This corner of campus wasn’t always this artsy, you know. The college itself is pretty young, born in 1993 as a union of all those artsy souls wandering through the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It started as the College of Fine and Performing Arts, but in 2000, something big happened—an $18-million donation from Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust, enough to make even a starving artist faint. The name was changed to honor their generosity, proving that sometimes, art and a little “change” pay off. Now, the college is a constellation of vibrant schools and partners. Let’s start with the School of Art, Art History, and Graphic Design. Art at Nebraska goes way back to 1869, practically the Jurassic Age, but the School of Fine Arts wasn’t made official until 1912—located right where you might have found dinosaur bones, in the State Museum alongside what would become the Sheldon Museum of Art. The school took an abrupt intermission in 1930, closed down, then returned for an encore in 1937 under Arthur Westbrook, a man with vision and, I presume, remarkable patience. Since then, art students have found a creative home in Richards Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, which received a modern makeover in 2000. Imagine the buzz of brushes, the clatter of sculpture tools, and, of course, the existential sighs of student artists. And you never know when you’ll be standing next to future Pulitzer winners. Karen Blessen, who nabbed a Pulitzer Prize in 1989, roamed these halls dreaming up her next masterpiece long before she became a legend. Just down the path is the Glenn Korff School of Music, which began life as a music conservatory in 1894. It was led by Willard Kimball, a man imported from Iowa College—because even back then, Cornhuskers knew talent was worth poaching. The conservatory became an “independent artist” for a bit, then came back into university hands in 1930—and at a bargain price of $100,000. The current music complex includes the Kimball Recital Hall, still going strong since 1969, where up to 850 listeners can be swept away by everything from sonatas to full symphonies. The school’s present name honors Glenn Korff, a science grad with a passion for set design who donated a cool $8 million in 2013. His love of the arts made such a mark that, even in chemistry, he was known to leave a little sparkle. And just imagine the sound of the Cornhusker Marching Band warming up nearby: brass, drums, a clarinet or five—it’s all in a day’s rehearsal here. But the real star power lands in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. The Temple, a massive neo-classical gem, was raised thanks to a Rockefeller grant back in 1906 and has been home to dramatists ever since. Johnny Carson, the guy who mastered the art of the late-night laugh, cut his comedy teeth right on these stages. He never forgot his alma mater. Carson and his foundation donated around $38 million—now that’s what I call a standing ovation. Thanks to this, the department was renamed in his honor in 2005, and the shiny Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts arrived on the scene in 2015. If you’re dreaming of designing video games or making viral videos, this is your place. And the story doesn’t end here. The college partners with legends like the Lied Center for Performing Arts, opened in 1990, where a sea of nearly 2,300 seats await thunderous applause—or polite coughing between movements. You can also visit the Sheldon Museum of Art: a modern landmark since 1963 with over 13,000 works, including bold abstractions and classic American scenes.
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