future of art center

Winter 2009 Update

2009-12-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

The new president, Lorne Buchman, is here and is about to begin a 6th month long process of defining what the future of Art Center is. Below is his letter announcing this. Two events are planned in the week before school starts. If you are interested in participating, please attend. I think the process will be a very positive one, though I expect lots of discomfort and angst from many directions.

The bottom line for me is that if Art Center does not define an innovative new path into the future, the school will fade. But if we can move forward in a bold way, we'll be a great college and dramatically influence the fields we teach.

Kick-off event: January 13th, 7:30-9:30, Ahmanson Theater

First Brainstorming event: January 14th, 11:30-5:30, student dining room

I'm opening up comments for this post (other posts are set to be moderated, and I'll delete any comments to them).

____________________________________________________

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Trustees and Alumni:

As many of you know, I am initiating a comprehensive planning process
at Art Center designed to produce both a creative vision for the
future and, in the long run, the strategy that will get us there. The
sequence is crucial. We must first come together as a community to
envision our opportunities, to imagine new possibilities, and to enter
into a bold, habit-breaking, conversation about our educational
future. Strategic planning — the mechanism to get us there — will
follow next summer.

I am writing to ask you to join in this first phase of educational
planning and to attend a kick-off event on the evening of Wednesday
January 13th in the Ahmanson Auditorium from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Given the imperative of building a pertinent, responsive, and
future-oriented plan, we will invite a few key individuals (thought
leaders) from outside ACCD to serve on a panel to address the question
of what they believe are the challenges of a great art and design
college of the future. Please plan to be there to witness this
important conversation which will generate thought-provoking ideas,
provide perspective from the outside, and ultimately facilitate a
discussion amongst ourselves.

I would also like to invite (and strongly encourage) any and all of
you to join us the following day for an internal brainstorming session
on Thursday, January 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Student
Dining Room to begin the planning process which will focus on the
following five major issues derived from our Mission Statement:

Students & Student Life
Curriculum & Pedagogy
Outside Partnerships
Governance & Community
Future Trends and Global Context

We will form five groups that will work together on that day and
throughout the term to develop final recommendations that I will
present to the Board of Trustees during their annual retreat in late
June.

Art Center needs an educational vision and an educational plan. It
needs at once to preserve what we know works today and to create
opportunities for the future. New programs, new learning models, new
online offerings, curricular reform, student life and service,
diversity, inclusion, access, affordability, research,
professionalism, ethics, partnerships, community, shared governance,
etc. — all will come together in the plan we create. Art Center also
needs a collective process to articulate its vision, one that gives
voice to all members of the community who wish to be involved and who
have something to say.

I ask for your involvement, your time, your ideas, and your good will
toward this crucial endeavor. We need you there.

Please RSVP to Jered Gold at jered.gold@artcenter.edu by December 17,
2009 with your interest in attending the evening session and/or the
following day’s retreat.

Best regards,

Lorne M. Buchman
President

Fall 2009 Update

2009-08-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

It seems people are still reading this (now retired) blog, so I thought I should update the status at ACCD.

The new president, Lorne M. Buchman, will arrive in October. All reports are positive regarding him, and he had many positive attributes including previous experience as president of an art/design school (CCA), fund raising, and a healthy focus on education. An interesting side note is that Buchman had applied to be president 10 years ago and was a top finalist when Koshalek was chosen.
There is a new head of HR, which should clear the way for better policies and more transparency.
The various college committees are up and running and seem to be doing a good job with participation from faculty, students, chairs and staff.
There is a serious recognition throughout the college of the financial burden students are being asked to take on. Tuition increases are reportedly going to be limited as much as possible and kept below increases at other comparable schools. And fund raising is focused on increasing scholarship funds.
One of the accreditation groups, WASC, will be around the campus in early fall, and will undoubtably find progress, but still lots to do in terms of improving education at ACCD. If you have comments about education, you should get in touch with WASC through the student council, faculty council, or directly.
Relations with alumni and the neighborhood groups have apparently improved greatly through the work of interim president Ellsworth.
Overall morale is better, but still cautious. Good teaching is going on, and I think people feel the place is less fragile. On the other hand, there are still a lot of old resentments, and a lack of strong community feeling among faculty, staff, and chairs. I don't have a good read on how the students feel.
The next big thing will be taking a look at what education should look like in the future at ACCD (not mention evaluating the current programs). Making the major changes that (in my opinion) need to be made to update the curriculums for the next 20 years will require a lot of courage from the Chairs and Faculty.
Facilities need a lot of work - the Ellwood building on the hillside needs major renovations including earthquake and air-conditioning. And the south campus needs many changes as well.

So overall, the college is still doing a good job of educating, and we are now much better positioned to go into the future, both financially and educationally. But it will take a lot of work from all involved to get there.

Where we are in May 2009

2009-05-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

A brief update on where we are in May 2009:

The presidential search is well underway, and it is likely that a new president of the college will be in place for fall 2009
Interim president Frank Ellsworth has made major cuts in the administrative part of the school, saving literally millions of dollars
Faculty and students are participating in many of the major committees including budget and technology/facilities
A new mission statement is in development
The board of trustees is much reduced, but now composed of mostly active participants - it seems much of the rancor and disagreement is in the past
Building plans are currently on hold, but some expansion is still planned in the long run. The recent South Campus construction is wrapping up and grad programs are moving from the hillside into the wind tunnel, and new classrooms are opening in the basement.
There are still many things that need to be changed at the school including updating of curriculums, greater role of faculty in governance of the school, better policies and procedures, and perhaps most important, an updated vision of Art Center's role in the art and design world.
Financially, the school is okay for now, but needs to update its educational and business models in order to survive in the long run.

Lastly, it is clear to most in the school community that Art Center would have faced dire problems if the changes over the last year had not taken place. Non-education spending was out of control, priorities were misplaced, education was suffering, and the mission of the school was seriously out of sync with a productive future for the school. The causes for this can be debated, but we now face several years of rebuilding. Thanks to all who helped start these essential changes a year ago.

