History of the Ammerman Center for Arts & Technology
The Center for Arts & Technology began in 1984 when the College received a grant from the Consortium for the Advancement
of Private Higher Education to fund three different studios: one in Computer Music, Computer Art and Motion Analysis.
When the studios were completed, we celebrated with first Symposium in 1986. The Symposium was an international hit and it continues
today. The Center was officially established in 1991 and from the start, faculty and students worked on
interdisciplinary research. The Center gathers together faculty and students to explore the relationship between Technology and the Arts.
From the beginning, the Center has always been student-oriented. It was created as a place for the richest sort of interdisciplinary
creativity and activity. The philosophy of the program is that students can do the research generally found at the
graduate level. They must be artists who are not just proficient with techhology, but who can create new technologies in search of their
artistic vision. The student certificate program was created to recognize the important work that students were
accomplishing at the Center and serve as a credible benchmark for proficiency in this new field. The true reward has been getting the students
to realize their potential at such an advanced level, with more compexity, artistry and technical mastery
than students would expect of themselves.
Today the Center is thriving. The number of students in the program continues to increase and many students are drawn to the college because
of the unusual opportunities that the Center provides at the undergraduate level. The biennial Symposium on
Arts and Technology contines to attract a unique world-class gathering of scholars and artists working with technology and our students directly
benefit from exposure to such an event. In years in which the Symposium is not held, the Center hosts a Colloquia series,
bringing to the college leading speakers in this exciting field.
