Academy of Art University
Encyclopedia
The Academy of Art University (formerly Academy of Art College), a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California
in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens. With an enrollment of over 17,000 students, the academy is reportedly the largest art and design school in the United States
.
. Assisted by his wife, Clara Stephens, Stephens opened the new school in a rented loft at 215 Kearny Street to teach advertising art. Over the next few years, he hired a faculty of practicing art and design professionals and formulated the school's philosophy to hire established professionals to teach future professionals. In 1933, the curriculum was expanded to include Fashion Illustration, and a Fine Art Department was added in 1936.
Stephens' son, Richard A. Stephens, took over direction of the school after graduating from Stanford University
in 1951. During the son's tenure, the academy expanded its enrollment from 50 to 5,200 students. Richard A. Stephens oversaw continued expansion of department majors, starting with the addition of a Foundations Department, which offered courses in the basic principles of art and design, along with other Fine Art departments. In 1966, the school was incorporated as the Academy of Art College, and the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
granted the school the authority to confer the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree that same year. In 1977, the Academy of Art College added the Master of Fine Arts program to its degree offerings, marking the inauguration of its graduate school, with the state of California later approving the Master's program in 1983. In 1992, Elisa Stephens, granddaughter of the school's founder, succeeded her father, Richard A. Stephens, as president of the school.
(online) degrees
and certificate programs in its fine arts programs. The university offers Associate of Arts (AA), Bachelor of Arts
(BA) and Bachelor of Fine Arts
(BFA) for undergraduate degree programs, Master of Arts
(MA), Master of Fine Arts
(MFA) and Master of Architecture
(M.Arch) for graduate degree programs, and certificate programs for personal enrichment. The Academy of Art University offers degree and certificate programs in 18 majors:
(WASC), one of the six major regional accreditation commissions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
. Degree programs offered by Academy of Art University are also accredited nationally by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
(NASAD). The Academy is also an institutional member of the Career College Association (CCA) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA).
The on-campus Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree program offered by the Academy in Interior Architecture & Design is accredited as a Professional Level Program by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation
(formerly "FIDER," the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research). In addition, the on-campus Master of Architecture program offered by the Academy's School of Architecture has been accredited as a Professional Level Program since 2006 by the National Architectural Accrediting Board
(NAAB). In 2011 the on-campus Master of Architecture program failed to meet the final NAAB accreditation check and now remains in a probationary accreditation status.
The Academy of Art University holds classes in a number of buildings, with most buildings located within a few blocks of each other in downtown San Francisco. Several of the buildings are significant historical structures — in some cases, bought by the academy to preserve them from demolition or commercial redevelopment. The academy also owns a series of art studios that were once owned by the non-profit San Francisco Art Institute
. Residence facilities and all academic buildings are linked by an extensive school shuttle bus system used by both students and employees of the school. The academy converted some of its buildings into dormitories
for its full-time students. Some of the buildings that the school converted into dormitories occupy structures that were built during the early 20th Century.
Division II, it became a member of the Pacific West Conference
in 2009 and currently fields 14 men’s and women’s teams. For the 2010-11 athletics season the university is currently in its second candidacy year in the Division II membership process. AAU will become a provisional member in the 2011-12 academic year and provided the university continues to meet NCAA obligations, it will become a full NCAA D-II member for the 2012-13 academic year. During the transition process Academy of Art are not eligible for the NCAA II post-season, but is eligible for the PacWest Championships and Commissioner's Cup.
to purchase the building, a former YWCA
designed by Lewis Hobart, that both housed the Lorraine Hansberry
Theatre, a prominent African-American theater, and space leased by the academy for dormitories. The academy entered into an agreement to purchase the building from Sutter Taylor, the owner and seller of the building and real estate development company that originally planned to gut the historic building and construct high-end condominiums inside the shell of the exterior walls. With the purchase of the building, the university announced that it planned to reconvert the theatre space back to a gymnasium "for the private use of its students." The theater's lease with Sutter Taylor was scheduled to expire on July 31, 2007.
The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre launched a campaign with the help of arts groups and politicians to retain its theater space within the building, complaining that the loss of the space threatened to cancel the already-scheduled 2007-2008 season, which the theater and its supporters alleged could lead to the theater's demise. According to the academy, Sutter Taylor promised that the building would be vacant at the completion of the sale, and the theater knew of the school's plans to purchase the building as far back as 2005. Back then, the theater chose to forego the option of renewing its lease with Sutter Taylor, receiving in exchange free rent of the space from 2005 until the expiration of its lease at the end of July 2007. The academy offered to help pay a comprehensive assistance and relocation package totaling up to $125,000 to the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, while the school awaited information from the theater about the costs of the move. In spite of the help offered by the academy, the theater wanted to revisit the agreement it made with Sutter Taylor about the space within the building to be purchased by the academy.