More administrative changes - Breitenberg & Tambascia resign

2008-12-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

Recently resigned: Dr. Mark Breitenberg Dean, Humanities & Design Sciences & Tracy Poon Tambascia, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students
================================
Date: December 11, 2008
To: All Students, Chairs, Faculty and Staff
From: Frank L. Ellsworth and Nik Hafermaas

It is with mixed emotions that we are letting you know that Dr. Mark Breitenberg will be leaving Art Center, and has accepted the position of Provost at California College of the Arts (CCA), located at its two campuses in San Francisco and Oakland. This is a significant appointment that will enable Mark to not only expand his professional reach, but to make an even larger contribution to the world of art and design education.

Mark will assume his new position on February 1, 2009. We are very pleased, however, that Mark will stay at Art Center for the first two weeks of Spring Term, in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Mark has a long history at Art Center, where he has been a passionate advocate around the world for the College, its educational programs, and the importance of design to business, industry and society. During Mark’s time here we have been impressed with his dedication to modeling the best of academic collaboration not only with all of our Education departments, but also with such critical functions as Admissions, Development, International Initiatives and Designmatters, and Marketing and Communications.

Many of you may not know that Mark joined Art Center in 1998 as a part-time instructor in Grad Art and Liberal Arts & Sciences. Motivated by his commitment to providing students with the general knowledge they need to succeed as designers, Mark became a full-time instructor in 1999, and then assumed a number of increasingly influential roles: Chair of Liberal Arts & Sciences (2000-2004); Dean, Undergraduate Education (2004-2007); and currently Dean, Humanities & Design Sciences (2007-present).

In these capacities, he developed a number of new initiatives and programs, including: a new liberal arts and sciences curriculum based on rigor and relevance in support of the art and design studio departments; a comprehensive writing program, including The Writing Center; a new business curriculum; an expanded commitment to design research; international collaborations with INSEAD and Tama Art University; and expanding the Toyota Lecture Series into what will debut next term as The Big Picture lecture series available to all students, faculty and staff.

We are very grateful for Mark’s many contributions, which will continue to enrich Art Center’s offerings and experience for years to come. Please join us in wishing him well in his new position.

Sincerely,

Frank L. Ellsworth Nik Hafermaas
================================

Date: December 12, 2008
To: All Students, Chairs, Faculty and Staff
From: Frank L. Ellsworth

I am sorry to let you know that Tracy Poon Tambascia, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, has advised me that she will be leaving Art Center to pursue other professional interests. Her last day on campus will be January 9, 2009.

Since joining Art Center in 2005, Tracy has worked closely with student services departments to shape the student experience positively, from the very first day all the way through the transition to our alumni community. Her student-centered approach to examining policies, programs and practices has ensured both equity and consistency in outcomes. Overall, Tracy has brought to her responsibilities a professional and knowledgeable perspective, as well as a genuine concern for our students and their experience here.

Although we have worked together just a short time, I discovered early on Tracy’s commitment to being a team player and making things work. These are attributes that she will carry on with her into her next chapter.

I know that each of you who has worked with Tracy will join me in wishing her well.

Yours Sincerely,

Frank L. Ellsworth

Interim President Makes Organization changes

2008-11-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

DATE: November 14, 2008

TO: All Faculty and Staff

FROM: Frank L. Ellsworth

RE: Organization changes

As Interim President, part of my charge from the Board of Trustees is to address Art Center’s overall operating budget, with an eye for the next three years, in light of recent enrollment concerns and the general uncertainty in the economy. In approaching this responsibility, I am refocusing our spending priorities as an educational institution. Through careful evaluation of the administrative functions and needs of the College, the following reorganizational changes have been made. Although there will be more, I do want to communicate to you now what has occurred recently.

President’s Office. Four staff members staffed this office prior to my arrival. Upon review, it has been determined that three of these positions are not needed. Sheila Low will continue as Executive Assistant.
Architecture and Planning: As you know the Board of Trustees has placed the Frank Gehry Design Research Complex on indefinite hold. The remaining responsibilities of the Architecture and Planning Office -- classroom modifications and other ongoing facility improvements -- will be outsourced to appropriate vendors with managerial oversight provided by the Facilities department. (Please note that this is standard practice at most colleges and universities.) The build-out of the South Campus “Wind Tunnel” for the Graduate Media Design studios will be completed by January 2009. Other planned projects, such as housing and the Power Plant are still tentative. Our new Ad Hoc Committee on Facilities on campus will review all facilities needs including those already identified to determine costs and priorities. In light of these changes, it has been determined that Art Center no longer needs a dedicated, in-house architectural support staff and we have closed this department. Jennifer Orefice, Administrative Assistant, and Rollin Homer, Designer, will now report to the Facilities Department.
Senior Vice President for IT: Michael Berman is no longer working for us. His position has been eliminated. Our Vice President for IT, Theresa Zix, will report to the CFO. As you know, we have another Director for IT position vacant.
Student Affairs: Previously reporting to the Chief Academic Officer, the Office of Student Affairs under the leadership of the Dean of Students will now report directly to the Interim President. These departments include Enrollment Services, Registrar, Student Affairs, Student Life, and Career Services.
Admissions and Financial Aid. These two functions were reporting to two different offices. The Admissions and Financial Aid offices will now, working closely together, report directly to the Interim President.
Library: Previously reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, the Vice President of the Library will now report directly to the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Gallery and Exhibitions: Previously reporting to the Chief Academic Officer, the Director of the Gallery and Exhibitions will now report directly to the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Alumni Relations: Previously reporting to the Dean of Students, the Office of Alumni Relations will join the Office of Development. Historically, Alumni Relations has always supported Development’s efforts in building effective giving relationships between alumni and the College. A wonderful example is the Legacy Circle, an alumni fund-raising group for student scholarships. Under this new arrangement, Alumni Relations will work closely with members of the Development staff toward our goals of increased scholarship support and other institutional opportunities. The Office of Alumni Relations will continue to work closely with many other departments -- Admissions, Student Life, Career Services and the educational leadership of Art Center -- as part of its commitment to build lifelong relationships between our students and the College. The many resources and benefits currently available to our students and alumni, such as networking through global alumni events and the In Circle web community, will not be affected.

