As philosopher and writer George Santayana said, “To know your future, you must know your past.” And what a joy it is to look back.

There were but 18 faculty members on staff in 1892, when the University of Deseret became the University of Utah. Despite its meager size, the university’s commitment to the arts was already well established by the time of its renaming. In addition to courses in music, the institution already had a budding Art Department, offering a four-year program focused on drawing and painting.