, was closed in 1994 by the archdiocese as a cost-saving measure. The archdiocese closed the church because of declining attendance, repair costs for damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
and the need to pay court judgments resulting from the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal
. After a seismic restoration forecast showed that $7 million USD was needed to shore up the church building, the academy petitioned the City of San Francisco to remove the church from the historic landmark registry so that it could proceed with restoring the building. Several parishioners, who wanted to preserve St. Brigid Church, petitioned the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board to prevent the academy from making changes to the church's exterior and interior features and to preserve the whole of the church as a historic landmark
.
During discussions about the landmark designation for St. Brigid Church, the academy agreed with the former parishioners that the exterior of the church should be preserved in its present form, although the academy continued to disagree with them regarding landmark status for the church's interior. According to the academy, "landmark status for the interior was never part of the plan," and it was caught in the middle of a dispute between the former parishioners and the Catholic Church over the closing and sale of St. Brigid Church.
Although the Archdiocese of San Francisco declined to preserve landmark status for St. Brigid Church and despite the academy's requests to remove the church from the historic registry, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
voted to grant partial landmark status to the church. In its October 3, 2006 ruling, the board accorded St. Brigid Church historic landmark status for its exterior and left open the question about preserving the church's interior features.
The interior would later gain landmark status, but the Diocese had already removed important statuary by that time. The former church is now used for classroom space, and the large interior space is used as a lecture hall. Other than statuary removed by the Diocese, the interior remained intact. The Academy has since replaced the roof and repaired interior features that had been damaged severely by water infiltration.
, the student's instructor and an award-winning poet and former recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts
grant, became concerned about the subject matter of the student's fictional story.
Richman referred the matter to her department's coordinator, seeking advice and guidance for how to handle the student's submission. The department coordinator suggested to Richman that she recommend the student read the first chapter of The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
to initiate a discussion about the power of violence in artful storytelling. Richman also supplemented the academy-approved text books with reading assignments from Girl With Curious Hair
, a short story by award-winning author David Foster Wallace
. When the academy's administration office later learned of the student's graphic short story, the academy expelled the student. The academy also referred the student's graphic story to the homicide division of the San Francisco Police Department
for criminal profiling. Richman lost her job after the academy accused her of violating school policy by assigning textbooks not approved in advance for the course, although no policy existed officially at that time governing the use of supplemental materials.
Alan Kaufman
, another faculty member at the academy and author of Jew Boy and Matches, took up the cause of the student's expulsion and Richman's firing by organizing protests against the academy's response. Kaufman was later dismissed from his job at the academy because of his role in leading protests about the controversy. In support of Kaufman's protest against the student's expulsion, authors Stephen King
and Salman Rushdie (at the time, Rushdie was President of the PEN American Center
) wrote letters of protest concerning the academy's handling of the matter. The academy defended its actions to expel the student and request criminal profiling of the student's story by arguing that its actions were a response to the Columbine High School shootings and the September 11 attacks
. After the Virginia Tech Massacre
in April 2007, the Academy of Art University was mentioned in the press as an example of a school that had been assailed for expelling students for the use of threatening language. Sallie Hunting, the school's vice president for public relations, stated that the incident at Virginia Tech made evident that schools should observe with more alarm students' use of what she called threatening language. Hunting noted that, although laws exist to protect an individual's right to privacy, safety issues may sometimes present the need to look deeper to balance this issue with security concerns.
During the protests, Starving Artist, the academy's student newspaper, covered the story about the student's expulsion. After the student editor of Starving Artist approached the academy about covering the protests, the academy granted permission to cover the protests in two parts so that the student newspaper could give equal weight to both sides of the controversy. In its initial coverage of the protests, Starving Artist featured the headline "Safety from What?" on its front page, along with a photo of a student with a taped over mouth wearing the sign "At the Academy of Art ... Students = Credit Cards." The student newspaper also included an editorial comparing the academy's response to fears that erupted during the September 11 attacks. To quell the ongoing disruption of protests on the campus, the academy shut down the newspaper after seizing the undistributed newspaper copies featuring the provocative headline and rescinded permission for the student newspaper to cover and print the remaining part of the story.