Finally, I want to emphasize that these decisions have been motivated by a concern to realign the operating budget with our core educational commitment to the faculty, programs, environment and community we provide for our students.

ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN APPOINTS DR. FRANK L. ELLSWORTH AS INTERIM PRESIDENT

2008-10-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Pasadena, Calif., October 9, 2008 – The Board of Trustees of Art Center College of Design announced today the appointment of Dr. Frank L. Ellsworth as Interim President of the College. Dr. Ellsworth’s appointment is effective immediately and will extend through the ongoing search for a permanent president, which is anticipated by the end of 2009.

In a career spanning over forty years, Dr. Ellsworth brings a broad range of experience in higher education, the arts, fundraising, nonprofit management, and governance. During his academic career he served as President of Pitzer College, as the youngest president in the history of The Claremont Colleges; President of the Independent Colleges of Southern California; and most recently, President of The Japan Society in New York City. He has combined teaching and administration at these and a diverse number of academic institutions, including Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, Pennsylvania State University, and The University of Chicago, where he served as Assistant Dean in the Law School.

Active in cultural and community affairs, Dr. Ellsworth currently serves on several boards, including Give2Asia, The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation, Global Partners Institute, and the American Friends, National Portrait Gallery (London).

Dr. Ellsworth received his A.B. cum laude from Adelbert College, Case Western University; his M.Ed. from Pennsylvania State University and his M.A. from Columbia University; and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He has also received two honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Pepperdine University and Southwestern University School of Law.

In making the announcement, John Puerner, Chairman of The Board of Trustees said, “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are very pleased to have Frank join us as Interim President and provide ongoing momentum for Art Center during this transition period. We are confident that Frank’s diverse background combined with his deep knowledge of higher education will be very valuable as we continue to move the College’s agenda forward. We look forward to his contributions and leadership.”

Dr. Ellsworth said, “The reputation of the faculty of Art Center College of Design is long standing and outstanding. The graduates reflect admirably on this small, vibrant College and their influence permeates the lives of people throughout the world. I am honored to be able to play a role.”

ALSO RECENTLY POSTED ON THE COLLEGE NEWS SITE:

Update from the Presidential Search Committee (9/29/08)

At today's meeting of the Presidential Search Committee, three search firms were interviewed. These firms — which were selected from an initial group of six well-respected firms that had submitted proposals — are all internationally-recognized, have impressive track records of success, and clearly understand the depth, breadth and scope of search that Art Center requires.

The Search Committee will make their decision within the next few days and will meet with the selected firm next week. The search firm will then meet with the Board of Trustees and report on their progress at the October 23 Board meeting.

The Search Committee will issue periodic updates when additional milestones have been achieved in the search for a new permanent President for Art Center.

First priorities for the Interim President

2008-09-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

With the immanent appointment of an Interim President, what are the priorities for this new member of the Art Center community? Fundamentally, we believe that the college needs to set itself on a positive course before the new permanent president arrives. If things seem to be a mess with destructive factionalism, it will be much harder to hire a really great new president. Here are a few specific suggestions for the Interim President. Please add your own.

Make a clear statement to the students, faculty, alumni and staff that from now on the college will be more transparent and communicative with them. Start by holding a public forum that explains the current status of the college, and then listens to the concerns of the community.
Immediately spend money on visible improvements to the educational environment - these should be things that students and faculty experience as part of the day-to-day educational experience.
Embark on a comprehensive review of spending with an eye towards focusing the school's budget on high quality education and recruitment, and the elimination of high-cost, low benefit spending and staff.
Engage education (faculty, students, chairs, alumni) to initiate a dialog on art & design education for the 21st Century. How should the evolving role of artists and designers change our curriculum? What college-wide initiatives should there be to modernize education, create strong faculty development, and integrate technology and computing into education?

ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN ANNOUNCES EARLY DEPARTURE OF PRESIDENT RICHARD KOSHALEK

2008-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Pasadena, California, September 24, 2008 … The Board of Trustees of Art Center College of
Design announced today that they have reached an agreement with Richard Koshalek allowing
for Mr. Koshalek to be released from his position as president of the College prior to his contract
term date (December 2009). With this agreement, Mr. Koshalek’s departure from the College’s
Board of Trustees is effective immediately.

“We honor Richard’s request to leave early and want to thank him for the hard work and
dedication he has shown over the past nine years,” said John Puerner, Chairman, Board of
Trustees, Art Center College of Design. “Richard’s commitment to educational excellence and
the value of design education in the world is truly noteworthy, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

“It has been a great privilege to lead this important institution and to work with the College’s
talented students, faculty and staff,” said Mr. Koshalek. “Throughout its history, Art Center has
been a leader in art and design education, and I have no doubt this will continue to be the case
well into the future.”

While the Board of Trustees has already launched the search for a new president, they have
recognized the need to appoint an interim president as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the
College’s senior management team will report directly to the Board of Trustees.
“The trustees are moving swiftly to secure interim leadership to ensure a smooth transition,” said Mr. Puerner. “This will also enable the search committee to focus their full attention on finding a permanent president who can lead Art Center into the future while meeting the
curricular and programmatic needs of our students.”

The presidential search committee, which was organized several months ago, is headed by
Trustee Robert Davidson and is comprised of a broad representation of key Art Center
stakeholders, including trustees, faculty members, students, and administration. The committee
has begun working on identifying the qualities the College will seek in candidates for the
presidency, including a strong track record of successful leadership in the academic world or in
industry, a deep understanding and appreciation of design and the creative process, and the
ability to articulate and implement a strong strategic vision for Art Center.

Where is the Board, Where is Hafermaas? Where is the Leadership?

2008-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Art Center is adrift and our supposed leadership is failing us. It has been 2 1/2 months since the Board announced that RK would not have his contract renewed, and they have been basically silent ever since. Nik Hafermaas has been the Acting CAO for more than a month, and almost nothing has happened from his office, not even a statement of what his direction will be, or how he will engage the campus community to implement changes.

