About the Visual Arts Department
The visual arts department at Olivet College is studio-oriented with an emphasis on training students to work figuratively in the traditional two- and three-dimensional arts. The faculty has developed a curriculum that accommodates entering students at all skill levels and develops them into professionally competent graduates. Students may attain advanced placement relative to their artistic abilities.

Studio classes operate as ateliers (workshops) where students are treated as responsible learners in a general atmosphere of individual attention and informal contact. As a teaching strategy, the instructor often works on his/her art alongside the students. A system of competency validation is employed to assess and grade students.

The faculty/student ratio is small and there is maximum access to studio facilities. In addition to the introductory courses, a full complement of studio classes in sculpture, painting, graphics and ceramics is offered. A visual arts major with concentrations in biological illustration, commercial design or studio art, a visual arts education teaching group major (K-12) and a visual arts minor are also available.

Along with skill development, the program engages students in issues of character and responsibility through readings, writings, discussions, etc. As seniors, students are required to develop a senior project that articulates, in image and word, the synthesis of their experiences at Olivet and the relevance of the college's academic vision of Education for Individual and Social Responsibility to their lives now and in the future.

2001-12 Visual Arts Exhibits

50 Ways to use your Visual Arts degree:
Visual Arts degree (PDF file)

Academic Catalog

Introduction/Policies/Procedures
Academic Programs
Course Descriptions
Faculty

Department Chair                                    

Gary Wertheimer Chair, Visual Arts Department; Professor of Art gwertheimer@olivetcollege.edu Riethmiller Blackman Art Building (269) 749-7627    (faculty bio)

Faculty Members  

Don Rowe Adjunct Professor of Art dcrowe@olivetcollege.edu Riethmiller Blackman Art Building (269) 749-7661 (faculty bio) http://www.donaldrowe.net/

Adjunct Faculty

Richard Larson
Adjunct Instructor of Art History
rlarson@olivetcollege.edu
(269) 749-7120

Susan Rowe
Assistant Professor of Art
srowe@olivetcollege.edu
(269) 749-7120