University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

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University of the Arts


Established:	1985, 1877, 1870
Faculty:	114 full time, 420 part time
Students:	2,300
Location:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Campus:	Urban
Colors:	Purple, red, & green
Website:	http://www.uarts.edu

The University of the Arts (UArts) is one of the nation’s oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up a significant part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. The University is composed of three colleges: the College of Art and Design, the College of Performing Arts and the College of Media and Communication.

1 History
2 Academics
3 Facilities and collections
4 Notable Alumni
5 External links

[edit] History

The University was created in 1985 with the merger of the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA) and the prestigious Philadelphia College of Art (PCA).

These founding institutions have a long history and are notable not only for their graduates, but also for their professors and teachers, many of whom were and are luminaries in the field of the arts.

In 1870, the Philadelphia Musical Academy (PMA) was created. Seven years later, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music (PCM) was founded. In 1944, the Children's Dance Theatre, later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy (PDA), was founded by Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck. In 1962, the PCM was merged into the PMA. In 1976, the PMA acquired the PDA and renamed itself the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA). After establishing a School of Theater in 1983, the institution became the first performing arts college in Pennsylvania to offer a comprehensive range of majors in music, dance and theater. This institution is now the College of Performing Arts.

In 1876, the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (PaMSIA) was founded as both a museum and an art school. In 1938, the museum changed its name to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the school became the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. In 1964, the school became independent of the museum and renamed itself the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA). This institution is now the College of Art and Design.

Twelve years after the merger, in 1997, the University added a third academic division, the College of Media and Communication.

Year	History
1870	Philadelphia Musical Academy founded
1876	Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (PaMSIA) founded
1877	Philadelphia Conservatory of Music founded
1893	PaMSIA moves into Broad and Pine streets building designed by John Haviland in 1824
1938	PaMSIA becomes the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art (PhMSIA) and begins to grant academic degrees
1918	The Shubert Theater opens on South Broad
1947	Philadelphia Dance Academy founded
1949	PhMSIA becomes the Philadelphia Museum School of Art
1950	Philadelphia Musical Academy begins to grant Bachelor of Music degrees
1959	Philadelphia Museum School of Art receives accreditation and becomes the Philadelphia Museum College of Art
1962	Philadelphia Musical Academy merges with Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and continues under the name of the Philadelphia Musical Academy
1964	Philadelphia Museum College of Art separates from the Museum to become the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA)
1972	Philadelphia Musical Academy acquires Broad Street’s Shubert Theater
1976	Philadelphia Musical Academy becomes the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA)
1977	Philadelphia Dance Academy joins PCPA and becomes the School of Dance
1983	PCPA introduces School of Theater Arts
1985	PCA and PCPA join to become the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts
1987	Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts is granted university status by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Thomas Gilhool and becomes The University of the Arts; Peter Solmssen named first president
1991	The Shubert Theater renamed Merriam Theater
1994	The University opens the Philadelphia Arts Bank Theater
1996	The College of Media and Communication is founded
1998	The University purchases the 211 South Broad Street Building and dedicates it to Ambassador Daniel J. Terra
2005	The University of the Arts Center for the Creative Economy established

[edit] Academics

Undergraduate students take two thirds of their classes from one of the three component colleges of UArts and one third of their classes from the Division of Liberal Arts. Graduate students work within one of the colleges. Under an exchange agreement, ten students may take classes at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

[edit] College of Performing Arts

Majors: Dance, Music and Theater Arts
Minors: Music Education and E-Music
Graduate programs: Jazz Studies, Music Education

[edit] College of Art and Design

Majors: Animation, Crafts, Film/Animation, Film/Digital Video, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Metal/Jewelry Arts, Painting/Drawing. Photography, Printmaking/Book Arts and Sculpture
Minors: Animation, Book Arts, Figurative Illustration, Film/Digital Video, Narrative Video, Photography, Studio Photography and Typography
Concentrations: Digital Fine Arts, Art Education Pre-Certification and Art Therapy
Graduate programs: Art Education/Teaching, Book Arts/Printmaking, Ceramics, Crafts Post-Baccalaureate, Industrial Design, Museum Studies, Painting and Sculpture

[edit] College of Media and Communication

The College of Media and Communication is divided into the following major disciplines: Multimedia, Communication, and Writing for Film & Television.

