GOLDEN, Colo., March 14, 2012 – In an effort to promote a better relationship between art and science in higher education, Colorado School of Mines will host the inaugural Art in Science and Technology (ArtiST) conference,
April 5 – 7 in Golden, Colo.
 
Five university journals will participate in the event: Ink (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology), Signatures (Rochester Institute of Technology), Erato (Georgia Institute of Technology), Rune (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and High Grade (Colorado School of Mines).
 
The ArtiST conference includes three days of literary readings, performances, workshops and roundtable discussions. At the end of the event, ArtiST culminates in a group collaboration on a shared publication, ArtiST, volume one, with contributions from all the participating institutions. This will be published online and will serve as a working history of the conference.
 
“The motivation for this project is to garner national recognition for the artistic achievements of the participating technological institutes and to promote a healthy relationship between the arts and the sciences in higher education,” said Toni Lefton, faculty advisor for High Grade and teaching professor in the Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies at Mines.
 
“Public opinion seems to gravitate toward the notion that college students must choose either science or the arts. Locally,High Grade has done a great job demonstrating how science and the arts can coexist. With this competition, we can accomplish this same effect on a much larger scale. Science and engineering is perhaps one of the most creative endeavors and it comes as no surprise that our students are innovative writers, poets and artists. They thrive by finding the balance between expression and invention,” said Lefton.
 
Dr. Jake Adam York, author of three award-winning books of poetry, associate professor of english and director of creative writing at the University of Colorado at Denver, will judge the competition.
 
"We hope the ArtiST conference can continue on after this first year,” said Shane Schrader, a High Grade staff member and student at Mines. “This is a great chance to show that Mines isn't just full of intelligent engineers, we also have some amazing artists and writers that are just as talented on the right side of their brain as they are bright on the left."
 
More information about the ArtiST conference, including a schedule of events, is available athttp://highgrade.mines.edu/ArtiST.
 
ArtiST is sponsored by the Hennebach Program in the Humanities: http://hennebach.mines.edu/
 
 
Contact:
David Tauchen, Public Relations Specialist / 303-273-3088 / DTauchen@mines.edu
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / KGilbert@mines.edu