One College, One Exhibition Celebrates Art and Truth at Seton Hall
Thursday, October 23, 2025
The College of Human Development, Culture and Media (CHDCM) held an opening launch for the One College, One Exhibition initiative on Wednesday, October 8, in the Walsh Library. The reception marked the
beginning of a month-long celebration of the college, community and art.
Celebrating works by artist Robert Shetterly, the reception featured paintings from his award-winning portrait series, “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” Fifty portraits were selected from this series by the CHDCM community to be displayed in the Walsh Library and at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). The series is meant to illuminate the ongoing struggle to realize America’s democratic ideals and model the commitment to act for the common good.
“One of the central goals of the One College, One Exhibition initiative was to foster unity across the CHDCM by having us all engage the same set of portraits from our different disciplinary perspectives,” said CHDCM Founding Dean Bryan Crable, Ph.D. “About two hundred students, faculty, alumni and community members gathered to have informal conversations about these works of art. It was a real demonstration of our great unity-in-diversity, the ties that bind our four academic departments.”
The reception was followed by a performance of a CHDCM-commissioned song, “Truth be Told,” by the Seton Hall Chamber Choir. The piece was arranged by Robert S. Cohen, with lyrics by Ronald W. Cadmus, who both spoke before the event about their creative process.
“When music and purpose met at the ’One College One Exhibition,’ something powerful happened. The Seton Hall Chamber Choir gave voice to truth — and we all felt its impact. The initiative showed what is possible when ideas, disciplines and people come together,” said Director of Choral Activities Jason Tramm, D.M.A., “Premiering ‘Truth Be Told’ with the Seton Hall University Chamber Choir was more than a performance; it was a statement of who we are and what we value as a university community.”
Crable noted that there are plans for future One College, One Exhibition events. “One College, One Exhibition will be a biennial initiative for the CHDCM. We’re now on the lookout for our next exhibition, which will be planned for Fall 2027 — stay tuned!” said Crable.
Shetterly’s portraits will be available to view at both the Walsh Library and SOPAC until the end of October. Click here to learn more about the initiative and for information on upcoming events.
About the College of Human Development, Culture and Media
Launched in Summer 2023, Seton Hall’s College of Human Development, Culture, and Media (CHDCM) embodies the University’s commitment to pedagogical innovation, intellectual ferment and community engagement. Uniting scholars and students from four dynamic departments — Communication, Media and the Arts; Education Leadership, Management and Policy; Educational Studies; and Professional Psychology and Family Therapy — the college is the new home of cutting-edge, transdisciplinary inquiry into the stickiest problems of our time.
The faculty, staff and students of the college seek to improve the human condition by collaborating across distinct fields that uniquely complement one another, thereby preparing the next generation of dynamic leaders poised to tackle contemporary social challenges and opportunities. Expression underpins all facets of the integrated college’s portfolio — media as a form of education and artistic expression; teaching and learning as modes of creative expression; expression and expressibility as critical to counseling and therapeutic treatment; and self-expression as a vehicle of social agency.
Categories: Arts and Culture
