ASU Will Sign MOU Agreement With ASF to Enhance Student’s Educational and Career Paths in the Arts!
ASU & Alabama Shakespeare Festival Host News Conference; Sign Agreement to Enhance Student’s
- ASU President and ASF Artistic Director Host Virtual News Conference to Sign an MOU.
By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU.
The Alabama State University (ASU) and Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) are hosting a live virtual news conference ceremony on Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. to sign a formal concurrent articulation agreement, via a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This joint venture will enhance and enrich students enrolled in the University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts through programs established between the ASF's staff and artistic company and ASU's students and faculty.
The joint news conference may be seen live at https://www.facebook.
ASU President, Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr., and Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director, Rick Dildine, will sign the MOU that formalizes the agreement.
Initially, the signing was to be held live at the ASF facility, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was moved to a virtual ceremony, which will be broadcast live from the lobby of ASU's Life Science building and simultaneously from the campus of Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
ASU President, Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr. (photo credit: David Campbell/ASU).
PRESIDENT ROSS SAYS MOU PUTS ASU'S STUDENTS FIRST
ASU's President Ross said this agreement brings together two fine institutions, one in higher education and the other in the arts for a common goal, which is to provide meaningful opportunities for the University's students.
"This agreement allows both ASU and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to focus on helping to further enhance the artistic education of the University's students who are enrolled in the College of Visual and Performing Arts," Ross said.
"This will broaden the educational and career opportunities of our students and will help by building pathways of diversity and artistic enrichment for them in acting, production and leadership roles in the arts and entertainment sector," stated Ross.
ASF'S DILDINE STRESSED ORGANIZATIONS’ DEDICATION TO DIVERSITY
"Alabama Shakespeare Festival is dedicated to diversity and equity in the arts, starting with our own organization," Dildine said. "This partnership with such an esteemed historically black university like ASU and its College of Visual and Performing Arts furthers our mutual goals of providing opportunities for BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color) students to gain experience and build networks that will help launch their careers as leaders and artists in the theatre."
PURPOSE OF THE JOINT 'MOU' AGREEMENT
Dr. Tanjula Petty, ASU's assistant provost of Student Success and Special Initiatives, believes that this agreement will provide an opportunity for ASU students to go much farther in the arts.
"Alabama State University is continuing to promote student success through building partnerships and providing continuous opportunities for its students. Such partnerships further demonstrate our living up to our mission of being a comprehensive, diverse, student-centered public historically black university that is committed to global excellence in teaching,” Petty said.
"This MOU between our two entities will provide for internships, professional training, mentorships, observations, class credits and other avenues of education and professional advancement between the ASF staff and ASU's students and faculty," Petty stressed.
Brian Martin, ASU's interim chair for the Theatre Department, stated that he is excited about this new relationship between Alabama Shakespeare Festival and ASU.
"I am confident that it will open up new doors, insights and opportunities for the University's students by building a bridge to such an acclaimed and prestigious national theater as ASF," Martin said.
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