Arts and Culture
It was the founding vision of University of Mount Union founder Orville Nelson Hartshorn that not only would men train beside women at the institution, but that the sciences and the humanities would exist in “parallel,” each area receiving its own special emphasis and assuming its rightful place in the curriculum. From the very beginning, courses in music and art were offered to complement the “practical studies” that its students would take, ensuring that a Mount Union student would be a liberally educated student.
More than 175 years later, Hartshorn’s ideals still guide us. Today, the mission of the University is to prepare students for fulfilling lives, meaningful work, and responsible citizenship. The arts have always played a prominent role in achieving this mission.
Our arts and cultural programming instills in our students an appreciation of human creativity and expression, increasing their knowledge of human existence, agency, identity, and imagination as witnessed through language, ritual artifact, and performance. By exploring arts and culture, our students come to understand what it means to be human in finer terms. They encounter humanity in all of its diversity, and in exploring that diversity, our students become more thoughtful and capable world citizens.
At Mount Union, we extend opportunities in arts and culture to members of the surrounding community as well. Lectures, performances, and exhibits are scheduled annually, as are a number of special events and performance opportunities.
