March 2006

Dear Partner in Excellence:

I am delighted to welcome you to Aesthetics&Values, the final project of one of our Third Year Honors Seminars on Aesthetics, Values, and Authority. This project represents the fruits of intellectual inquiry and creative expression of the 23 students who have been probing the multiple facets of Art as Social Language under the outstanding guidance of Professor John Bailly.

As you may know, our curriculum is completely interdisciplinary. Therefore, although Professor Bailly is a Yale University-trained artist and printmaker, the seminar is not just about art. Indeed, only two of the student-curators are majoring in Art and Art History; the others are majoring in Psychology, Accounting, Information Technology, Economics, Computer Engineering, English, Education, International Business, Health Sciences, Marketing, Dance, Interior Design, and Biology.

Among other things, this project signifies recognition of the value of the prescient words of Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana: “Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer.” These Honors students have worked against a backdrop of skepticism, not willing to take “givens’ of aesthetics and values, but intent on questioning, interpreting and re-interpreting, and challenging intellectual and artistic orthodoxies.

These students—as with Honors students generally—are among FIU’s best and brightest. As such, they are not merely gifted academically but also tend to have many other talents, some of which are reflected here. Thus, this project denotes more than intellectual inquiry and skepticism; it highlights organizational skills as well. Under Professor Bailly’s mentorship they formed committees to plan and implement the fundraising, exhibition, and public relations. Congrats to them and their professor!

So, as you keep this in mind while viewing the exhibition I trust you will have an even greater appreciation of the total educational value-added that this project represents.

Welcome! Peruse! Enjoy Aesthetics&Values!

Ivelaw L. Griffith, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor of Political Science