In an email sent out to all Art + Design students on Friday night, it was announced that the department is now offering two studio options for students in the fashion and fibers program for fall 2019. This change was made less than two weeks after the department head met with Art + Design students, when many voiced their concerns about the lack of a studio class and with the future of the program.

The two studios being offered for fall 2019 are ADN 470 (Fibers and Surface Design Studio) and FTM 491 (Computer Aided Design & Color Studio), which will be a blended studio with Art + Design and students from the Wilson College of Textiles, according to the email.

In addition, the email stated the fashion and fibers program is not being discontinued, despite rumors that spread around campus in the beginning of the month. Instead, the Art + Design department stated they will be working to make improvements to the program.

“The Art + Design department is updating its entire mission and vision,” the email stated. “During the coming year, we will include students as a vital part of that planning and we are planning an end of the year convocation to encourage more dialogue between students and faculty.”

The department also stated in the email that there are no plans to discontinue Art2Wear, a runway show that allows students in the College of Design to display their innovative and unique fashion items.

Emerson Burkhardt, a third-year studying art and design, said that she is happy she will be able to take a studio in the fall and Art2Wear is being continued; however, she hopes to see other aspects of the program improved.

“I would definitely like to see more faculty being hired, because I am pretty sure we are down to only two teachers right now,” Burkhardt said. “We’ve had many courses that were offered in the past, and when the faculty simmered down, the university stopped offering them, like draping, weaving and looming. I feel like I didn’t have the opportunity to learn these valuable skills like some of the older students.”

Morgan Cardwell, a second-year studying art and design, stated that she hopes the department decides to focus on the developing technologies of the fibers industry, since the machines and techniques that were used 20 years ago are being outdated by new developments. Nevertheless, Cardwell is excited for the fall term.

“The fact that we are being offered not just one, but two studios is very exciting to me and those in Art + Design,” Cardwell said. “I’m very happy everything got sorted out and worked out for the best.”