There are serious issues pending: A new president needs to be hired, the financial health of the school, poor scholarships & high tuition, a lack of vision in 21st century education, false moves towards sustainability, falling apart facilities, under-spending in education and over spending in other areas, enrollment standards, falling confidence in the companies that hire our graduates, over-crowding, low faculty/staff moral, poor governance system, and a terrible communication tradition. We understand these issues will not be solved overnight, but THERE MUST BE BETTER COMMUNICATION and CLEAR INDICATIONS OF PROGRESS.

Students, faculty, alumni, and staff want to know: What is the school's plan? What changes are being implemented? What is the timeline?

The leadership of this school needs to show respect for the community it serves. You are responsible for making change happen, and you are responsible for communicating how that change is progressing. God dammit, get moving!

Changes. More coming.

2008-08-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

I would like to share with you a message from Marty Smith (below), who will be leaving his post as Chair, Product Design Department on September 5. Marty has accepted a position at Hong Kong Polytechnic University as Chair Professor of Industrial Design, where he will develop a new program targeted to the international business and design communities.

Marty has been an invaluable member of the Art Center faculty since 1985. He has made extraordinary contributions toward developing Product Design's growing focus on business and entrepreneurship, including the successful international exchange program with INSEAD.

I am also pleased to advise that Karen Hofmann will fill the role of Acting Chair, Product Design, as she did last year during Marty's sabbatical. Thanks to Karen's efforts in developing CMTEL, our focus on design research continues to grow and attract international support and recognition. We look forward to her continued leadership.

Please join me in wishing Marty continued success in this exciting next stage of his career. We hope there will be opportunities for us to keep in touch and even collaborate in the future.

Richard Koshalek
President

Nik Hafermaas / Acting Chief Academic Officer

2008-08-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Dear students, faculty and staff,

I am very pleased to advise that effective immediately, Nik Hafermaas will serve as Acting Chief Academic Officer. This appointment was initiated by Tim Kobe as Chair of the Board of Trustees' Education Committee, and subsequently approved by the Education Committee members. Nik has been an invaluable member of our Education team, especially during this transition period, and we look forward to his continued leadership in placing education as Art Center's highest priority.

Sincerely,

Richard Koshalek
President

What do you think about this appointment?

Top 5 ACCD Issues

2008-07-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the last couple of months, and many people we talk to feel like there is an unprecedented opportunity for positive change at Art Center. The college is searching for new leadership, the ill-communicated and overambitious DRC is tabled, the college has announced a "Zero Waste Plan", there is a renewed focus on education, scholarships have become a higher priority, and faculty and students are beginning to find their voices.

Please use this post to state what you feel are the TOP 5 issues that need to be addressed at Art Center. We encourage people to use their real names if possible, and at a minimum to indicate if they are faculty, student, alumni, staff, admin, etc. It is helpful to understand your perspective. Even if you disagreed with the protests and felt the college was already on the right track, this is your opportunity to indicate your priorities for the college.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming

2008-07-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Note: The previous "Full Speed Ahead" statement has been revised to more appropriate language. We thank the college for this.

The meeting today with Koshalek and Hafermaas was mostly positive, and indicative of the long term, fundamental changes underway. Koshalek discussed his departure in 18 months, and Hafermaas discussed the education committee and his desire for change, increased transparency, and for a diversity of educational thinking. While some may decry the outpouring of criticism that occurred on the blogs and elsewhere, the essential changes going on would have never happened without that critique. We believe the college is on a new path that has very high potential.

Regarding the DRC and Master Plan, it is now pretty clear that the "full speed ahead" announcement was more an oddly motivated distortion of what's going on, than any indication that the Board is going back on its word to reevaluate the building plans - and all indications are that the DRC is now a dead project. Patricia Oliver, though unnecessarily defensive, indicated in the meeting that it was about the EIR (environmental impact report) being moved ahead. Thanks to Jason for pressing the point - you didn't get an appropriate answer, but in a self-defeating way, it seems difficult for many in the administration to admit mistakes. By the way, there was a very interesting radio broadcast today on KCRW regarding the DRC that included art critic Edward Goldman, LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, and Patricia Oliver.

So we're pushing the previous post and discussion on the Master Plan down the page, and would like everyone to get back to the more urgent task at hand - contributing to the future planning. In particular, please make in-depth comments on the best characteristics of the new President and Provost/CAO. Just saying these people should be Alumni or be able to raise funds does not dig very deep. As a provocation, perhaps comment on the recent and controversial appointment of John Maeda to be the new president of RISD. Was this a good move for them? Is that kind of appointment a good model for us? Why do you think he was appointed? What kind of qualifications does he have?

Sustainability at Art Center, what can we do?

2008-06-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

What does this mean to students, faculty and staff? Discuss tangible actions Art Center do to show an honest effort to this idea.

What are things that symbolize sustainability to you (for example, recycling bins)?
What are actions that people can do individually?
What are actions Art Center as an institution take?

Criteria for the new President & Provost/CAO?

2008-06-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Comment here on what you think are the top criteria for the new Art Center President and Provost/CAO positions. Be specific. We'll assemble these and forward them to the Board of Trustees.

* Should they come from an educational institution?

* What kind of background should they have?

* What are the top 3 characteristics they should have?

The House that Tink Built

2008-06-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

I am gathering letters on students, faculty and alumni's thoughts about ACCD. Not opinions on what is happening now, but their reminiscences of ACCD. Click on the comments to read letters gathered over the last few days, and add yours. We need to go back to the history of Art Center to move forward.

What is the essense of Art Center, and how should it evolve?

2008-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

To begin the conversation, we invite students, faculty, staff, chairs and alums to comment here about what they think are the essential characteristics of Art Center.

* What are the essential characteristics?

* Do they apply to all majors? How are they different?

* Looking to the future, how should this character evolve?

College Governance - Best Practices?

2008-06-25T11:34:00.001-07:00

Art Center has always been outside the norm when it comes to its governance structure - I.e. how educational decisions are made. In addition, the education structure has been in continual change for the last 10 years. What do you suggest for how education should be organized?

* What structure do you suggest? Should Art Center follow best practices from other art/design schools?

* How can faculty be better integrated into the educational process?

Task forces - are they set up right?

2008-06-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

The task forces recently set up are a good start, but many have commented that there could be improvements to them.