The incident inspired a play Harmless, by Brett Neveu
.
as the California Federation of Art Teachers. After many attempts by the school and a protracted legal battle to prevent the union from becoming active, the National Labor Relations Board prevailed in federal court and secured back pay for many instructors who were fired illegally in violation of the National Labor Relations Act
.
37.78785°N 122.40065°W
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens. With an enrollment of over 17,000 students, the academy is reportedly the largest art and design school in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
In 1929, the Academy of Art University was established in San Francisco as the Academy of Art Advertising by Richard S. Stephens, a fine arts painter and the creative director for SunsetSunset (magazine)
Sunset is a lifestyle magazine in the United States. Sunset focuses on homes, cooking, gardening, and travel, with a focus almost exclusively on the Western United States...
. Assisted by his wife, Clara Stephens, Stephens opened the new school in a rented loft at 215 Kearny Street to teach advertising art. Over the next few years, he hired a faculty of practicing art and design professionals and formulated the school's philosophy to hire established professionals to teach future professionals. In 1933, the curriculum was expanded to include Fashion Illustration, and a Fine Art Department was added in 1936.
Stephens' son, Richard A. Stephens, took over direction of the school after graduating from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1951. During the son's tenure, the academy expanded its enrollment from 50 to 5,200 students. Richard A. Stephens oversaw continued expansion of department majors, starting with the addition of a Foundations Department, which offered courses in the basic principles of art and design, along with other Fine Art departments. In 1966, the school was incorporated as the Academy of Art College, and the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education was a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs whose purpose was to protect students by establishing academic standards for of private institutions of higher education in California...
granted the school the authority to confer the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree that same year. In 1977, the Academy of Art College added the Master of Fine Arts program to its degree offerings, marking the inauguration of its graduate school, with the state of California later approving the Master's program in 1983. In 1992, Elisa Stephens, granddaughter of the school's founder, succeeded her father, Richard A. Stephens, as president of the school.
Academic programs
The Academy of Art University offers both on-campus (traditional instructor-led) and distance educationDistance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
(online) degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
and certificate programs in its fine arts programs. The university offers Associate of Arts (AA), Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(BA) and Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
(BFA) for undergraduate degree programs, Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(MA), Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
(MFA) and Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture
The Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...
(M.Arch) for graduate degree programs, and certificate programs for personal enrichment. The Academy of Art University offers degree and certificate programs in 18 majors:
- Acting
- Advertising
- AnimationAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and Visual EffectsVisual effectsVisual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or... - Architecture
- Art Education
- Fashion
- Fine Art
- Game Design
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Industrial Design
- Interior ArchitectureInterior architectureInterior Architecture is truly a marriage of three distinct design disciplines: interior design, architecture, and industrial design...
and DesignInterior designInterior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects... - Landscape ArchitectureLandscape architectureLandscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
- Motion PicturesFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound... - Multimedia CommunicationsMultimediaMultimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
- Music Production and Sound DesignSound designSound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
for Visual MediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles... - Photography
- Web DesignWeb designWeb design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
and New MediaNew mediaNew media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
Accreditation
In May 2007, Academy of Art University received regional accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and CollegesWestern Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
(WASC), one of the six major regional accreditation commissions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
. Degree programs offered by Academy of Art University are also accredited nationally by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design , founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees. Member institutions complete periodic peer review...
(NASAD). The Academy is also an institutional member of the Career College Association (CCA) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA).
The on-campus Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree program offered by the Academy in Interior Architecture & Design is accredited as a Professional Level Program by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation
Council for Interior Design Accreditation
The is an independent, non-profit accrediting organization for interior design education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
(formerly "FIDER," the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research). In addition, the on-campus Master of Architecture program offered by the Academy's School of Architecture has been accredited as a Professional Level Program since 2006 by the National Architectural Accrediting Board
National Architectural Accrediting Board
The National Architectural Accrediting Board is the sole authority for accredited US professional degree programs for architecture in the United States, developing standards and procedures to verify that each accredited program meets standards for the appropriate education of architects...
(NAAB). In 2011 the on-campus Master of Architecture program failed to meet the final NAAB accreditation check and now remains in a probationary accreditation status.
Facilities
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
. Residence facilities and all academic buildings are linked by an extensive school shuttle bus system used by both students and employees of the school. The academy converted some of its buildings into dormitories
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
for its full-time students. Some of the buildings that the school converted into dormitories occupy structures that were built during the early 20th Century.
