Courtesy of GSU Communications
A famous quote of George Bernard Shaw was that “progress is impossible without change.”
And to continue marking progress, name changes are in store for what has been known as Grambling State University’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) and its Bachelor of Visual and Performing Arts degree.
Those changes were recommended by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST), which reviewed and recently accredited what had been called Grambling State’s Bachelor of Visual and Performing Arts undergraduate degree program.
That accreditation runs through the 2030-31 academic year, the next scheduled NAST review year for GSU.
“This was all predicated by the department’s and the university’s response to NAST requirements to update our curriculum offerings and bring them more in line with what was actually being offered in the department,” said department head Rodrecas Davis.
While technically already in place during summer registration, those changes become official for the Fall 2025 semester.
“There’s a little bit of substantive change in regard to the curricula itself, but primarily there’s no difference in the core,” Davis said. “Students will still have access to all the same classes, just in a different configuration that gives more options to electives students can take, so there’s some flexibility that’s added there that wasn’t previously available.”
GSU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Connie Walton said the degree name change was also made at the request of NAST.
“Students who were under the old curriculum will have five years to complete that program and everyone coming in the fall will automatically be under the umbrella of the Degree of Theatre under the Department of Theatre Arts. It will have the same concentrations that have been previously present in the department — dance, theatre, or visual arts.”
GSU Coordinator of Theatre and Technical Director David Kaul called earning the new degree accreditation a win for the department as well as Grambling State University as a whole.
“This is a great accomplishment for the University, which has been continuously accredited by NAST since 1986,” Kaul said. “All the honor and glory, of course, goes to God; but I must recognize the amazing team of theatre faculty and university administrators who put in hours and hours of revision work along this three-year journey.
“Having this status settled will be one more tool in helping recruit Theatre students who will know their degree is guided by nationally recognized standards.”
Davis remembered the Theatre program’s past as he looks toward its future.
“The reaffirmation of the Theatre program by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) reflects the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and Grambling’s commitment to providing undergraduates with access to a rigorous program of study,” Davis said. “This achievement is a vote of confidence by our peers and colleagues in academia and a testament to our nurturing of the seeds sown by Dr. Allen Williams and Dr. Floyd L. Sandle.”
Graduating senior Reygan Mullins, who received her Bachelor’s of Theatre degree during Spring Commencement Exercises in May, said she’s pleased to be moving on to her next phase of life knowing that the Theatre program will continue training students to showcase their talents on stages across the country and throughout the world.
“A lot of underserved people don’t get the opportunity to go to college and participate in a theatre, much less one as nice as ours,” Mullins said. “To know that it is also a fully accredited program is just that much more to brag about.”
NAST Executive Director Karen Moynahan lauded GSU in her letter to GSU announcing the accreditation for it all pulling things together and making necessary changes to make it all happen.
“The acceptance of this response brings to a close the comprehensive evaluation process that began in 2022,” Moynahan wrote. “NAST appreciates the institution’s extraordinary efforts clearly evident in its application.”
@media (max-width: 600px){
.bottom-button-bar .wp-block-button {
width: auto !important;
}
.bottom-button-bar a {
font-size: 16px !important;
line-height: 34px;
white-space: nowrap !important;
padding: .5em 1em !important;
}
}