* What would make the task forces better?

* Are there task forces that should be added?

What are the most immediate facilities and equipment needs?

2008-06-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

As one of the three ACsG requests of the board, what the most immediate needs in regard to facilities and equipment?

* What immediate improvements need to be made to the Ellwood building?

* What furniture and equipment needs are MOST urgent?

* What is the one thing you think is missing at Art Center in this regard?

Inside politics discussion

2008-06-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

We've created this post as a place to discuss the inside politics at ACCD. Here is the place for those who want to get into the nitty gritty of the political landscape - the board, Richard, Nate, etc. As always, keep your posts respectful. We created this place for the wonks out there (you know who you are!), and also to keep some of the other areas of this site more accessible to those focusing on the issues who don't care so much about the gory political details.

The Beginning of a Process

2008-06-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

First, the Future of Art Center team would like to acknowledge the incredible outpouring of passion and interest in the school from every corner of the globe and every part of the extended community - students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, donors, employers, artists, members of the art & design communities, and many others. It’s clear that this great educational institution has a significant place in the hearts and minds of many people, and that there is sincere concern for its future. The ACCD Board of Trustee’s announcement indicates that your concerns have been heard. You have had a direct impact on the future of Art Center College of Design.

But this is just the beginning of a process. As the school embarks on a search for a new president, we enter a critical transitional period in the history of Art Center. It is now our - students, faculty, chairs, staff, administration, trustees and alumni - responsibility to work together as a community to position the school for the future. We must leave behind the negative and embrace a constructive, collaborative process. All perspectives must be heard and understood in the tradition of great educational institutions. Best of class education comes from committed, inspired faculty working with thoughtful educational leaders in the best interests of students. We’re not turning out widgets - our goal and commitment is to nurture an environment where top students thrive and learn, go on to produce great art and design, and have a positive impact on the world.

It is especially important at this point to remember and appreciate that Art Center is a diverse institution with great undergraduate programs in Fine Art Media, Film, Illustration, Photography + Imaging, Graphic Design, Environmental Design, Product Design, Advertising, Transportation, and Entertainment Design. In addition, the board has recommitted itself to the investment and development of graduate education and research in the Art, Broadcast Cinema, Industrial Design, and Media Design Graduate programs which can lead the way for future innovation. There is no simple “solution” that could possibly cover this amazing cross-section of programs. Diverse approaches are necessary and good. The creative interplay between all the approaches and programs is what makes any school, and especially this school, a rich and vital place for education.

The Future of Art Center site will be an independent forum for the coming discussion. We encourage positive, constructive participation from all perspectives - but we will not tolerate the distractions of personal attacks and endless debates of the past. It is time to move forward, find a new president and provost, and define our future. We look forward to working with the ACsG, Faculty Council, Chairs, Staff, Alumni, Administration, Board of Trustees and individuals. In this spirit of collaboration, Richard Koshalek has already reached out to us, and we look forward to a collegial relationship with him and all members of the community.

This is a time of synthesis, compromise, cooperation and invention. It is an incredible opportunity to influence art and design education in our institution, and to lead the entire art and design community into the open territory of the future of education. Over the next few days, we’ll be posting important topics to help define a direction for the next 18 months. Join us!

ACsG Letter to the Board of Trustees

2008-06-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of the letter given to the Board of Trustees by the Art Center Student Council.

Master Plan: Board of Trustees is Prepared to Move Full Speed Ahead

2008-06-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

Note: The previous "Full Speed Ahead" statement has been revised to more appropriate language. We thank the college for this.

Not sure what message the Board of Trustees is trying to send, but they released a statement saying they are moving full speed with the current Master Plan. They've also pointed to the City of Pasadena's site for the full application ACCD submitted. There is a lot of information in this application. We've included a couple images of the DRC and site plan below.

A few points to consider:

Submitting plans to the city and making an EIR (Environmental Impact Report) is a long and expensive process. It may be the board decided to submit what they had as a maximum plan, which they can always pull back from later.
Whatever the Board's intention, they and the school are SO STUPID about communications! What are they thinking? A few days before, Puerner states that they are reevaluating priorities, and then they come out with a statement like this ("full speed ahead") without any explanation of why, or how this relates to earlier statements, or if they are rejecting all the protests. It is a complete slap in the face to the entire Art Center community, and is evidence of the continued complete lack of respect the Board and college has for its constituents.
If you look at the description of the DRC on the city's site (check especially Chapter 2, Project Description PDF), you'll see that besides the sculpture-like glass atrium, the building is nothing really special, and is hardly ideal for its intended uses. They've spread the library over 4 or 5 stories, and divided by the artrium. There are just two large rooms for "fabrication and assembly" and "reverse engineering" - whatever that means. Lastly, there is an outdoor "design exhibit area", which doesn't make any sense at all. While it is covered by the atrium, it is exposed to the outside with no security - so anything exhibited there would have to be behind glass. But we make tangible things at Art Center - putting them behind glass makes them remote and is just a terrible idea.
The DRC is just under 50,000 sq. ft. So at $50 million, that's $1,000/sq. ft. That's an expensive building. CORRECTION: A anon poster has indicated that the $50M would cover the building cost plus FFE (furniture, fixtures, and equipment), plus an operations endowment.
The plan calls for an increase of 400 students, with a corresponding increase of only 10 faculty. Huh? a 40 to 1 ratio?

From the Pasadena Star News

2008-06-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Contract of high-profile art center president won't be renewed

By Janette Williams, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 06/21/2008 11:58:17 PM PDT

PASADENA — Richard Koshalek, the high-profile, hard-driving president of Art Center College of Design since 1999, will not have his contract renewed when it expires in 18 months.

John Puerner, chairman of the college's 16-member Board of Trustees, speaking from his home in Santa Fe on Saturday, said the college was in the process of "crafting a communication to deliver to the Art Center community" in the next few days.

"We will provide communication ... using a new forum created by Art Center, a new on-line forum created to speak to students and faculty," Puerner said while declining to comment until Art Center staff and students are informed of the board's action.

Puerner later said he was not confirming Koshalek's contract would not be renewed.

