Post by Admin on Jun 15, 2020 11:44:13 GMT -5
Via the Tennessean: Watkins College of Art -- a Nashville treasure -- should not merge with Belmont | Opinion by Jaime Raybin, Guest columnist
Tennessee high school students have no shortage of options if they want to attend a Christian college, but if they are looking for a non-religiously affiliated art, design or film program, their choices are very limited. If Watkins is not sustainable as an independent institution, I think that a nondenominational school would be a better option for partnership in order to fulfill a now-unmet need. One option to consider would be for Watkins to partner with Nashville School of the Arts, the metro magnet high school that is due for a new building. If Watkins and Metro Nashville Public Schools students could share the amazing facilities at our current campus, both groups of students would be well served. It would be a dynamic experiment.
Background info, via ArtNet:
In late January, the Watkins College of Art in Nashville, Tennessee announced that it would be absorbed by Belmont University, a local ecumenical institution, inciting an uproar among current students and faculty. But since then, the merger has been anything but clean. A judge, a state senator, and a real estate firm have all stepped in to either question the deal or suggest an alternative solution.
Student groups at Watkins have staged numerous protests since learning that they would be forced to start next semester on a private, Christian campus with a poor track record of supporting free expression and the voices LGBTQ+ communities. In mid-February, Watkins’s president J. Kline, who arranged the deal with Belmont and has been criticized by opponents for his lack of transparency in the negotiation process, was placed on leave after faculty held a vote of no confidence.
Last week, two Watkins students and a faculty member filed a complaint in county court alleging that the agreed-upon deal between the schools is illegal because the art school is a public institution located on public property. They also filed for a restraining order to block the deal from taking place until the court has had the opportunity to review the case.
Most recently (via WZTV) — The "Save Watkins" group will return to court Wednesday [May 20th] morning in their legal battle against the art school's merger with Belmont University.
Two Watkins students, Kenneth Strawn and Amari Harris, along with Adjunct Film faculty and alumnus Mark Schlicher, are leading the fight in Davidson County Chancery Court. Judge Patricia Head Moskal will hear the arguments of the group's amended complaint and Watkins Commissioners ion to dismiss.
The original complaint was filed in the beginning of March, just as COVID-19 was starting to take of nationwide. Combine that with protests taking place in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and this news is understandably getting buried.
Any current or former Watkins or Belmont faculty/staff that can weigh in?
Tennessee high school students have no shortage of options if they want to attend a Christian college, but if they are looking for a non-religiously affiliated art, design or film program, their choices are very limited. If Watkins is not sustainable as an independent institution, I think that a nondenominational school would be a better option for partnership in order to fulfill a now-unmet need. One option to consider would be for Watkins to partner with Nashville School of the Arts, the metro magnet high school that is due for a new building. If Watkins and Metro Nashville Public Schools students could share the amazing facilities at our current campus, both groups of students would be well served. It would be a dynamic experiment.
Background info, via ArtNet:
In late January, the Watkins College of Art in Nashville, Tennessee announced that it would be absorbed by Belmont University, a local ecumenical institution, inciting an uproar among current students and faculty. But since then, the merger has been anything but clean. A judge, a state senator, and a real estate firm have all stepped in to either question the deal or suggest an alternative solution.
Student groups at Watkins have staged numerous protests since learning that they would be forced to start next semester on a private, Christian campus with a poor track record of supporting free expression and the voices LGBTQ+ communities. In mid-February, Watkins’s president J. Kline, who arranged the deal with Belmont and has been criticized by opponents for his lack of transparency in the negotiation process, was placed on leave after faculty held a vote of no confidence.
Last week, two Watkins students and a faculty member filed a complaint in county court alleging that the agreed-upon deal between the schools is illegal because the art school is a public institution located on public property. They also filed for a restraining order to block the deal from taking place until the court has had the opportunity to review the case.
Most recently (via WZTV) — The "Save Watkins" group will return to court Wednesday [May 20th] morning in their legal battle against the art school's merger with Belmont University.
Two Watkins students, Kenneth Strawn and Amari Harris, along with Adjunct Film faculty and alumnus Mark Schlicher, are leading the fight in Davidson County Chancery Court. Judge Patricia Head Moskal will hear the arguments of the group's amended complaint and Watkins Commissioners ion to dismiss.
The original complaint was filed in the beginning of March, just as COVID-19 was starting to take of nationwide. Combine that with protests taking place in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and this news is understandably getting buried.
Any current or former Watkins or Belmont faculty/staff that can weigh in?