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If you've been following the turmoil over at Art Center for the past couple of months, last night provided some resolution: Richard Koshalek, Art Center's president for the past 9 years, will not have his contract renewed. (Yup, that's a nice way of saying exactly what you think that's saying.)
All of this is a culmination of a grassroots movement demanding that school officials put more money into students and education than into what some considered to be less productive projects, namely, Koshalek's push for a 50 million dollar design research complex designed by Frank Gehry.
The whole thing was set off by a blog post from Nathan Cooke, an industrial design student, on May 14th, complaining about the lack of recycling consistency post-Art Center Conference. (We were actually nearby as he was circling the trash cans filled with vinyl conference posters, scratching his head in disbelief.) Beyond the green critique, Cooke went on to the other issues of tuition, compensation, and the Gehry initiative:
Student tuition has been raised 5%% consistently over these past two years so that Art Center can "remain competitive," or so the little letter I receive in the mail states. Well, I'm glad someone in Art Center was able to find the $385,068 in 2005 to pay Gehry Partners to design our new "advanced technical center." A facility that has yet to break ground, and will not be finished before any attending student graduates.
Well, the blogpost caught fire (comments now number over 1200), was moved to a new blog entitled Future of Art Center, and on the debate raged. Meanwhile, Art Center set up its own blog in a presumed attempt to get ahead of the conversation, addressing some of the issues head-on. (FAQs range from the insanely-broad "Where does my tuition go?" to the particular "Why does the College spend money on conferences and events?")
K. So then chief academic officer Nate Young and two chief financial officers resign or were fired, and people wondered how far this might go? (Actually, there's an unsavory step in the middle here: Nate Young's photo was (poorly) photoshopped out of Art Center's Legacy Circle page, then put back in, along with an apology. Yikes.)
An online petition called Education First gathered over 1400 signatories and was sent to the trustees demanding that the Gehry project be stopped. Another petition--this one called Honesty First (youch!)--gathered 400 signatures defending Koshalek and the Ghery project.
After some presumed all-nighters (the trustees, not the students), word came down last night from John Puerner, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, as well as from Richard Koshalekin. (No permalinks on these; guess there won't be too many more statements.)
So ya, blogs rule, or they're destabilizing, or make sure you put your trash away quietly, or be careful what you earmark 50 million bucks for. Or mostly take good care of your students and your faculty, don't underestimate the power of architecture or fundraising, and increase transparency all over the place. Now, can we get back to that "Where does my tuition go" question? That's a doozy for any college!
Alissa Walker's got a great writeup of the story at ArchPaper, and you can find earlier stories in the LA Times, and LA Weekly.
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Comments
Good news about Art Center...only why did it take nine years? I left Art Center as Acting Chair of Design in 2000 when Koshalek came in. Went to USC and started some courses there until I became Professor, Chair/Department of Design here at KU in 2004. Art Center has for years lived off the student tuition which has increasingly gone up. It was well known that Koshalek was more interested in courting celebrity architects than the educational mission and started within his first week on the job. ACCD has lived, thrived and made a name for itself due to its students and alumni. It has an incredible history and is still seen as one of the preeminent institutions for design education. It is continually featured in the media and holds some of the most prestigious conferences on design in the world...(so where is the money? where is the equipment...etc). There have been a problem since the days of David Brown..(although as both expatriates I learned to appreciate and admire David much more outside of that environment). ACCD has for many years been very much like a Hollywood studio lot....a great impressive structure from the front...with wood 2x4's holding it up from behind. ACCD is a brand..and one of the best - its alumni have been key in shaping the design world as we know it and its been the students who despite whatever has happened (closing ACCD Europe, a coup by Senior Administration to oust David, years of impotency in ridding itself of the VP of Education) continue to flourish and perpetuate the brand. Thank god they took some action (other than chasing David to his office and atop his desk) and finally the students best interest/well being has risen to the top. I once asked a student why he was so complacent about the goings on around him. He replied "man I just want to do my work and get out of here." He became a brand manager for a large corporation...that's what ACCD does. I hope that the issues regarding the students spill over to the concerns about faculty treatment and inequity as well. Art Center, despite the current situation will do as it always has, continue to develop talent that is integral in shaping design.
excellent post. it's strange to see how long it took for ACCD to finally boot koshalek. I remember us literally beating drums outside a board meeting in 02 or 03 over the whole ron jones debacle (a character who warrants a story for himself) and then-tuition hikes. I graduated in 04 and am continuously amazed at how the fellow students I have stayed in touch and myself still haven't gotten over how mismanaged this once great institution has been in recent years. I hope they will manage to recover to former glory some day but fear it might take a decade.