Link to full article here

An open letter to the Art Center Board of Trustees

2008-06-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

We want to thank the Board for the work they are putting in for the future of Art Center. The time you are are taking to deliberate is important at this critical time in the college's history. We would like you to consider the following as you discuss options for moving forward:

1) If you approve the status quo you will send the wrong message to the ACCD community and damage the reputation and viability of the school. There is a clear desire for change, both from inside and outside the institution. Those involved in the day to day education - students, faculty and staff - are clearly expressing a desire for a new direction. Those outside - alumni, donors, and employers - want the quality of the graduates to achieve higher excellence and the school to influence art and design far into the future. You must approve changes to the school's direction, or the community will directly question why the Board ignored this unprecedented outpouring of support for change.

2) The school must reorient itself towards inventing new approaches to 21st century art and design education. This must be the first priority, after which, expansion and new buildings can be considered in the context of these new modes of education. Certainly the existing facilities must be used to their fullest - the graduate programs should move to South Campus and the Ellwood building should be restored. But new development must follow educational goals, not the other way around.

3) Fund raising and the management of the budget must refocus on scholarships, recruitment, enhancing the classroom experience, developing new curriculum, and supporting faculty. The institutional emphasis on new construction has drained education and damaged the environment for instruction.

4) Art Center is an educational institution, not a for-profit business and not a monument on the hill. The hiring of a world class, experienced educational provost is of utmost importance. This educational leader must be independent and able to inspire, challenge, and leverage the incredible knowledge and commitment of the faculty and chairs. In addition, this person should be focused on education, and it may be advisable to split off some of the responsibilities that the CAO position has to a separate operational role.

5) Sustainability, design thinking, design research, social engagement, and an international perspective are all important, but the school needs to integrate them into actual education and college practices rather than simply talking about them or creating a few token activities for PR effect. The school should engage in meaningful ways or it will have no impact. In particular, the school should work with other educational institutions to build new best practices instead of operating in isolation. The best success is for the school to produce thoughtful practitioners for the future.

Thank you for your consideration.

Coming Up

2008-06-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

We will be interviewing students at ACCD and posting the interviews here. The purpose of these interviews is to give the general public, alumni, faculty and staff, a look inside. We have all heard the issues surrounding their education, but now it's time to hear from them. What are their goals? Why did they choose ACCD? We will begin on Monday with an amazing student that has brought community outreach into his projects.

The Day After

2008-06-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

The men and women of the Board of Trustees attained their careers not through luck or happenstance, they are there through hard work and due diligence. If they apply that knowledge to the issues at hand at ACCD, they will see a strong student body, a fractured staff, a splintered faculty that has never had a full member meeting ever in the last two years , the very active neighborhood that is now launching a campaign against the building and now the skyrocketing cost of steel, cement and fuel will add another 25% to the budget to the Gehry building. Every board member is responsible for their vote and we will hold them to it.

With all this in mind, where do we start?

Bring the faculty together offsite to meet one another. Unity is built through handshakes not email.

Students need smaller class sizes. Maintenance on the existing buildings. There's nothing more irritating than a lawsuit for a trip and fall on broken tile that a student gave administration notice on during a video taped open forum.

Cut the International Initiatives budget and give back to the Educational budget. At this point a few trips to Spain would pay a new teacher's salary. Two staff people going to Milan would pay a part time teacher's salary. What good is a conference in Barcelona to a student when no one views the website? And when can a student afford $345 to attend their own sponsored Serious Play conference? Isn't the whole mission of that conference is to bring the world to ACCD? How can you do that by excluding your own faculty and students by charging them to attend?

Let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Staff is constantly getting caught off guard on directives that were known to Administration for days or weeks.

Take a few positions from Communications and Marketing to Student Scholarship.
Twenty two in C +M compared to five in Scholarship. Where's our priorities?

I will be working with the site "future of art center" to bring a positive side to the issues at ACCD. Now that we have aired our laundry, it's time to bring the passion that we all feel about ACCD back into a positive light. I will be interviewing students and showing their work on that site. We are a great college, lets show it.

And Richard keep your door open, there's a line forming.

Ophelia

Faculty Council Makes statement on recent events

2008-06-19T09:01:00.001-07:00

The ACCD Faculty Council has made a statement of their position on many issues yesterday in a note sent to faculty yesterday. Faculty were also invited to participate in a survey about teaching conditions and faculty support. The statement is included here as the first comment.

Faculty especially, please post your comments here, and communicate directly with the FC about your priorities. The faculty, through the FC and independently, need to have a greater voice and be heard in this discussion. If you are posting anonymously, please at least identify your relationship to the college - i.e. faculty, student, alum, staff, etc.

Budget chart indicates real view of spending

2008-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

The below chart (click to enlarge) indicates that as revenues from tuition have increased, direct spending on education has fallen. We don't have confirmation yet that this chart is legitimate, but neither has there been a denial. The numbers look valid from what we know.

Post your impressions of the forum here

2008-06-10T15:34:00.001-07:00

Please post your impressions of the forum here. Keep your posts short and too the point, and the tone respectful.

Roadmap: 10 ways to move forward

2008-06-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of constructive participation, here are 10 proposals for how to move forward. We welcome comments, criticisms & suggestions for improvement.

1) Immediately allocate resources to make the student educational experience better. Fix the leaky roof, make the cafeteria more green, replace the falling-apart furniture, bring back popular & necessary classes that have been cut, cap classroom size (as appropriate per departments), create a better recycling program, take student complaints seriously, etc.

2) Create a 21st education initiative that challenges the faculty, chairs, and students to do a complete rethink of art and design education for the 21st century. This is not only about technology, but about merging the craft and finish traditions of ACCD with the thinking and making that has the deep concept, strategy, experimentation, and speculation that is needed by industry, art, design, as well as the larger world of policy and sustainability. ACCD graduates need to be great designers and artists, makers, leaders, and experimenters, change agents and entrepreneurs.

3) Recommit to high admissions standards in line with the historic quality of Art Center students, plus offer Art Center at Night and early term courses to bring the student work to a higher level. Also commit to a cap on total enrollment at a level that the facilities can handle.

