No one ever said it doesn’t get lonely on College Walk.
This summer, Miller Theatre, Columbia’s performing arts venue housed in the geographic heart of the school, moved a little closer to one of Columbia’s graduate schools, the School of the Arts (SoA), with its re-integration into the institution.
Under director Melissa Smey, Miller has been reporting to SoA Dean Carol Becker since July 1, 2009.
But a University statement sent to Spectator regarding the integration of the Columbia University Arts Initiative into SoA, which went into effect on Sunday, lauded Miller as a party involved in the changes. As a result, questions have now been raised as to how Miller’s use may change as a result of the unveiled union.
Administrators and supporters see the integration as one that will solidify Miller’s presence within the University and the city. “Miller was very much on its own and it’s more integrated into the University,” Becker said. “It was all by itself out there. When you have entities that are on their own, it’s not as strong when they’re built up.”
With the Arts Initiative, SoA, and Miller working together, Becker anticipates a stronger presence of the arts at Columbia. “We can really begin to build ideas and integrate all of these entities and make one big stronger force,” she said.
For Miller, the re-integration marks a return to its original home in SoA. Once the McMillin Academic Theater, the venue was renovated and re-opened as Miller Theatre in 1988 in an effort led by then-SoA Dean Schuyler Chapin.
According to Smey, who was appointed director in April after serving as acting director since Oct. 1, 2008, discussions about Miller’s place in the University began when George Steel, Miller’s executive director for 11 years, announced his departure last fall. “It was several months before it was decided to realign Miller with the School of the Arts,” Smey said.
Some students wonder how large of a role undergraduates will play in this vision for Miller, especially since the announcement appears to be the resolution of a long discussion over Miller’s place in the University.
In September 2008, Arts Initiative Director Gregory Mosher submitted a proposal regarding the use of Miller to a committee that included Becker, Smey, and then-Provost Alan Brinkley, among others. The plan suggested that “Columbia’s own creative energy should drive the Miller’s programming, and that the Columbia community should be its primary audience” in order to increase use of Miller by Columbia students, faculty, alumni, and community members. In order to support the proposed calendar of self-produced and often student-generated programs, Mosher suggested that instead of using University funds to attract outside groups that “the students see infrequently,” rental and other earned income would combine with other contributed revenue to support these campus-generated works.
Aries Dela Cruz, GS ’09 and founder of Advocates of the Arts Initiative, a group protesting the lack of student input in the integration process, said the proposal would have bridged the gap between undergraduates and Miller.
“Rather than doing 33 concerts a year by outside arts groups,” Dela Cruz said, “the new plan would allow for all student performing arts groups to use the space, especially during off-hours.”
Activities Board at Columbia (ABC) Arts representative Cliff Massey, senior class president, and CC ’10, noted that the reason more student groups don’t book Miller might be budgetary. “Renting Miller Theatre for an event is extremely expensive,” he said.
Miller has also felt the University-wide financial crunch. Reductions in University funding and external fundraising have forced Miller to eliminate three staff positions and reduce operating expenses, according to Smey.
Despite budget cuts across the board, Smey is excited to “support a broader frame for the arts on campus,” especially for undergraduates, through joining the SoA. Miller currently participates in the Columbia Performers Partnership program, which supports student ensembles by hosting the recitals of groups like the Columbia University Orchestra and the Barnard-Columbia-Juilliard exchange program.
Budget permitting, Smey hopes to expand such programs and, in doing so, strengthen Miller as a whole. “Miller’s mission is to develop new audiences, generate public enthusiasm in the arts with innovative programming, commission new work, and share Columbia’s intellectual resources with the public,” she said. “The merger hasn’t changed the mission.”
Joy Resmovits contributed reporting to this article.
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