Twenty talented students named as inaugural UC Arts Scholars

Twenty talented students named as inaugural UC Arts Scholars

Twenty talented students have been named as inaugural Arts Scholars as part of a new scholarship programme in the University of Canterbury’s College of Arts designed to provide an enhanced learning experience for high achieving arts students.

Each Arts Scholar receives a grant of $2000 towards the cost of their tuition fees and is assigned an academic mentor. In addition, they are able to participate in master classes with pre-eminent academics from UC and beyond, and are provided with designated study space and one-off, special tutorials. Each Arts Scholar will also receive mentoring training and will volunteer their time to mentor high school students interested in studying the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Director of the Arts Scholars programme, Dr Bronwyn Hayward, said that graduates of the programme are committed to making a difference to communities. “The Creative Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences challenge our ways of thinking, our ideologies and our assumptions. Students like UC’s Arts Scholars are and will be influential and valuable citizens at a time of community recovery and renewal.”

“I am delighted to support the Arts Scholars programme,” said Dr Rod Carr, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canterbury. “I believe that the mentoring and master classes that will be provided to Arts Scholars will be inspirational and will provide students with an insight into the varied and dynamic research and teaching available in UC’s College of Arts.”

The Arts Scholars themselves are thrilled to be a part of the new programme. “In a contemporary world characterised by frequent disaster and rapid change, following black-letter textbook rules won’t aid any thinkers in solving global issues,” said Arts Scholar Rachael Harris. “Studying the Arts allows us to expand the critical thinking and analysis skills required to succeed in an often-chaotic world. My Arts major and minor choices, Maori and Indigenous Studies and Geography, have strongly complemented my legal studies. Studying Arts has aided me to develop my area of research interest – the role of Indigenous Peoples in Resource Management. I hope to take this passion overseas to study further the role of Fourth Nations People and their legal and social relationships with the environment.”

Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the College of Arts, Professor Ed Adelson, was thrilled by the calibre of students who applied to be Art Scholars and believes that this bodes well for the College of Arts and the wider community. “These students of high ability and tremendous promise were selected from a large and very impressive pool of applicants,” he said. “This is proof-positive that the College of Arts is indeed the home of tomorrow’s leaders.”

For the full list of Arts Scholars and more information about the programme please go to: http://www.arts.canterbury.ac.nz/arts_scholars/2012_scholars.shtml

ENDS

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