Harvard professor Marjorie Garber offers some bold thoughts about the role of universities in the arts, and the place for arts within universities. She suggests that higher education should not only be accommodating art and artists as one of their many fields of study, but rather should be advancing art as central to their purpose. Says she:

Today, art often serves as what business calls a "loss leader" -- an appealing product offered at a nonprofit-making price in order to attract buyers. A college or university can advertise its dance or theater or musical groups, or its art classes and galleries, with handsome photos on the website and in the brochure, while at the same time reserving its major fund-raising efforts -- and major donors -- for science laboratories, international affairs, or sports teams.

She then imagines a university that decides to lead the arts, rather than using them as bait.

I'll admit that from inside a major research university like UW-Madison, it's hard to imagine the tidal shift in resources and attention that such a shift would require. At the moment, arts programs on campus are lucky if they're even included in larger campus conversations -- like parking, planning, community intiatives, and infrastructure. But it's nice to imagine a possible future where the arts take center stage.

Worth a read.