History of the College

Art has been a vital part of UNT since it was first taught in 1893-1894, only a few years after the university was founded in 1890.

Cora Stafford, an imaginative leader who served on the faculty and as director for 35 years before retiring in 1964, played a major role in guiding the art program to its current reputation. Determined to keep the program aligned with new ideas, she hired young innovators on the faculty. These included James Prestini and György Kepes, early proponents of the Bauhaus system in the U.S., endeavoring to relate a new design approach to the world of technology and craft. Also on the faculty were Carlos Mérida, the internationally known Guatemalan painter and muralist, and Octavio Medellín, the celebrated Mexican sculptor and painter. Students included Ray Gough, a noted interior designer and UNT professor, and O'Neil Ford, one of Texas' most famous architects.

Master’s degrees were initiated in the 1930s, and the first M.S. degree in art was awarded in 1937 to Ann Bookman Williams, a long-time art teacher in the campus demonstration school. UNT's modern art program has been one of continual growth. After World War II, professional programs in advertising art, fashion design and interior design supplemented traditional studio and art education programs. Following an extensive study of the arts in Texas by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in the 1960s, UNT was designated as a major visual arts program in the state and was approved to offer the B.F.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees beginning in 1971. With the Southwest's demographic population shift in the late 1970s and early 1980s, enrollment increased dramatically. At the same time, the department's comprehensive art programs were being recognized for their quality.

By the mid-1980s, to meet the future challenges, the Department of Art faculty began discussing the possibility of reclassification as a separate school from the College of Arts and Sciences. An arts model for this already existed on campus in UNT’s world-renowned College of Music. A School of Visual Arts Advisory Board was formed with the assistance of Dallas businessman Raymond D. Nasher, Kimbell Art Museum director Ted Pillsbury, and art and education community members. That vision became reality in 1992 when the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reclassified the Department of Art as the School of Visual Arts effective in the 1993-94 academic year. In 2007, yet another formal stage of growth in the school and university was recognized when SOVA became the College of Visual Arts and Design. Today, CVAD is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive visual arts programs, with more than 2,200 students enrolled.

The 21st century has brought major changes in population and cultural facilities to the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The Dallas Arts District, the nation’s newest and largest, is complemented by the Museum District in Fort Worth. The Dragon Street, Deep Ellum and Bishop Arts Districts in Dallas blossom with commercial galleries, many of which are directed by and/or feature CVAD graduates. The Dallas and Fort Worth art and design communities provide students with valuable resources and expanded learning opportunities. Advertising, fashion, interior design businesses, product design and retail establishments, and a wide variety of K-12 educational environments and government and non-governmental agencies provide partnership opportunities. CVAD graduates play leadership roles in museums, design companies and education agencies throughout the area.

CVAD’s academic programs are supported by research institutes, including the Onstead Institute, the Print Research Institute of North Texas, P.R.I.N.T. Press, the Texas Fashion Collection, the Design Research Collaborative in Dallas, and the Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute, as well as an extensive visiting artist/scholar program. The college now operates three galleries: the CVAD Gallery, the Cora Stafford Gallery and the Paul Voertman Gallery. The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, Art in Public Places Program and UNT on the Square exhibition and performance facility enhance these opportunities.

The UNT Art Building, home of the College of Visual Arts and Design is a prominent gateway to the University of North Texas campus, occupying a significant campus edge. Previously spread across eight buildings throughout the campus, the expansion and renovation of the existing building completed in 2019 unites 15 diverse programs under one roof. The seamless consolidation of these programs encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and connects the college to the larger DFW arts community through both interior and exterior transparencies.

The new addition honors the existing campus architecture while creating a modern face for the community. A large gallery space on the east corner of the ground floor features the artwork of students, alumni, and the broader Denton community. Prominent light monitors on the fourth floor create an iconic façade while maximizing natural light for painting and drawing studios. Student display units are spread throughout the building to showcase student work from conceptualization through the creation process, while enlarged, naturally-lit corridors serve as critique spaces. Spaces for making, discussing, and viewing were connected through merged studio spaces, large glass walls, and neutral materials, showcasing both the process and the final product.

Read more about our new building designed by Machado Silvetti, explore our degrees/programs of study and how to pursue your future in art and design at CVAD!