SUNY Potsdam Rated No. 1 for Best Arts Environment in SUNY System

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UNY Potsdam’s Performing Arts Center is home to the Department of Theatre and Dance. A dance class is seen here.

• SUNY Potsdam was ranked No. 1 for having the best arts environment in the State University of New York system, in the latest SUNY Student Opinion Survey.
• SUNY Potsdam dance students limber up in the Black Box Theater, located in the brand-new Performing Arts Center.

POTSDAM, NY (11/19/2015)(readMedia)-- The State University of New York at Potsdam has been ranked No. 1 in the SUNY system for having the top-rated arts environment.

The 2015 SUNY Student Opinion Survey, which rates the 27 state-operated colleges and university centers in SUNY, found that SUNY Potsdam was the top campus for student satisfaction with fine and performing arts services, facilities and environment. Students gave high marks for the College's offerings and facilities for art, dance, film, music and theatre.

"I could not be more proud that SUNY Potsdam has been rated No. 1 for the best arts environment in SUNY. Our culture of creativity creates extraordinary energy on campus, with students from all majors taking in all the arts have to offer," said President Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg.

The SUNY System Administration Office of Institutional Research and Analysis conducts the survey. The SOS survey findings are important because, unlike other studies, they rank student satisfaction against the other 26 state-operated SUNY institutions.

As one of three arts campuses in the SUNY system, SUNY Potsdam fosters an educational environment that encourages creativity and expression. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. Interdisciplinary programs like theatre education and music business are also popular, and the College is currently developing a new arts management major as well.

Programs

"We are extremely proud of our programs in the fine and performing arts, and the opportunities that they afford our students, faculty, staff and the entire community," said Dr. Steven J. Marqusee, dean of SUNY Potsdam's School of Arts and Sciences. "The arts are so pervasive on campus that it is sometimes easy to take them for granted. It is special that our students haven't, and recognize how unique SUNY Potsdam is."

The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam was founded in 1886, and boasts a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. Crane is also the only All-Steinway institution in SUNY.

"SUNY Potsdam's superlative rating for its arts environment in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey confirms what we have long known and valued about the significance of the performing arts for this campus, bringing the historic presence of The Crane School of Music together with exciting new opportunities for collaboration and technology offered by the newly completed Performing Arts Center," said Crane School of Music Dean Dr. Michael Sitton. "We are gratified that our students affirm the value they place on this unique environment for the arts, as a daily part of life at SUNY Potsdam, and that what we are achieving on this campus is given appropriate recognition across the SUNY system."

SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance is one of the College's fastest-growing areas, with programs in directing, choreographing, acting, dancing, designing and technical work. The College is also home to SUNY's first bachelor's program in theatre education.

The College's Department of Art offers well-regarded programs in art studio and art history, as well as a new major in graphic design and new media. Art students can choose from a traditional Bachelor of Arts track, or apply for the rigorous Bachelor of Fine Arts program.

The Department of English and Communications offers SUNY's first Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in creative writing. The BFA program offers students a concentrated experience in all aspects of creative writing, including poetry, fiction, screenwriting, creative non-fiction, playwriting and professional writing.

Facilities

"The College's facilities are superb, from the concert halls at our renowned Crane School of Music, to the brand new state-of-the-art Performing Art Center that houses our theatre and dance programs and the Community Performance Series, to our outstanding Art Museum and art studios. These facilities and the environment that they facilitate have fostered creative collaborations that cross-cut our three Schools," Marqusee said.

The Crane School of Music complex includes two large performance spaces, as well as a recital hall, two classroom buildings, a music library, laboratory and rehearsal spaces. The Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall boasts some of the best acoustics in the Northeast, and seats approximately 1,300 audience members. The 450-seat Sara M. Snell Music Theater provides additional stage space for operas and recitals.

Since its opening in 2014, SUNY Potsdam's $55 million Performing Arts Center has earned a reputation as one of the best performance venues north of New York City. Home to the Department of Theatre and Dance, the facility hosts three specialized performance halls. The 350-seat Proscenium Theater hosts plays, musicals, film screenings and keynote addresses. The flexible Black Box Theater allows for seating and staging to be easily adjusted for intimate performances for an audience of 200. The Dance Theatre also holds 200, with sprung floors designed especially for dance. In addition, the Performing Arts Center also offers laboratories for digital/audio, design, drafting, lighting and education, as well as movement and recording studios and large technical shops for sets, scenery, costumes and crafts.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam oversees the College's collection of important contemporary and modern works of art, and hosts exhibitions throughout the year in the Roland Gibson Gallery and other spaces across campus.

"The footprint of the arts on the SUNY Potsdam campus is extraordinary for any college, and while it is part of daily life for us, we know that it is something very special. World-class performances occur in The Crane School's performance halls throughout the year. Only a few steps away, a wealth of dance and theatre performances are available in the amazing new Performing Arts Center, where we are also able to explore new worlds of interdisciplinary work and technological possibilities. Crane also sends out livestreams of many performances throughout the year over the Internet, thanks to a recent transformative gift," Sitton said.

Arts for All

Both campus and community benefit from performances and educational programs in the arts at SUNY Potsdam.

Each spring, the campus explodes with energy during the annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, also known as the LoKo Festival, which celebrates all traditional and contemporary visual, written, musical and theatrical arts. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

"The annual LoKo Festival, itself the result of another legacy gift to the College, offers a wonderful culminating celebration for all of the arts on our campus at the end of each academic year, echoing back to an early tradition at Potsdam and connecting that tradition with the latest in creative achievement," Sitton said.

The Community Performance Series has been based on campus since 1989, and brings a variety of world-renowned artists, educational programs and professional musical theatre to Potsdam. For more information, visit www.cpspotsdam.org.

The Orchestra of Northern New York is also in residence on campus, and is the only professional symphony orchestra from Rochester to Burlington and from Syracuse to Ottawa. To learn more, visit www.onny.org.

For more information about the arts at SUNY Potsdam, visit www.potsdam.edu/about/artscampus.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

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