Accreditation     Administration     Board of Trustees     Core Values     History of UArts     Our Mission

The University of the Arts

320 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 215.717.6000 or 800.616.ARTS | UArts Website
CEEB: 2664 | Title IV Code: 00350

Core Values

Integrity and Diversity

We are a supportive community committed to individual and artistic integrity and inclusion.  We promote and respect self-expression, a wide range of ideas, and diversity in all its forms.

Excellence, Creativity and Passion

With a focus on excellence, we inspire, challenge and support the unconventional thinkers, dreamers and doers who are passionate about using their creative works to impact society.

Connections and Collaboration

We connect design and the performing, visual, communication and liberal arts in the classroom and the community, expanding artistic possibilities, outcomes and lives through creative collaboration.

Our Mission

The arts have the power to transform society. They play an essential role in ensuring and enhancing the quality of life.

The University of the Arts is committed to inspiring, educating, and preparing innovative artists and creative leaders for the arts of the 21st century.

The University of the Arts is devoted exclusively to education and training in the arts. Within this community of artists, the process of learning engages, refines, and articulates all of our creative capabilities. Our institution was among the first to contribute to the formation of an American tradition in arts education. We continue to develop interpreters and innovators who influence our dynamic culture.

We serve the community in which we reside, the professions for which we prepare new members and, ultimately, the society whose culture we both sustain and advance. The University’s goal is to direct each student’s quest for creative self-expression toward a productive role in society. Our programs develop the student’s talent, aesthetic sensibility, conceptual and perceptual acumen, cultural awareness, and professional expertise. The curricula integrate specific knowledge and skills needed for technical mastery of the various arts disciplines with a significant examination of conceptual and humanistic studies.

To this end, the University must gather and retain a distinguished teaching faculty offering a breadth of professional expertise. Their scholarly work and artistic exploration have national and international consequences for the institution. Our educational programs seek to stimulate and influence not only our students but the very disciplines that we teach.

History of the University of the Arts

The University of the Arts we celebrate today evolved from two century-old institutions: the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA) and Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts (PCPA).

PCA was established in 1876 as part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Together, they were originally known as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, created in response to the growing interest in art and art education stirred by the country’s Centennial Exposition. In 1949 PCA changed its name to the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, reflecting expanded programs that trained artists in a variety of areas. The school received accreditation as a college in 1959 and, in 1964, separated from the Museum to become the Philadelphia College of Art.

The performing arts programs of the University of the Arts date back to 1870, when three graduates of Germany’s Leipzig Conservatory opened the Philadelphia Musical Academy, one of the first European-style conservatories of music in America. The Academy became an independent college of music in 1950, one of only eight institutions in the nation to offer four-year Bachelor of Music degrees. The school changed its name to the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA) in 1976. One year later, the Philadelphia Dance Academy became part of PCPA and, in 1983, the School of Theater was created, achieving the college’s ideal combination of dance, music, and theater arts.

In 1985 PCA and PCPA merged to become the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts, a collaboration bringing the institution one step closer to becoming the nation’s first comprehensive arts university. After being granted university status in 1987, the University of the Arts became the largest institution of its kind in the nation, offering programs in design, fine arts, media arts, crafts, music, dance, and theater. In 1996 the University established the College of Media and Communication, offering degrees in Communication, Writing for Film and Television, and Multimedia.

The College of Art, Media and Design was formed in 2011 by joining the College of Art and Design and the College of Media and Communication.

Accreditation

The University of the Arts is authorized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to grant degrees in the visual, performing, and related arts and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; phone: 215-662-5606. The College of Art, Media, and Design is also an accredited institutional member of the National Association of the Schools of Art and Design and the School of Music is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.

Administration

President: David Yager
Provost: Patricia Kucker
Vice President for Advancement: TBD
Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs: Rick Longo
Vice President of Finance and Administration: Stephen J. Lightcap
Vice President of Technology and Information Services: TBD
Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness: Deborah Duffy

Dean, College of Art, Media, and Design: Mark Campbell
Dean, College of Performing Arts: Marc Dicciani
Dean, Division of Liberal Arts: Jay Baker
Dean, Division of Continuing Studies: Erin Elman
Associate Provost: James Savoie
Associate Provost and Director of Libraries: Carol Graney
Registrar: Jeffrey Kisler

Associate Vice President for University Communications: Paul Healy
Associate Vice President for Human Resources: Christine Schaeffer
Assistant Vice President for Academic Support:  Maria de Santis
Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management and Operations: Desiree DeLuca
Assistant Vice President for Special Projects: Shelton Walker
Assistant Vice President for Student Services: Josh Stern
Assistant Vice President for Admissions: Dave Moughalian
Assistant Vice President for Enrollment & Director of Student Financial Aid: TBD
Assistant Vice President and Controller: Ronald Pasceri
Assistant Vice President for Development: Andrew Pack

Board of Trustees

Chairman: Jeffrey A. Lutsky
President:  David Yager

Judson A. Aaron ‘81, Howard Belk ‘81, Karin Copeland ‘83, Eleanor L. Davis, Deanna S. DeCherney ‘66, Brian Effron, Patricia Fowler, William R. Gast ‘68, Amy H. Goldman, Nathaniel P. Hamilton, Jr. ‘07, Bruce Kardon, Gail Kass, Anthony G. Kyriakakis, Elaine C. Levitt, Karen Lotman, Jeffrey A. Lutsky, Seymour G. Mandell, Dr. Noel Mayo ‘60, Thomas M. Miles ‘75, Ronald Naples, Adolf A. Paier, Lawrence S. Reichlin, Stephen Sypherd, James P. Vesey, Laurie Wagman, Harriet G. Weiss

Life Trustees

Ira Brind, Dorrance H. Hamilton, Chairman Emerita, Sam S. McKeel

Trustees Emeriti

George A. Beach ‘58, Mary Louise Beitzel ‘51, Irvin J. Borowsky (deceased), Sondra Myers, Albert E.Wolf

President Emeritus

Peter Solmssen

Director Emerita

Susan Glazer

Faculty Emeriti

Professor Emeriti: Terry Applebaum, Jane Bedno, Donald Chittum, Sharon Church, William Daley (University Distinguished Professor), John DeWitt, Inge Druckrey, Richard Felton, Alida Fish, Kenneth Hiebert (Honorary D.F.A. – 2013), Jeanne Jaffe, Steven Jay, Elsa Johnson, Lois Johnson, David Kettner, Richard Lawn, Gerald Nichols, Barry Parker, Tom Porett, Peter Rose, Michael Rossman, Evan Solot, Peter Stambler, Robert Stein, Richard Stetser, Barbara Suplee, Stephen Tarantal, Susan Viguers

Associate Professor Emeriti: Carole Moore, Andrew Pap, Fabian Ulitsky

This catalogue was updated as of May 2017. The University of the Arts reserves the right to revise any information herein at its discretion and without prior notice.

Trademarked names appear throughout this catalogue. Rather than list the names and entities that own the trademarks or insert a trademark symbol with each mention of the trademarked name, the publisher states that it is using the names only for editorial purposes and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringing upon that trademark.

The University of the Arts® is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Reg. No. 2,341,258. UArts® is also registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Reg. No. 2,677,865.