Diversity, technology and direction of the Department of Art and Design in the College of Liberal Arts are highlighted in the August edition of Middle Tennessee State University’s “Out of the Blue” television magazine program.

Department Chair Jimmy Mumford talks about the work of his students and colleagues, as well as degree details and visually creative outreach in the community.

Mumford, who has been on campus about a year, said one of the most important strengths of the department is providing real-world experience through a diverse skill set within faculty. Faculty — including Mumford — are working alongside and teaching students while they continue to be hands-on within their fields of expertise.

“Experience is the best teacher,” said Mumford during his interview with host Andrew Oppmann, vice president for marketing and communications.

You can watch the eight-minute segment below:

AI, or artificial intelligence, is a buzzword across many disciplines and is one that affects the arts community on multiple levels.

“As you know, graphic design is always evolving or arts is always evolving,” Mumford said. “So we have to evolve with the trends and everything, and make sure we keep up so that when we’re teaching students, when they leave here, we’re keeping them current with industry standards.”

MTSU has also updated several courses through a curriculum committee and Mumford shared details of those changes as well as a short list of degrees available for students. Community outreach is another tool to aid students in developing their talents at Todd Art Gallery on campus.

To learn more about the Department of Art and Design, including a listing of public events at Todd Art Gallery, visit the website or connect by calling 615-898-2455.

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 3:30 p.m. Sundays and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings. 

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play. Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

Interview segments of the monthly “Out of the Blue” TV show are also released weekly as individual podcasts on Spotify. You can find them at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)