Strategic Plan

Our Identity & Impact

Art that transforms. Voices that matter.

Our Purpose

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is dedicated to fostering a dynamic and connected community where artistic expression merges with innovative scholarship, generating transformative experiences for students, faculty, and the wider public.

Who We Are

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at University of California, Irvine (UCI Arts) is home to four departments – Art, Dance, Drama, and Music – acting as the university’s creative engine and a laboratory for multidisciplinary research and practice.

UCI Arts empowers students from diverse backgrounds by offering 15 undergraduate and graduate programs that provide foundational skills and integrate creative practice with critical theoretical, historical, and technological studies and extensive opportunities for cross-disciplinary and community engagement. Our programs encourage students to explore the broader connections between the arts and society, positioning them to thrive both personally and professionally.

Each year, the School presents over 150 exhibitions, workshops, and performances, attracting tens of thousands of attendees to our nearly 160,000 square feet of performance and exhibition spaces. Located in the heart of Southern California’s vibrant cultural landscape, UCI Arts maintains strong ties with regional, national, and global arts organizations, community and industry partners, academic institutions, and practitioners, fostering collaboration and innovation.

Our Impact

At UCI Arts, students engage in thought-provoking explorations of the arts while receiving rigorous training from faculty members distinguished by their dynamic careers in creative practice and research. As part of one of the nation’s top ten public universities, we cultivate well-rounded, engaged global citizens, over a quarter of whom are first-generation university attendees and many of whom pursue double majors across disciplines. Through this holistic approach to arts education, UCI Arts fosters not only artistic excellence but also prepares UCI Arts alumni to launch into careers of impact, making significant contributions across the arts and other sectors.

Named in 2000 for Claire Trevor, the trailblazing Oscar and Emmy-winning actor, UCI Arts continues to build upon her legacy of excellence, inspiring future generations of artists and scholars.

Our Values

Building upon the grounding practice of shared governance, UCI Arts’s core values guide how we enact our purpose and shape how we pursue our strategic direction. We value:

Innovation & Creativity

Guided by curiosity, we take risks to spark new expressions and catalyze cutting-edge ideas.

Collaboration & Community

We engage one another in an inclusive spirit of partnership, stretching from our own interdisciplinarity to our global context.

Rigor

We hold ourselves to the highest standards in creative practice and scholarship.

Diversity

We encourage the empathetic exchange of ideas, perspectives, and approaches and are open to learning from one another.

Sustainability

We contribute to thriving and just social, economic, and environmental ecosystems.

Authenticity & Transparency

We prize candid, honest, open, and respectful interactions in our relationships with each other.

Our Strategic Priorities

These priorities will guide our actions and decisions over the next five years. The first four priorities drive toward who we want to be; the last two describe critical organizational work necessary to meet the moment with intention and strategic vision. They are interlocking and, in some cases, overlapping. Moving these priorities forward together will enable us to holistically fulfill our vision for the future.

UCI Arts also serves as a vital contributor to University of California, Irvine’s broader goals. The school’s strategic priorities as outlined here map onto UC Irvine’s five strategic plan pillars, listed below for reference.

Strategic Priorities

1. Foster student engagement, leadership, and equity (aligns with Pillars 2, 3)
2. Cultivate a nurturing environment for collaboration and research (aligns with Pillars 1, 3)
3. Enhance our spaces in support of creativity and innovation (aligns with Pillars 2, 4)
4. Align programs and resources for relevance and financial sustainability (aligns with Pillars 2, 4)
5. Amplify external communication and resource development (aligns with Pillars 1, 3, 4)

University of California, Irvine Strategic Goals

• Pillar 1: Growth That Makes a Difference: Expanding Our Capacity to Improve Lives
• Pillar 2: First in Class: Elevating the Student Experience to Prepare Future Leaders
• Pillar 3: Great Partners: Making Regional and Global Connections That Enhance Our Mission and Serve the People
• Pillar 4: New Paths for Our Brilliant Future: Forging Best Practices to Power the Coming Century

Implementation

This plan’s priorities were determined through a comprehensive, collaborative, and iterative process. It is a living document that will inevitably evolve in response to a shifting environment and budget landscape. The UCI Arts Cabinet – a body led by the Dean and inclusive of Assistant and Associate Deans, Department Chairs, and Directors of functional areas – will meet biannually to review progress and make adjustments as needed. Throughout the planning process, UCI Arts leadership, faculty, and staff have proactively initiated meaningful changes, signaling key shifts in practice that are already advancing the plan’s goals. Over the lifespan of this plan, we will periodically update these sections to recognize and celebrate successes along the way.