Team: Thomas Wolf, Dennie Palmer Wolf, Jane Culbert, and Kathleen Hill with Stanford Thompson of Goldsmith Partners and a team of Harvard Undergraduate Researchers
The Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA), in partnership with WolfBrown, completed a strategic plan, developing a compelling vision and dynamic programs for the arts over the decade of the 2020s and beyond. On April 18, 2023, the Steering Committee for the Office for the Arts at Harvard met to consider the final draft of a strategic plan. Among other priorities, the work is grounded in issues and opportunities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), building upon ongoing work at the OFA.
The Office for the Arts at Harvard supports undergraduate student engagement in the arts and integrates the arts into University life. Through its programs and services, the OFA teaches and mentors, fosters student artmaking, connects students to accomplished artists, commissions new work, and partners with local, national and international constituencies. By supporting the development of students as artists and cultural stewards, the OFA works to enrich society and shape communities in which the arts are a vital part of life.
The development of the strategic plan relied heavily upon student participation in the development and implementation of the methodology, including focus groups, interviews and research. In addition to students, the plan calls on Harvard faculty, administrators, alumni, artists in residence, and non-OFA personnel interested in the arts who are serving in various advisory capacities, ensuring that a variety of stakeholders and perspectives inform the entity’s next chapter. Additional research on how the arts are handled on other campuses further enhanced background information for the plan.