Athletics
The Urban Knights are the athletic teams for the university. The Academy of Art University began its athletic program in 2008 and soon after applied to join the National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division II, it became a member of the Pacific West Conference
Pacific West Conference
The Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...
in 2009 and currently fields 14 men’s and women’s teams. For the 2010-11 athletics season the university is currently in its second candidacy year in the Division II membership process. AAU will become a provisional member in the 2011-12 academic year and provided the university continues to meet NCAA obligations, it will become a full NCAA D-II member for the 2012-13 academic year. During the transition process Academy of Art are not eligible for the NCAA II post-season, but is eligible for the PacWest Championships and Commissioner's Cup.
Men's Sports
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Women's Sports
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Controversies
The Academy of Art University found itself embroiled in a number of controversies, which spanned from labor and student relations to its rapid growth and acquisition of numerous buildings throughout San Francisco. Most of the recent controversies focused on debates about specific buildings, as well as city government investigations in 2007 and again in 2010 for deliberately ignoring building permit processes and signage regulations.Eviction of San Francisco Flower Mart
In 2007, the Academy of Art University signed a contract to purchase the historic Flower Mart located in San Francisco, which the academy planned to convert into a site for housing sculpture studios. Eviction of tenants from the Flower Mart would result in the closure of 30 businesses and jeopardize employment of more than 300 people. The proposed eviction came at a time when the academy was scrutinized closely by San Francisco officials for accruing more planning permit violations than any other property owner. Because of accusations related to the alleged permit violations, the academy hired a land-use attorney to address issues related to the acquired properties.Eviction of the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
The Academy of Art University exercised an optionOption (law)
In law, an option is the right to convey a piece of property. The person granting the option is called the optionor and the person who has the benefit of the option is called the optionee .Options characteristically exist in one of two forms:* Call options, which give the beneficiary the right to...
to purchase the building, a former YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
designed by Lewis Hobart, that both housed the Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry was an African American playwright and author of political speeches, letters, and essays...
Theatre, a prominent African-American theater, and space leased by the academy for dormitories. The academy entered into an agreement to purchase the building from Sutter Taylor, the owner and seller of the building and real estate development company that originally planned to gut the historic building and construct high-end condominiums inside the shell of the exterior walls. With the purchase of the building, the university announced that it planned to reconvert the theatre space back to a gymnasium "for the private use of its students." The theater's lease with Sutter Taylor was scheduled to expire on July 31, 2007.
The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre launched a campaign with the help of arts groups and politicians to retain its theater space within the building, complaining that the loss of the space threatened to cancel the already-scheduled 2007-2008 season, which the theater and its supporters alleged could lead to the theater's demise. According to the academy, Sutter Taylor promised that the building would be vacant at the completion of the sale, and the theater knew of the school's plans to purchase the building as far back as 2005. Back then, the theater chose to forego the option of renewing its lease with Sutter Taylor, receiving in exchange free rent of the space from 2005 until the expiration of its lease at the end of July 2007. The academy offered to help pay a comprehensive assistance and relocation package totaling up to $125,000 to the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, while the school awaited information from the theater about the costs of the move. In spite of the help offered by the academy, the theater wanted to revisit the agreement it made with Sutter Taylor about the space within the building to be purchased by the academy.
Purchase of St. Brigid Church
During Summer 2005, the Archdiocese of San Francisco sold the building that housed St. Brigid Catholic Church to the Academy of Art University. St. Brigid Church, which first opened as a parish in 1864 and survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, was closed in 1994 by the archdiocese as a cost-saving measure. The archdiocese closed the church because of declining attendance, repair costs for damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
and the need to pay court judgments resulting from the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal
Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
The Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders. These cases began receiving public attention beginning in the mid-1980s...
. After a seismic restoration forecast showed that $7 million USD was needed to shore up the church building, the academy petitioned the City of San Francisco to remove the church from the historic landmark registry so that it could proceed with restoring the building. Several parishioners, who wanted to preserve St. Brigid Church, petitioned the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board to prevent the academy from making changes to the church's exterior and interior features and to preserve the whole of the church as a historic landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
.
During discussions about the landmark designation for St. Brigid Church, the academy agreed with the former parishioners that the exterior of the church should be preserved in its present form, although the academy continued to disagree with them regarding landmark status for the church's interior. According to the academy, "landmark status for the interior was never part of the plan," and it was caught in the middle of a dispute between the former parishioners and the Catholic Church over the closing and sale of St. Brigid Church.
