre, a new building to house the School of Art’s sculpture program, and a new home for the Department of the History of Art. We will also relocate and expand the new, highly successful Digital Media Center for the Arts, which serves all of the arts schools, as well as undergraduate programs in Film Studies and Theater Studies.
We are in the midst of expanding the Yale University Art Gallery to house its growing collections and to serve the pedagogical needs of the School of Art, Yale College, and the Graduate School. Soon after the ongoing restoration of the magnificent Louis Kahn building is completed, we will initiate work to expand the Gallery across the High Street Bridge into Street Hall.
Lightening the burden of student debt
Our hope is to raise funds sufficient to complete this entire $500 million building program by the end of the campaign. It is a source of great pride that Yale has the capacity to contribute to the quality of life and creativity of our nation by making such a monumental investment in the arts. We are also seeking to raise at least $100 million in endowed scholarship funds to encourage talented students to take on the risk of careers in the arts without incurring excessive debt.
