By Marina Gomberg, associate director of communications and marketing, College of Fine Arts

In a world often focused on STEM education, the University of Utah is proud to celebrate something of a more right-brained nature and a milestone for its creative offerings – issuing  the institution’s 100,000th Arts Pass ticket.

The U’s Arts Pass program, which allows students to use their UCards to get free or nearly free tickets to the hundreds of arts experiences on campus each year, is a unique program that began during the 2011-2012 academic year. It is one of  the most robust arts programs for students among peer institutions because it provides free or affordable access to more arts experiences each year than similar programs at other institutions.

“We are weaving the effort to provide abundant and diverse creative experiences for students into the very fabric of the university,” said Raymond Tymas-Jones, associate vice president for the arts and dean of the College of Fine Arts. “These experiences are sating a curiosity in our students that is leading to new interdisciplinary explorations, new knowledge, a greater collective empathy, heightened social tolerance and more community building.”

All matriculated U students can use their UCard to get free or significantly discounted tickets to experiences hosted by the U’s three professional arts organizations, UtahPresents, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and Pioneer Theatre Company, as well as all the exhibits, concerts, plays, screenings and performances by the five academic units in the College of Fine Arts.

“The arts at the U are as plentiful as they are impactful,” said U President David Pershing. “If athletics feed our competitive nature and academics feed our intellect, the arts feed our desire to see the world more broadly. We are so pleased to see students using these opportunities to become global citizens through the diverse lenses and voices the arts bring to our campus.”

The U’s noteworthy appreciation for the arts is one shared by the broader community. A recent survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts showed Utahns attend arts events more than any other state in the nation.

As of Dec. 31, 2016, the U had issued 102,764 Arts Pass tickets over the course of the program’s life, and in celebration of this significant milestone, students can participate in a contest on Instagram beginning Monday, Feb. 13 for a chance to win tools that inspire creativity including an iPad mini, Beats headphones and the Pencil by Fiftythree.

For more information, go here.