When Longwood University first opened its doors for the 1839 experience, the main field students were studying in was education. Today, 175 years later, education is still one of the most popular majors at Longwood.
“Academic areas of interests grow and change over time,” said Joanna Baker, the assistant dean for Academic Services and College Relations.
In order to attract more students, Longwood has developed over 100 majors, minors and concentrations. And guess what, Longwood isn’t finished expanding areas of study.
“We requested a nursing major due to high demand and that major is growing in leaps and bounds,” said Baker.
In order to add a major, Longwood must go through a long and complicated process according to Baker. First, Longwood must make an outline of the major and create a market analysis to see if there is a need for it and if students would be interested. Then, Longwood must also consider if they need more faculty or a new building to house a new major and how much it will cost. The proposal is then sent to Longwood’s Board of Visitors.
Once approved by Longwood, the proposed major is then sent to the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) for review.
Despite this tedious process, it hasn’t stopped Longwood from growing. Baker added, “Psychology, History, Criminal Justice are growing and the new Graphic and Animation Design program is expected to be huge.”
Next year, Longwood will be offering Graphic and Animation design as a new degree. For the last 23 years, only Graphic Design was available as a concentration under visual and performing arts, but now it is its own degree.
Longwood now joins George Mason University and the Virginia Commonwealth University as the only schools in Virginia that offer Graphic and Animation Design.
“Two weeks ago (Nov. 3) we received approval for our own Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic and Animation design and we are really excited,” said Wayne McWee, the interim chair for the Theatre, Art and Graphic and Animation Design Department.
Graphic Design was already seeing a rise in popularity before it became its own degree. There are currently around 95 students concentrating in graphic design according to Janet McQueen, the Administrative and Program Specialist for the Theatre, Art and Graphic and Animation Design Department. However, faculty involved in Graphic and Animation Design are hoping more exposure will lead to a higher recruitment of students.
“Just putting the word ‘Animation’ on the end has increased interest dramatically,” said McWee. “As a matter of fact, last year, we had to cut off admission into the program.”
As of right now, there is uncertainty as to where the new Graphic and Animation design department will call home. With new equipment on the way, McWee is hopeful that they can share the new movement lab the Health, Recreation and Kinesiology department have in Willet. If that is not possible, Graphic and Animation Design plans to remain in Bedford where they will establish a separate animation lab.
“It’s about an $85,000 dollar chunk of equipment,” McWee revealed.
He also added that they are excited to work with the Theatre department who can provide any necessary movement in the animation lab.
“We have theatre connected to us, so we are excited about that because if you want to capture animation and need somebody to move or act, we can bring the actors over. We see it as a great connection between those two programs so there will be good opportunities there.”
Down the road there may be a need for additional staff to accommodate Graphic and Animation Design’s growth. Two positions have already been moved to Graphic and Animation Design according to McWee. A year ago, there were two graphic design professors, Christopher Register and Wade Lough, but now they have added Amanda Christiansen and William Tucker. Tucker will join Longwood in January once he finishes out his contract with DreamWorks and Lucasfilm.
McWee and his staff believe that the sky is the limit for this developing degree. The animation aspect alone will allow Longwood students to create motion picture-like animation.
“If you saw Planet of the Apes or Avatar, that’s where we’re headed,” said McWee.
Even though everything surrounding Graphic and Animation design seems to be moving a mile a minute, McWee says their goal is very clear.
“One of the goals we have is to teach creativity, not just run software. We want to teach the creative process.”
