By Linda Dreiling
Amidst budget restraints and reallocation of funds, the easy answer in any school system is to cut the Arts. To some educators and politicians, the arts are viewed as peripheral, costly components of our educational menu.
However, the PPCC Strategic Plan 2002 to 2007 necessitates that we not only support this branch of our educational system, but we also market and exploit it with fervor to our local community. Pikes Peak Community College must maintain and enhance its support of the Theatre Program.
It is unclear how many PPCC students are aware of the Strategic Plan and its purpose, which was drafted after two years of collaboration as a visionary, 5-year, goal-setting action plan. Students benefit from the achievement of these goals by experiencing a more vast course offering and college amenities. Included in the plan are the College’s Mission, Vision, Values, and Initiatives and Goals. These are further broken down to include explanatory subtexts, clarifying statements, and ultra-specific aims. The plan is available for public review on the PPCC website.
In an opening message of this plan, PPCC President Joseph Garcia says that the ultimate focus of this plan is on student success (2). The Vision of the College states, “At Pikes Peak Community College, we will unite in our focus on individual student success. Students will choose our College because of our supportive learning environment, enthusiastic and respected faculty and staff, and our ability to meet our diverse community’s varied educational needs.”
Michael Stansbery is one of those enthusiastic and respected staff at PPCC. As the
Department Chair for Theater Arts, he draws many students and community members to himself. Sitting in his office is a clarifying experience. There is just enough room for two people to meet to discuss the downsizing of the Theater Department, to talk about the three classes that will be offered next Fall and how it compares to the 20 offerings this Spring, to sigh and tear-up over the passion that keeps a theater instructor doing this for so long and for so little.
Stansbery’s rhetoric is determinately hopeful, like a child who tries to convince himself that his parents’ separation is for the best. If the enormous volume of plays on every surface in the office do not convince one of his purpose at PPCC, then the overwhelming support of community leaders and theatrical professionals around the country should. Stansbery has more than 80 support letters that he keeps clipped together on his desk—a tangible reminder of why he’s there.
Texas A&M also faced budget cuts within its Department of Performance Studies in 2003. Rather than easily removing classes from its lineup or eliminating theater studies altogether, A&M committed to spreading the budget cuts over many categories, with the brunt of the fiscal impact on “administrative costs, the departmental operating budget and a faculty departure.”
In response to that possible budget cut, Sarah Szuminski wrote an article titled “A&M Fine Arts Budget Cut by $86K” that appeared in the August 5, 2003 edition of The Battalion, which is Texas A&M’s online newspaper. In that article she quotes University President Robert M. Gates: “We will do our best to avoid cuts that affect the quality of student life.”
PPCC President Garcia is of the same mindset. His succinct explanation of the purpose of a community college is that it should respond to community demand. Student trends indicate that there is little emphasis on amplifying their community college experience through enrichment courses such as those offered by the Theater Department.
Their priority is to ensure transferability of courses and that they stick to the 60+60 plan as closely as possible. President Garcia acknowledges the lack of actual goal setting for recruitment levels that would make the Theater Program financially viable and help The Masquers productions to continue.
During a recent interview, Garcia says he is,
however, “clearly supportive of growth within theater in relation to its community demand and is open to grassroots efforts to grow the department.”
The Marketing and Community Outreach goals in the PPCC Strategic Plan begin with the desire to increase awareness of the College within our community. There have been numerous marketing campaigns for this community college in the Colorado Springs area, including the use of online, television, and print media. These have been effective in increasing overall enrollment, Garcia confirms. The Theater Department’s potential ability to create self-enhancing revenues through community events is realistic and would be well-supported by having a more focused marketing and community outreach plan.
Students and community members have the responsibility of supporting and leading this effort to ensure its success. However, if only a handful of students attend the plays that The Masquers produce, the department is guaranteed to fail in this marketing endeavor.
The Gazette’s Art and Entertainment Editor Warren Epstein writes in a letter of support to Michael Stansbery: “I don’t think there’s a single organization in town that’s done more in that time [15 years] to raise the arts to a higher level than the Pikes Peak Community College Theater Department...It’s hard to imagine this town without the PPCC Masquers. It would be a blow to the very heart of the local arts and education scene.”
Because many students and community members echo Epstein’s sentiment, it is imperative that people join together to grow the Theatre Department of PPCC and demonstrate its ability to help the college achieve the Strategic Plan.
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