You might ask why such a facility is important. The immediate need for the spaces withina performance theatre and a galleryis well justified. However, the rationale goes beyond that. In a way, this center is a symbol of the institution's commitment to the role of the arts in the collegiate experience. Educators like to talk of educating the whole person, but what exactly does that mean?

We place great value on professional preparation. However, we owe students more than preparation for life at work; we owe them the opportunity and means to educate themselves beyond work and after work. The classroom is just a beginning.

The educational process today relies heavily on the quantitative, such as math and the sciences, or the qualitative, such as writing or reading. Yet, since the beginning of humankind, our ancestors learned about the world around them through sensory perceptiontouching, feeling, seeing, smelling, and hearing. This represents a whole other way of experiencing and perceiving the nature of our being. Indeed, it is an alternative way of thinking and analyzing.

The noted British philosopher R. W. Hepburn said that the arts are "an introduction to countless alternative possibilities for feeling." How else can one explain the visceral, nonverbal communication from something like the great symphonies? Who among us has not soared emotionally when listening to Beethoven? Many people I know are moved to tears by the Ninth Symphony's "Ode To Joy" . . . simply from the power of music.

The strong reaction many have either for or against various works of art attests to the power of this way of learning. One of my colleagues likes to say that communicating emotionally is parallel and complementary to intellectual verbal cognition. In the process the arts take one to a new level of understanding.

To instruct a student in mathematics, in science (be it social or natural), in history and philosophy, and in the language of thought and speech, is to contribute to that student's liberation. But without the aesthetic dimension, the liberation of the mind and the education of the whole person lacks a key element.

To that end, a new home for the fine and performing arts will anchor our commitment to other dimensions of the educational experience. It will culturally enrich the lives of our students and the entire university community as well. Quite simply, it will reflect our commitment to being a multi-dimensional, comprehensive university.

Who knows? Someday, we might even see art and sculpture gracing the campus along with our beloved Hokie Stone buildings.