Oakland University Creates School Of Music, Theatre And Dance

ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ/AP) - Oakland University in suburban Detroit is creating a new School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

The school's Board of Trustees voted this month on the plans after seeing the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance expand its programs over the last three decades. The school will be within the College of Arts and Sciences and led by professor Jackie Wiggins.

Oakland University's Music Department was established in 1959 and Varner Hall opened in 1970 as the university's home of performing arts education. Theatre and dance began as extra-curricular programs. In 1985, they joined the music department as the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Artists-in-residence affiliated with the Oakland University School of Music, Theatre and Dance include world-renowned jazz musician Regina Carter, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and dance ensembles Eisenhower Dance and Take Root.

Oakland University's campus spans more than 1,400 acres in the Oakland County cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.