San Francisco art schools may merge - Artworld - San Francisco Art Institute and California College of Arts and Crafts - Brief Article

Art in America, Jan, 2003 by Stephanie Cash, David Ebony

The boards of the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) and the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) recently announced that they would begin exploring the possibility of forming a partnership. If the union is approved, the new institution would be one of the largest private art schools in the country, behind Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design in New York. Both SFAI and CCAC have excellent reputations in the art community and have graduated large numbers of internationally successful artists. As part of the exploratory process, trustees, faculty, staff and students from both schools are holding meetings to discuss various issues, such as governance, facilities and combined curricula.

Founded in 1871, the Art Institute has a current student body of 650. It offers courses primarily in the fine arts, including film, video and photography. With campuses in Oakland and San Francisco, CCAC, established in 1907, currently enrolls 1,400 students. It has a more diversified program, incorporating courses such as architecture, industrial and graphic design, and jewelry- and furniture-making into its curriculum. While there would be some overlap, the combined offerings and facilities could complement each other nicely. It is not uncommon for students to attend both schools, one for undergraduate study, the other for graduate work, or for graduates of one school to teach at the other.

Both schools have already been expanding. The Art Institute recently opened new graduate studios in a building across town from its main campus, and, in 1997, CCAC opened a new facility in San Francisco. Under its former president Ella King Torrey, SFAI was also instrumental in planning to develop a pier to provide space for nonprofits and arts and educational groups. That project was halted when the Bay Area economy went south.