CAMPUS NOTICE

 

OFFICE OF THE DEAN, DIVISION OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

December 11, 2018


All ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO

SUBJECT:    Appointment of Professor Susan Narucki as Inaugural Director of Arts and Community Engagement

I am pleased to announce Department of Music Professor Susan Narucki
will be serving as the inaugural director of Arts and Community
Engagement, a new initiative from the Division of Arts and Humanities.
Arts and Community Engagement is housed within the Institute of Arts and
Humanities, and its goal is to connect students, faculty, alumni, staff
and the greater community in a variety of performance, program and
academic activities that highlight art as a means of fostering broader
cultural dialogue and civic engagement.

Selected after an open call for faculty nominations within the Division
of Arts and Humanities, Narucki began in the position Dec. 1, 2018 and
has been appointed for two years with the possibility of extension.

UC San Diego is home to world-renowned arts and humanities departments —
History, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Theatre and Dance, Visual Arts —
and a thriving artistic community. The Institute of Arts and Humanities
serves as the administrative home for 14 programs and one center on
campus, and funds a wide range of programming and research initiatives
for students, faculty and the general public. Dedicated to equity,
diversity and inclusion, the institute is developing a robust network of
collaborative relationships with museums, libraries and community
organization throughout greater San Diego.

As part of the Institute of Arts and Humanities, the Arts and Community
Engagement initiative seeks to:

· Build a multi-disciplinary art community of undergraduate
students, graduate students, faculty, staff and off-campus community
members who want to be engaged with art and the Institute of Arts and
Humanities on campus,

· Develop a variety of performance, program and academic
activities that highlight art to engage community members in cultural
and social dialogue, including the current partnership with San Diego
Unified School District’s Visual and Performance Arts (VAPA) Foundation,
as well as additional outreach with the Sweetwater Union High School
District, South Bay Community Services and others,

· Focus on high-impact, student-centered activities,

· Create and expand art-based fellowship, internship and volunteer
opportunities for students,

· Increase opportunities for alumni and donor engagement, and

· Bring the UC San Diego Division of Arts and Humanities and
cross-campus community to activated spaces to engage with art and
culture through a series of programs hosted by the Dean’s Office,
Institute of Arts and Humanities, PATH program, relevant departments and
other affiliated units.

For over three decades, soprano Susan Narucki has forged a unique path.
Her dedication to the music of our time has led to award-winning
recordings, critically acclaimed performances and close collaborations
with generations of composers. Since joining the faculty in the
Department of Music in 2008, she has been deeply engaged in
commissioning, producing and performing chamber operas that illuminate
critical issues in society. Narucki’s most recent production is
“Inheritance,” a chamber opera that addresses gun violence in America.
With music by Lei Liang and libretto by Matt Donovan, the world premiere
performances of the opera took place at UC San Diego Oct. 24-27, 2018.

A dedicated mentor to the next generation of singers, Narucki’s recent
residencies include the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Aichi
University of the Arts, the Longy School of Music and the Oberlin
Conservatory. At UC San Diego, she directs the vocal ensemble kallisti.

One of the first activities for the initiative is “Indigo,” an
interdisciplinary art exhibition that engages the public with conceptual
art outside of a traditional gallery setting. The exhibition will be
displayed in the Jacobs School of Engineering Dean’s Offices through
February 2019.

To learn more about Arts and Community Engagement and connect to its
activities, go to:
https://go.ucsd.edu/2LaqZWR or contact Susan Narucki at snarucki@ucsd.edu



Cristina Della Coletta
Dean
Division of Arts and Humanities

Luis Alvarez
Director
Institute of Arts and Humanities