Majors: Communication, Multimedia and Writing for Film & Television
Minors: Documentary Video, E-Music, E-Publishing, Game Design, Information Architecture, Multimedia, Narrative Video, Screenwriting, Strategic Advertising, Web Design, Web Drama

[edit] Facilities and collections

The University's campus is located in Center City Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts cultural district and comprises 10 buildings with more than 850,000 square feet. UArts maintains several collections, galleries, and theaters that are of interest to students and/or patrons of the arts.

The Albert M. Greenfield Library houses 152,067 bound volumes, 6,936 CDs, 14,901 periodicals, 16,820 scores and 1965 videos and DVDs. The Music Library collection holds approximately 20,000 scores, 15,000 books, 10,000 LP discs, and 5,000 CDs. The visual resources collection includes 175,000 slides. Additional university collections include the University Archives, the Picture File, the Book Arts and Textile Collections, and the Drawing Resource Center.

UArts has 10 galleries including one curated by students. Recent exhibitions include: Vito Acconci, R. Crumb, Rosalyn Drexler, April Gornik, Alex Grey, James Hyde, Jon Kessler, Donald Lipski, Robert Motherwell, Stuart Netsky, Irving Penn, Jack Pierson, Anne and Patrick Poirer, Yvonne Rainer and Andy Warhol.

UArts theaters include the Merriam Theater (seats 1,840), the Levitt Auditorium (seats 850, standing-room only for up to 1500), a black box theater, and the Arts Bank (seats 230).

[edit] Notable Alumni

(In alphabetical order)

Maxwell Atoms: Animator, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Bo Bartlett: Contemporary realist painter.
Bascove: Painter and illustrator.
Irene Bedard: Actress, voice of Pocahontas.
Stan and Jan Berenstain: Authors and illustrators, The Berenstain Bears
Tallia Brinson: Actress, Rent (Mimi, national tour).
Ken Carbone and Leslie Smolan: Graphic designers.
Stanley Clarke: Jazz bassist, Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner.
Joe Dante: Motion picture director, Gremlins, Space Balls.
Heather Donahue: Actress, The Blair Witch Project.
Wharton Esherick: Dean of American Craftsmen.
David Ewing: Emmy Award and Hugo Award winner.^{[citation needed]}
Robin Eubanks: Jazz trombonist, composer and arranger, Grammy Award winner.
Paul Goldberg: Drummer and producer.
Judith Jamison: Dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre.
Rick Kidney: Producer, Forrest Gump and Goodfellas.
LaChanze: Broadway actress, Tony Award winner, (The Color Purple).
Jared Leto: Actor and Musician, My So-Called Life and Fight Club, lead singer of the band 30 Seconds to Mars.
Noel Mayo: Industrial design pioneer.
Dr. Sam Micklus: Founder of the Odyssey of the Mind program.
Ana Ortiz: Actress, Ugly Betty (Hilda Suarez).
Irving Penn: Celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer; over 100 covers of Vogue (magazine).
Brothers Quay: Timothy and Steven, stop-motion illustrators and filmmakers.
Florence Quivar: Mezzo soprano opera singer, Metropolitan Opera.
James Rolfe: Internet phenomenon, The Angry Video Game Nerd
Arnold Roth: Cartoonist.
Charles Santore: Illustrator and graphic designer.
Cal Schenkel: Illustrator and graphic designer, Frank Zappa collaborator.
KaDee Strickland: Actress, The Grudge. 2006 UArts’ “Silver Star Alumni Award.”
Nicole Tranquillo: Vocalist, American Idol (season 6) contestant.