Performing arts and sports media minors will be added to the University of Indianapolis curriculum next fall.
As part of the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences, the new minors are designed to give current students credit for interest classes they have already taken and incoming students a chance to explore more of what the college has to offer, according to Adjunct Professor Melanie Eakman and Assistant Professor of Theatre Grant Williams.
“For the moment, these are classes that a lot of students are taking anyways,” Williams said. “They could at least walk away with another credit to their degree. It could be that there are students walking around that already have a performing arts minor, they just don’t know that they have it yet.”
The sports media minor works to combine aspects of the already existing sports communication, sports management, and sports marketing education tracks and majors, said Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Stephanie Wideman.
Its core classes include:
- Foundations of Media Production (COMM 109)
- Sports Media Production (COMM 315)
- Sports Public Relations (COMM 344)
One Communication Department experiential through:
- Experiential Radio (COMM 110)
- Experiential Television (COMM 111)
- Sports Communication (COMM 160)
The minor will also include a slew of other courses from the kinesiology or communication department, Wideman said.
The core of the performing arts minor is housed in the theatre department, and the required classes will include:
- Public Speaking (COMM 100)
- Acting (THE 370)
- On-Air Talent (COMM 236)
- Historical Styles (THE 342)
- Experiential Theatre (THE 170).
The rest of the minor consists of electives, including classes from theatre, dance and music.
“The university really emphasizes interdisciplinary endeavors because it gives an even, more holistic education for students,” Wideman said. “Minors are a great way to get different disciplines to talk to each other, and they’re also a great way to offer a high level of career readiness to students who can specialize in their minors.”
Eakman, who teaches all the dance classes offered on campus, said for years many of her students have expressed a desire for more performing arts curriculum, specifically in dance. She said this led to many students, who come from a wide variety of academic studies and backgrounds, taking all of her classes from beginning to advanced and everything in-between, retaking them or doing a mix of both. Many of them have come up to her asking for a way to get credit through either a minor or concentration, Eakman said, but they had no way to do it until now. Whether the student has danced all their life, is brand new to the art or somewhere in between, Eakman said there is a place for them in the performing arts.
“I have some of these students who have never taken dance class before, but they have taken my beginning class, and they just want more,” Eakman said. “So I think that’s the beauty of dance is that really anyone can do it.”
Being able to be in the performing arts can provide an important outlet for expression and de-stressing, Eakman said. In her experience, she said she was able to find joy and relief by being able to express herself and tell stories through her movements rather than words, eventually leading to a professional career. After she retired from dancing professionally, Eakman said she wanted to continue sharing everything dance has to offer.
“[Dance] is really important in my life, and I can see it through my students in my classes, how they’ve had a very stressful day, or they have a lot of homework and they’re anxious about it,” Eakman said. “They walk into my class, and I see the stress leave the room. They have an hour where they can get some exercise in, they can listen to music, they can take a class with their friends and, It’s just really fun.”
Freshman psychology major Ellie Lisa is a student in Eakman’s contemporary dance class. Lisa has been dancing since she was three years old, and said she has been able to learn styles she has never experienced before through Eakman’s classes. Lisa is an advocate of the performing arts minor, and said she is looking forward to being able to experience the different aspects and opportunities it will offer..
“I think it’s really interesting because I haven’t gotten to explore other options besides purely dance, and I’ve always been interested in the theater aspect too,” Lisa said. “I think combining all of that would be super fun. A lot of people here would also love that … I think it’s really important to be well-rounded in all those areas.”
The minors will not be approved until April due to an extensive curriculum process, Wideman said, which includes approvals by various university senates, committees and faculty. She said the procedures drive the accreditation process for the university, ensuring students get a high quality education. Wideman said more information will come out to students once the curriculum is finalized.
