UTRGV College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward says he is working to prevent students from being without a building for the Fall 2024 semester during the College of Fine Arts monthly town hall meeting Thursday in Rusteberg Hall on the Texas Southmost College campus. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER
The School of Art and Design held a town hall meeting where College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward spoke about the future of Rusteberg Hall, the allocation of funds and answered students’ concerns.
More than 50 people attended the Feb. 22 meeting in the drawing room in Rusteberg Hall.
Students raised concerns about the School of Art and Design, including inaccessible bathrooms in Rusteberg Hall and the commute to Edinburg during the summer semesters.
Ward replied that since the last funds proposal, which was drafted eight months ago, the plans and conversations have evolved.
He said one of the changes was discussing features for the new building the university is planning to acquire to replace Rusteberg Hall, which is owned by Texas Southmost College.
“We’re still kind of weighing location and if it’s [a] one-story, two-story [building], what [do the] safety features need to be?” Ward said.
He said new funds are coming to the School of Art and Design.
“I mentioned the proposal that I sent to the provost that certainly had a number of things that would be earmarked for the School of Art and Design but once the new building happens, there’s a significant investment in arts, not only in terms of what the space looks like, but also the equipment and the faculty that we need to run it,” Ward said.
When asked if there was any idea where the building was going to be located, Ward replied, “Not that I can say right now.”
“My understanding is that the lease for [Rusteberg Hall] … actually lapsed last year, last August, and the university and TSC were not able to come to an agreement,” he said. “And so, we kind of have this clause, we came to an agreement: ‘Let’s extend it for a year.’”
To clarify the lease agreement, Sol Santana, a studio art senior, asked Ward if there was a backup plan in case all else fails.
“That’s worst-case scenario, ” he replied. “The lease ends and we don’t have a home.”
School of Art and Design Director Ed Pogue said 75% of funds received, allotted by former Vice President and Provost Janna Arney, have been spent on supplies and equipment for the school.
Pogue said the acquisition of a new building is the main concern being looked at and all new equipment purchased is planned to be taken to the new building.
Thursday, Jason Hartley, vice president for Operations Planning & Construction, told The Rider he did not have specific details for any plans yet, but UTRGV is working on a new lease agreement with TSC.
Hartley said the university aims to vacate Rusteberg Hall by the end of the calendar year and is working on plans to “accommodate for the space we’re vacating.”
Studio art sophomore Vicky Fultz said signing up for classes and commuting between campuses has been difficult.
“Studio classes here, when you go to register, fill up in a matter of hours, like it’s a race to get your spot in, especially at an upper-level studio class and I’m concerned if we wind up in a position like that, it’s going to be that much harder,” Fultz said about the possibility of losing Rusteberg Hall on the Brownsville campus.
She is anxious of what the “worst-case scenario,” moving all classes to the Edinburg campus, might look like because it is “already really difficult, even if they have the classroom space.”
Fultz said there is no perfect world and would like to be optimistic and hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
“I feel that we do have faculty to advocate for us and as a whole,” she said. “I feel the university is starting to listen to us more because of the attention that we’ve raised. Essentially, we’re paying the same tuition as students that are in Edinburg, and we do deserve to have the same quality of education available to us.”
The acquisition of H-E-B Park, from now on referred to as UTRGV Stadium, was announced during a news conference Wednesday.
The H-E-B Park property gross value is listed at $15.7 million, according to Hidalgo County tax records.
“Yet, UTRGV lets its art students be left in a broken down building, soon to be kicked out, begging for any change,” Santana posted Wednesday in an Instagram story regarding the acquisition of UTRGV Stadium.
–The Rider Editor-in-Chief Natalie Lapsley contributed to this story.
UTRGV art students question if there is a contingency plan if students are asked to vacate Texas Southmost College’s Rusteberg Hall before UTRGV gets a new space for art students. UTRGV College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward responded, “Not right now. It’s not that we don’t have a home, it’s just that the home isn’t ready yet.” Ward and the students spoke during the College of Fine Arts monthly town hall meeting Thursday in Rusteberg Hall on the TSC campus. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER
