No Stage, No Excuse: Jacksonville University Abandons the Arts

Every so often, a university makes a decision so misguided, so out of touch with its own mission, that you can’t help but feel angry, disappointed and deeply sad all at once. That’s exactly how I felt reading the news that Jacksonville University is cutting its music, theatre and visual arts programs. Not reducing. Not restructuring. Cutting. Gone.​

It’s hard to put into words how damaging this is — not just to the students and faculty directly affected, but to the entire concept of what higher education is supposed to be. The arts aren’t just a nice thing to have on campus when the budget allows. They’re not a luxury. They are core to learning, critical thinking and building a better, more compassionate world.​

This move isn’t strategic. It’s cowardly.

According to the university, this is part of a “realignment,” an effort to be more “nimble and focused.” I’ve worked in higher education long enough to know what that’s code for: “We think cutting the arts will go down easier than cutting athletics or business programs, so we’re doing it and hoping no one makes too much noise.”

Well, here’s some noise.

You don’t get to market yourself as a place of discovery, growth and personal development while simultaneously telling your artists they don’t matter. You don’t get to build whole campaigns around creativity and passion and then turn around and gut the very programs that embody those words. You don’t get to say “we’re proud of our students” and then rip the floor out from under them just weeks before the end of the academic year.​

The students enrolled in these programs chose Jacksonville University in good faith. They’ve been showing up to rehearsals, performances, critiques and lessons for years. They’ve spent late nights in studios and tech booths. They’ve put in the work. And now, with one announcement, they’re being told their degree paths are dead ends.

What are they supposed to do? Transfer? Start over? Pretend this didn’t derail everything they’d been planning for years?

And what about the faculty — the people who built these programs, who mentored generation after generation of artists, who poured their lives into cultivating something beautiful? What does this decision say about how you value them?

I understand that universities are businesses. I get that enrollment trends and revenue pressures are real. But here’s the truth: cutting the arts is lazy. It’s unimaginative. And in the long run, it damages the integrity of your institution far more than it helps your bottom line.

Theatre, music, fine art, design — these aren’t dying fields. They’re evolving. They’re everywhere. They’re in your advertising, your streaming services, your architecture, your soundtracks, your brand identity. You don’t get a world without artists. So why are we still pretending they’re expendable?

To the students currently in these programs: This is not your fault. You are not collateral damage. You are the reason schools like Jacksonville University should exist. And while this decision is cruel and unfair, it is not the end of your story. The arts community is wide and welcoming, and we’ll make room for you — because we know how to build something out of nothing. We always have.

To the university leadership: I hope you rethink this. I hope you realize the message you’re sending about what kind of school you are — and who you think belongs there. Because if you don’t value the arts, then you don’t value half of what makes education meaningful.

And to the rest of us watching this unfold: Pay attention. Speak up. Support the schools that still believe in the power of a painting, a play, a song. Fight for the ones that don’t.

Because the arts are not optional.

Not now. Not ever.

This article No Stage, No Excuse: Jacksonville University Abandons the Arts was originally published on OnStage Blog and is reprinted with permission.