4) Create a comprehensive sustainability plan with both immediate changes (e.g. better recycling, replace incandescent lights with fluorescents), and long term plans (e.g. solar panels).

5) Set aside the plans for the DRC and create a new top priority capital campaign and construction plan to improve the Ellwood building - fix the infrastructure, earthquake retrofit, make it energy efficient, improve the technology, make the classrooms and studios better, create an independent “plant,” and make it more accessible. Consider including in this plan a low cost structure on the Hillside campus that can house additional studios and classrooms. As a symbol of Art Center and a historic building, the Ellwood fund raising campaign can leverage the interests of alumni, corporations and others who appreciate the history and output of the school, as well as those who want to support the new 21st educational initiative outlined above.

6) Revise the current Master Plan. Implement new and more open ways of involving faculty, staff and alumni in the planning process, and communicate better with the community about planning. Use this new approach to create a new mission statement and goals for education. Then create a revised Master Plan for education and building that embodies this mission and goals.

7) Redouble fund-raising efforts for scholarships and the endowment to help improve the incoming student quality and diversity. Also create a new education campaign to raise money for more full-time faculty, advanced faculty training, and the implementation of the new 21st century curriculum.

8) Review the financial allocations across the school, and refocus funds to best support education and the new priorities of the school.

9) Start an international search for an education provost with experience in art/design education and who has the leadership skills to help the school develop and implement a new educational vision.

10) Increase the number of full time faculty. In order to develop a modern 21st century curriculum, faculty must be in place who can afford to invest the time to brainstorm about the best approach to curriculum, develop new courses, and who can mentor part-time faculty in the new approach. Along with this, the school needs to invest significantly in faculty training.

RECAP: Summary of Events So Far

2008-06-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

1) May 14, Wed – Nathan Cooke posted a blog post criticizing the status quo at Art Center. He emailed the post to Richard Kosalek, President of Art Center, some senior administration, some faculty and students of Ecocouncil. Read the post here.

2) May 15, Thur – Nate Young, Chief Academic Officer, turned in his resignation. (note: this was coincidental to the blog post)

3) May 15, Thur - Erica Clark (Senior VP, International Initiatives) and Iris Gelt (Senior VP, Marketing and Communications) had a conference call with Nathan Cooke. They asked him to retract his statement. He did not. They claimed his facts were off, he asked them for the correct information. They did not provide it.

4) The blog post spread virally, among students, alumni, faculty, and administration. People started commenting with their critiques on the current direction of Art Center. Post your concerns here.

5) May 28, Wed - ACSG (Art Center Student Government) held a town hall in the cafeteria at Art Center for students to voice their concerns. Rachel Tiede (Nate Young’s Assistant) spoke up at the student forum in defense of Nate Young, saying that he left because he did not agree with the direction the school was going. She was dismissed without options for further employment by HR after this (confirmed on June 5, Thursday, letter from Rachel). Videos available here.

6) May 30, Fri - ACSG met with Richard Koshalek and Senior VPs to discuss student concerns. Videos available here. Summary of videos here.

7) May 31, Sat - An online petition to the Board of Trustees was started, asking for the prioritization of education over all other projects. Read and sign it at www.accdpetition.com

8) June 1, Sun - Legacy Circle Photo is posted at Artcenter.edu with Nate Young (the dismissed VP Education/Chief Academic Officer) airbrushed out. When questioned about it, the older photo with Nate was reposted. Iris Gelt apologizes June 4, saying it was an inadvertent accident that happened while readjusting faculty lists. Read more here (has before and after photos) and here.

9) June 3, Tue - Alumni Potluck in Cafeteria started by Ophelia Chong (an alumni), for current students to connect with Alumni. Richard Koshalek was in attendance

10) June 10, Tue - ACSG hosts an open forum for students (and faculty?) to ask questions to Koshalek and Senior VPs directly. Questions people asked before the forum here. Video of the forum here.

11) June 19, Thur - Board of Trustees Meeting at South Campus, with concurrent Silent Protest by students organized by ACSG.

Q&A with the administration, Tuesday 12-2

2008-06-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

The ACsG will hold a Q&A this Tuesday in the Ahmanson (6/10) from 12-2pm. Koshalek and administration members will answer student, faculty, alumni, and staff questions. Open to everyone. Full text of announcement as first comment.

Post your most important questions for the event in this comment section. Please keep your posts SHORT AND TO THE POINT! We're proposing questions that can be answered at the event Tuesday.

Rachel Tiede speaks out regarding her dismissal

2008-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

To all who are concerned with the future of Art Center:

I have always planned on setting the record straight concerning my dismissal from Art Center last week, however I needed to take care of a few things before that was possible.

Over the last 10 years I have worked for three different departments at Art Center (my last position being the Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer), through this I have come to know and respect many of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni. I have a great love for this school and never imagined this is how I would leave. The current administration would have you believe I left on my own accord to pursue other career goals. THIS IS NOT TRUE. In my final meeting with Human Resources I was told I could not work in any other department on campus and my only option was to leave. This happened less than 24 hours after I stood up in the student meeting in the cafeteria and explained why Nate Young resigned from his position as Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer.

In the ACSG meeting last Friday, Richard Koshalek stated that Human Resources asked me to come work for them and wanted me to stay at Art Center. Again I emphatically state that THIS IS NOT TRUE. Human Resources did ask that the temp (Francis) working in our office at the time stay on and work, but I was not given that as an option. Though I have been told by legal council and others that I have serious grounds for a law suit, I have decided against this course of action at this time as the only ones who would suffer and pay are the students.

I wish you all the best, you have my full support to make education the top priority at Art Center.

Yours Truly,

Rachael Tiede

Unified petition - Education First!

2008-06-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

There is a new Education First Petition, that unifies the various ideas of how to speak directly to the ACCD Board of Trustees. In short, it requests that the Trustees change the priorities of the school to focus more on education. Some of you may support the idea that Koshalek's contract not be renewed. If so, you are suggested to add that as a comment to your "signature" of the digital petition. Paper versions of the petition will be circulated on campus this week. The full text of the new petition is included as a comment on this post.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/educationfirst

NEWS: Noted designers & alums Nathan Shedroff and Clement Mok have signed the petition along with more than 600 others.

