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Nearly 25 years ago, Paul Dunlap enrolled as a non-traditional student at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û to pursue a degree in art. He enrolled in Hank Margeson's photography class and discovered his passion.

"That was a game changer. The experience at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û changed my life profoundly," Dunlap said. Now, the 2001 alumnus is a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û. His is one of many similar stories throughout the past 50 years.

Dunlap and others in the Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û community are encouraged to share their memories of the past and present on the department's Facebook and Instagram pages. Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û students, alumni, faculty, staff, supporters, or artists, are asked to use the #DOVA50 in the post.

"When we look back at 50 years ago, so many people left their footprints at Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û," Vanessa Bamber, development officer for the College of Arts & Letters, said. "The 'Celebrating 50 Years of Visual Arts' experience provides an opportunity for those individuals to share their thoughts and continue to engage with the department."

Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û's visual arts program was formed with music and theater in 1971 as the Department of Fine Arts on the Dahlonega Campus. Headed by Robert "Bob" Owens from 1972-2002, it had two faculty members and offered two degrees. Two years later in 1973-74, a full-time instructor of art started teaching on the Gainesville Campus in the humanities division.

Since then, visual arts has grown to 36 faculty and staff members who educate nearly 500 art majors and 150 art minors in six areas or concentrations. The department offers seven undergraduate degree programs, five minors and one certificate.

Visual arts has hit several milestones in the past decade. In 2015, it earned accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the most prestigious accreditation in visual arts education. In two years after that, it launched a digital arts and graphic design concentrations. In 2018, it switched from a Bachelor of Arts degree to a Bachelor of Fine Arts. And this fall, the department moved into a new facility on the Gainesville Campus.

The golden anniversary will be celebrated all year long to allow a wide audience to participate.

"If you only have one event, people could miss out," Bamber said. "If we have several, people can select a few events to attend during the fall or spring semesters or both."

Anniversary activities include artist talks via Zoom, faculty and student exhibitions on three campuses, painting fundraisers, ART-OUT faculty/student art sale during Gold Rush and a visual arts alumni reunion at Pine Valley.

A film project also is in progress to archive the origins and evolution of the department from its founders. Each person's interview is scheduled to last about 2 minutes.

"The founders are being questioned about what was involved to start the department and their role in the process," Bamber said. "We are also asking them to give advice to students."

The video will be featured on the department's website when completed. Currently, a brief history and an activities list are displayed there.