Although the Archdiocese of San Francisco declined to preserve landmark status for St. Brigid Church and despite the academy's requests to remove the church from the historic registry, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
voted to grant partial landmark status to the church. In its October 3, 2006 ruling, the board accorded St. Brigid Church historic landmark status for its exterior and left open the question about preserving the church's interior features.
The interior would later gain landmark status, but the Diocese had already removed important statuary by that time. The former church is now used for classroom space, and the large interior space is used as a lecture hall. Other than statuary removed by the Diocese, the interior remained intact. The Academy has since replaced the roof and repaired interior features that had been damaged severely by water infiltration.
Expulsion of student writer
In December 2003, the academy expelled a student for writing a story in a creative writing class featuring a male serial killer who dismembered his female victims. Jan RichmanJan Richman
-Life:She graduated from the NYU Graduate Creative Writing Program.In 2001, Jan Richman and Beth Lisick presented a benefit "Poetry & Pizza," by 9x9 Industries. She worked at SF Gate, the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle...
, the student's instructor and an award-winning poet and former recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grant, became concerned about the subject matter of the student's fictional story.
Richman referred the matter to her department's coordinator, seeking advice and guidance for how to handle the student's submission. The department coordinator suggested to Richman that she recommend the student read the first chapter of The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones is a 2002 novel by Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she comes to terms with her own death. The novel received much critical...
by Alice Sebold
Alice Sebold
Alice Sebold is an American novelist. She has published three books: Lucky , The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon .-Early life:...
to initiate a discussion about the power of violence in artful storytelling. Richman also supplemented the academy-approved text books with reading assignments from Girl With Curious Hair
Girl with Curious Hair
Girl with Curious Hair is a collection of short stories by David Foster Wallace first published in 1989. Though the stories are not related, many of them share the theme of society's fascination with celebrity, some using real celebrities, including Alex Trebek, David Letterman and Lyndon Johnson,...
, a short story by award-winning author David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
. When the academy's administration office later learned of the student's graphic short story, the academy expelled the student. The academy also referred the student's graphic story to the homicide division of the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
for criminal profiling. Richman lost her job after the academy accused her of violating school policy by assigning textbooks not approved in advance for the course, although no policy existed officially at that time governing the use of supplemental materials.
Alan Kaufman
Alan Kaufman
Alan Kaufman is an American novelist, memoirist and poet who was instrumental in the development of the Spoken Word movement in literature. He is the author of the memoir Jew Boy, the novel Matches, and is listed as editor of The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.He is also listed as co-editor of The...
, another faculty member at the academy and author of Jew Boy and Matches, took up the cause of the student's expulsion and Richman's firing by organizing protests against the academy's response. Kaufman was later dismissed from his job at the academy because of his role in leading protests about the controversy. In support of Kaufman's protest against the student's expulsion, authors Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
and Salman Rushdie (at the time, Rushdie was President of the PEN American Center
PEN American Center
PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
) wrote letters of protest concerning the academy's handling of the matter. The academy defended its actions to expel the student and request criminal profiling of the student's story by arguing that its actions were a response to the Columbine High School shootings and the September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. After the Virginia Tech Massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
in April 2007, the Academy of Art University was mentioned in the press as an example of a school that had been assailed for expelling students for the use of threatening language. Sallie Hunting, the school's vice president for public relations, stated that the incident at Virginia Tech made evident that schools should observe with more alarm students' use of what she called threatening language. Hunting noted that, although laws exist to protect an individual's right to privacy, safety issues may sometimes present the need to look deeper to balance this issue with security concerns.
During the protests, Starving Artist, the academy's student newspaper, covered the story about the student's expulsion. After the student editor of Starving Artist approached the academy about covering the protests, the academy granted permission to cover the protests in two parts so that the student newspaper could give equal weight to both sides of the controversy. In its initial coverage of the protests, Starving Artist featured the headline "Safety from What?" on its front page, along with a photo of a student with a taped over mouth wearing the sign "At the Academy of Art ... Students = Credit Cards." The student newspaper also included an editorial comparing the academy's response to fears that erupted during the September 11 attacks. To quell the ongoing disruption of protests on the campus, the academy shut down the newspaper after seizing the undistributed newspaper copies featuring the provocative headline and rescinded permission for the student newspaper to cover and print the remaining part of the story.
The incident inspired a play Harmless, by Brett Neveu
Brett Neveu
Brett Neveu is an American playwright, and ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago.-Work:His works have been produced at The Royal Court Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, A Red Orchid Theatre, The House Theatre, Goodman Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Writers' Theater and 29th...
