ABSTRACT
During the past few decades liberal arts colleges and universities have assumed a significant role in the arts, not only as sources of instruction but as employers, patrons, curators, and impresarios. With a university appointment the artist finally gains independence from the lay audience which must otherwise tolerate as an economic necessity while attempting to minimize its interference in and influence over his work. University entrance requirements, with their heavy emphasis upon high school grade point averages and scholastic aptitude tests, bar many artistically talented students whose craft training may already be advanced but whose grades and test scores do not meet general university standards. University teaching regarded as a sideline is more absorbing than most alternative positions; a profession in itself, it demands greater commitment than a job allowing more of the self to be held in reserve during its performance.
