In this paper we outline a theory of aesthetic education in the university, following John Dewey’s theory of art as experience. In the first section we provide a summary of Dewey’s theory, including his account of the spread of aesthetic experiences and creative impulses among audiences in artists’ communities. In section two we offer an illustration of the effect of art in community life in the work of artist and social activist Romare Beardon, whose thought and artistic practice were influenced by Dewey. Beardon insisted, with Dewey, that art is experience that engages the imagination of audiences and engenders the desire for more creative and satisfying ways of living. After surveying the lessons from Dewey and Bearden, in the third section we extend this account of art and aesthetic experience to university education. Starting with a single student learning about some topic, we move to the level of a teacher conducting a course, and finally to a university faculty committee planning a meaningful and coherent program of study for the lower college—the first two years of undergraduate study. Our goal is to show how art and aesthetic experience can function at each of these levels to enrich university life.