Campus Walk With Dean Mark Shanda: Why Fine Arts is a Front Door for UK

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2018) — At first glance, it doesn’t seem like athletics and the arts have a lot in common.

But that’s not the way UK College of Fine Arts Dean Mark Shanda sees it. In fact, in this campus walk, Shanda explores the parallels between the arts and athletics — from how both entities act as the “front door” of the University of Kentucky to similarities in how students are recruited.

Watch the video above to discover how the UK College of Fine Arts is reaching out into the community as faculty, staff and students learn, teach and create.

About Dean Mark Shanda:

Mark Shanda joined the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts in 2017, bringing with him more than three decades of experience as an award-winning educator, designer, scholar and administrator.

He previously served as the divisional dean of arts and humanities for the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State University, where he was also a faculty member in the Department of Theatre since 1986.  

Shanda is co-author of "Technical Management for the Performing Arts," as well as "Drafting for the Theatre," a theatre technology textbook in use by virtually all major theatre programs in the U.S. He is also a contributor to Theatre Design and Technology magazine.  

A longtime member of the United States Institute for Technical Theatre, Shanda recently served a three-year term as president and was named a Fellow of the Institute in 2012. He has been the technical director for well over 200 theatre and opera productions. 

This video is part of a monthly UKNow series called "Campus Walks."

The idea is to get out of the office and onto campus with members of the UK community, so UKNow can have in-depth, authentic conversations about the university with the people working so hard to advance its mission of education, research and service.

If there is someone on campus you would like to see featured in a future "Campus Walks," email us.