Nate Young erased from donation image

2008-06-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

UPDATE2: Iris Gelt, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications applogized for the erasure of Nate's image.

Iris Gelt said...
We sincerely regret the removal of Nate Young's image from the Legacy Circle section of the web site. In the confusion of recent events, this was indeed an error that occurred while quick adjustments were being made to staff lists and images. As you know, the correct, original image was immediately replaced and will of course remain on the site for the usual cycle of rotation that pertains to all images.

We would never wish to diminish in any way Nate's significant contributions to Art Center. We truly honor the work of the Legacy Circle and hope that it will continue to flourish under the dedicated leadership of Stan Kong and Ramone Munoz.

If anyone has any other questions, I encourage you to contact me directly, at iris.gelt@artcenter.edu.

JUNE 4, 2008 3:29 PM
====
UPDATE: The image was restored to its original state, with Nate Young back. We applaud the school for undoing this petty move to erase every trace of Nate.

Nate Young was photoshop-ed out of an image on the ACCD website. As one of the members of the Legacy Circle (in which members donate at least $1,000), he was in the photo at the top of this page. For more details from a member of the Legacy Circle, scroll to the bottom of this site to see a full post and image.

Brief report on ACSG meeting

2008-06-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

We are still slogging through the videos of the ACSG meeting, but some brief highlights. For now, just reporting what was said, without commentary. If anyone has corrections or additions to this, please email futureorartcenter@gmail.com or post a comment.

DRC - Design Research Center Building

The DRC (Gehry building) would be composed of three parts: the shops, a library, and an atrium
Why Gehry? Branding, best of class design of building, draw donations, international exposure
The construction plan would include a central plant for Ellwood and Gehry buildings - i.e. A/C, Heating, etc allowing equipment to be removed from roof of Ellwood. This allows for solar on the roof of Ellwood
Would be an inexpensive building, like a design studio

What Koshalek wants to do next

More involved in faculty hires, including international searchs
Work more closely with faculty & students
Better communication with faculty, alumni, students
Build the Board of Trustees - more diversity, more design focus
Sees competition as Stanford D-School, CMU, Ohio State, MIT, U of Minnesota, RCA

Money

$75M raised since 1999
$25M of that went to endowment
Endowment was $16M in 1999, is now $42M, next goal is $60M (typically, less than 5% can be spent each year, i.e. $2.1M of current - this was not stated in meeting - just typical for endowments)
90% of endowment goes to scholarships
Last year, $1.4M raised for scholarships
Last year, education budget was $25.4M, went over budget by $1.1M, blamed implicitly on Nate Young, and technology went over budget as well
From 2003 to 2007 education budget increased by 24.6%

Sustainability

Changes to the Cafeteria will be implemented in the next few weeks - no details of what those changes are
South campus is LEED approved
Gehry building would be sustainably built and operated

more coming...

News, Actions and Events

2008-05-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Post news and events related to the future of Art Center here - board meetings, protests, important news, petitions, etc. This is your place to make things happen and report on them. If there is urgent news, I'll summarize and put it on the home page.

How can education be improved at Art Center?

2008-05-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

A discussion on the future of education at Art Center. How can education be improved? What is working well, what is not? How is Art Center falling behind other schools and art and design trends? What are the most important things to change about Art Center?

What are your biggest concerns?

2008-05-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is a place to express your most important concerns about Art Center. Is it the educational direction, buildings, sustainability, tuition, faculty security, whatever? Make your voice known.

Nate Young erased from Legacy Circle photo

2008-05-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

Update: The Image was restored to its original state with Nate in the picture - which proves it was removed in the first place.

UPDATE2: Iris Gelt, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications applogized for the erasure of Nate's image.

Iris Gelt said...
We sincerely regret the removal of Nate Young's image from the Legacy Circle section of the web site. In the confusion of recent events, this was indeed an error that occurred while quick adjustments were being made to staff lists and images. As you know, the correct, original image was immediately replaced and will of course remain on the site for the usual cycle of rotation that pertains to all images.

We would never wish to diminish in any way Nate's significant contributions to Art Center. We truly honor the work of the Legacy Circle and hope that it will continue to flourish under the dedicated leadership of Stan Kong and Ramone Munoz.

If anyone has any other questions, I encourage you to contact me directly, at iris.gelt@artcenter.edu.

JUNE 4, 2008 3:29 PM

Cross posted from Nathan's site - Image at the bottom of the post

Originally posted by:

Stan Kong
Co-Chair, Legacy Circle
Alum and Faculty

Page in question: http://www.artcenter.edu/legacycircle/
----------------------------------

To the office or persons responsible for the cropping of the Legacy Circle photograph on the Art Center homepage.

There is a photo on the Art Center Homepage under “Check it out”. It is a photo of Left to Right: Richard Holbrook, Wayne Hunt, Stan Kong, Ramone Munoz and Kristine Bowne. The picture was taken at Richard Holbrook’s Legacy Circle fundraising party for student scholarships. Nate Young was originally in the photograph next to Kristine Bowne. Nate was cropped out of the photo last week.

This was very disrespectful to Nate Young, an alum and member of Legacy Circle, myself and co-chair Ramone Munoz, the development office and all the members of our group. Nate joined our cause with a generous gift towards student scholarships, was very supportive of our efforts and encouraged many others to join and contribute.

I am very troubled by this action. It doesn’t make it any easier to fundraise, particularly in this economic climate. It sends the message that you can give to the college but we may not appreciate it. We are all volunteers and need as much support from the college community as possible.

Go to the homepage:

http://www.artcenter.edu/

Click on the photograph and it will bring you to the Legacy Circle page. Whoever cropped the photo forgot to delete Nate’s name from the description of those in the original photograph located below to the right:

Top Left: Left to Right:
Richard Holbrook, Wayne Hunt,
Stan Kong, Ramone Munoz,
Nate Young, Kristine Bowne

The Legacy Circle Committee deserves an explanation from those that are responsible.

Stan Kong
Co-Chair, Legacy Circle
Alum and Faculty