.
Battling the faculty union
During late 1970s-early 1980s, the faculty at the then Academy of Art College formed a union, certified by the National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
as the California Federation of Art Teachers. After many attempts by the school and a protracted legal battle to prevent the union from becoming active, the National Labor Relations Board prevailed in federal court and secured back pay for many instructors who were fired illegally in violation of the National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
.
Notable alumni
- Chris MilkChris MilkChris Milk is an American music video director and photographer. He has directed videos for Kanye West, U2, Green Day, Courtney Love, Audioslave, Modest Mouse, Gnarls Barkley and Arcade Fire. He also has numerous television commercials to his credit...
, music video director for artists U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, Gnarls BarkleyGnarls BarkleyGnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
, John MellencampJohn MellencampJohn Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
, Modest MouseModest MouseModest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, and Chemical Brothers, among others. - Alejandro Lalinde, cinematographer of music videos for such talents as Ne-YoNe-YoShaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
, Lil WayneLil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, and NasNasNasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, among others. - Deanne Fitzmaurice, a BFA graduate of the Academy and a staff photographer for the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, won the 2005 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in feature photography for her photo essay of efforts by Children's Hospital Oakland to treat an Iraqi boy for life threatening injuries sustained in an explosion. - Mari Matsumoto, an MFA School of Fashion graduate of the Academy who was mentioned by Forbes MagazineForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as one of "five future fashion designers to watch." - The design works of the Academy's current and former students – Natasha Shah, Malia McGlothlin Pawsey, Jessica Thompson, Jennifer Bolanos, and Tianyu Li – were featured on the Home and Garden Television (HGTV)HGTVHGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
show Designer Finals. - Lee Cheol-haLee Cheol-haLee Cheol-ha is a South Korean film director known for his stylish portraits of the human experience.Born in South Korea, Lee was raised in Seoul. He eschewed the film school route, doing other hands-on work for commercial film productions. He next got a job at Sidus FNH in 1999 with his first...
, a MFA School of Motion Pictures & Television, director of the feature films in South Korea. - Jason Sperling – creator of the “Get a MacGet a MacThe Get a Mac campaign is a television advertising campaign created for Apple Inc. by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the company's advertising agency, that ran from 2006 to 2009...
” ads received an Advertising MFA (1998) from Academy of Art University. - Kourtny Hicks - member of the iPod Nano Design team
- Ian Takahashi – Cinematographer on Sleeping Dogs Lie
- Chris Cortez – Winner of The Cut, Tommy HilfigerTommy HilfigerThomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
’s CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
reality show - Anna SheffieldAnna SheffieldAnna Sheffield is an American jewelry designer and entrepreneur. Anna designs jewelry for three of her own lines: Anna Sheffield Fine Jewelry, Bing Bang and Bespoke...
– Creator of the Bing Bang jewelry line - Moby Francke - Art lead at Valve Software; Team Fortress 2Team Fortress 2Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
art director - Lauren ConradLauren ConradLauren Katherine Conrad is an American television personality, celebutante, and fashion designer. She came to prominence with her starring roles on the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and its spin-off series, The Hills, which at one point followed her personal and...
and Heidi MontagHeidi MontagHeidi Blair Pratt is an American media personality and singer. She came to prominence with her starring role on the MTV reality series The Hills from 2006 to 2010. Montag has also appeared on I'm a Celebrity.....
, of The HillsThe HillsThe Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
, became acquainted as freshmen at Academy of Art University in 2004
Notable faculty and staff
- Diane BakerDiane BakerDiane Carol Baker is an American actress who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.-Early life:...
, Executive Director of the School of Motion Pictures & Television / Acting and veteran Hollywood actress - Lanny Liu, illustrator of webcomic Single Asian FemaleSingle Asian FemaleSingle Asian Female is an American webcomic depicting Asian Americans. Ethan Lee, an Asian American, created the storyline, and Lanny Liu, a Chinese American freelance illustrator, created the artwork...
- Lindsey YamasakiLindsey Yamasaki-External links:* * *...
, former basketball player at StanfordStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and the WNBAWomen's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
who currently coaches the Academy's women's basketball team - Terryl WhitlatchTerryl WhitlatchTerryl Anne Whitlatch is an American scientific and academically trained illustrator, known for her creature designs for Lucasfilm and her illustrations in the Katurran Odyssey book, among others....
, illustration instructor who has worked extensively as a creature designer on the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
prequels, where she worked directly with George Lucas
External links
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