Pittsburgh Celebrates Arts Education with "Tony Awards Day"

The power of arts education has been a part of Carnegie Mellon University since its earliest days, but Carnegie Mellon University's founder Andrew Carnegie never intended to create a drama school or department. In the early 1900s, he originally rejected plans to build a theater as part of the Fine Arts Building. However, architect Henry Hornbostel, who became the inaugural dean of the School of Fine and Applied Arts, relabeled plans for the building to include a "Dramatic Laboratory." Thanks to Carnegie approving the creatively named 420-seat auditorium, he laid the foundation for the first degree-granting drama institution in the United States and, in doing so, changed the fabric of Pittsburgh and arts education. Arts education continues to be developed and celebrated by Carnegie Mellon, and Pittsburgh City Councilperson Erika Strassburger added some dramatic flair to city hall by declaring Oct. 31, 2019, as "Tony Awards Day" in recognition of Carnegie Mellon's unique and ongoing collaboration with the Tony Awards. From left, Erika Strassburger, Pittsburgh city councilperson, Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League Dick Block, associate head of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama and Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing gather in Council Chambers in Downtown Pittsburgh. Carnegie Mellon and the Tony Awards have a longstanding shared mission to advocate for and to promote the importance of arts and theatre education.