These days, every mortarboard-wearing anyone loves interdisciplinary studies — applying the critical tools of multiple fields to the study of complicated problems. So it was a bit surprising that the Kansas City Art Institute quietly canceled its Interdisciplinary Arts program last spring. Now the program's chair, Assistant Professor Julia Cole, finds herself shepherding her last class of interdisciplinary majors as she serves out the rest of her contract this school year. Among her various accomplishments, Cole was involved with the installation of the KCAI-Brush Creek rain garden, created by KCAI students from a course called "Persuasive Ecology and Design," along with area civic organizations and businesses. Cole, a British transplant, is actively involved in Kansas City's dynamic art scene, sculpting her own award-winning pieces and contributing her art writing to Review magazine. We have no doubt that, even after the Interdisciplinary Arts program is over, she'll find new ways to continue her artistic and pedagogic pursuits.
