Accreditation     Administration     Board of Trustees     History of UArts     Mission     Nondiscrimination Policy

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

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

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 visual, performing, and media arts of the twenty-first century.

Purpose

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.

The University:

• Educates and professionally trains artists in the visual and performing arts, in design, in media, and in writing;
• Grants graduate and undergraduate degrees, diplomas, and certificates in the arts;
• Provides educational programs centered in the arts to multiple populations;
• Encourages relationships among the arts;
• Promotes high standards in creativity and scholarship;
• Prepares artists who will contribute responsibly to our culture;
• Challenges students to think critically, joining knowledge and skill to their individual creative vision;
• Anticipates and cultivates new art forms as they emerge.

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 Association of Colleges and Schools (Commission on Higher Education, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; 215-662-5606). The College of Art and Design is also an accredited institutional member of the National Association of the Schools of Art and Design, and the Industrial Designers Society of America. The School of Music is also accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

Administration

President: Sean T. Buffington
Provost: Michael Nash
Vice President of Development & Alumni Relations: Saba S. Saraagazade
Vice President for Communications: Paul Healy
Vice President for Enrollment Management, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid: Barbara Elliot
Vice President for Facilities Management & Operations: Phillip Van Cleave
Vice President of Finance and Administration: William E. Mea
Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students: R. Allen Leffers
Vice President of Technology and Information Services: Thomas Carnwath

Dean, College of Art & Design: Steven Tarantal
Interim Dean, College of Media & Communication: Christopher Garvin
Dean, College of Performing Arts: Richard J. Lawn
Dean, Division of Liberal Arts: Peter Stambler
Dean, Division of Continuing Studies: Erin Elman
Associate Provost: James Savoie
Associate Provost and Director of Libraries: Carol Graney
Registrar: Lynn Powell Dougherty

Director of Admission: Susan Gandy
Director of Student Financial Services: Chris Pesotski
 

Board of Trustees

Chairman: Ronald J. Naples
President: Sean T. Buffington

George A. Beach ‘58, Roger L. Bomgardner, Ira Brind, Ronald L. Caplan, Jill R. Felix Colton, Paul Curci, Eleanor L. Davis, Deanna DeCherney ‘66, Mark Donnolo ‘85, Carl E. Dranoff, Brian Effron, Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, William R. Gast ‘68, Melissa Heller, Richard P. Jaffe, Esq., Scott M. Jenkins, Gail Kass, Dr. Russel E. Kaufman, Al Paul Lefton, Jr., Elaine C. Levitt, Sueyun Pyo Locks, Karen Lotman, Seymour G. Mandell, Dr. Noel Mayo ‘66, Thomas M. Miles ‘75, Francis J. Mirabello, Esq., Adolf A. Paier, Lawrence S. Reichlin, Jerry J. Siano ‘57, Judith F. Terra, James P. Vesey, Harriet G. Weiss, William Wilson, Albert E. Wolf

Life Trustees

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

Trustees Emeriti

Mary Louise Beitzel ‘51, Irvin J. Borowsky, Anne F. Elder, Sondra Myers

Faculty Emeriti

Jane Bedno, Morris Berd, William Daley (University Distinguished Professor), Kenneth Hiebert, Robert F. McGovern, Richard Stetser

President Emeritus

Peter Solmssen

Nondiscrimination Policy

The University of the Arts is committed to maintaining an environment in which students, faculty, and staff may pursue academic, artistic, and professional excellence. This environment can be secured only through mutual respect and unconstrained academic and professional interchange among faculty, staff, and students. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, other state and federal laws, and the University of the Arts policy, the faculty, staff, and students of the University are entitled to participate in, and obtain the benefits of University programs, activities, and employment without being discriminated against on the basis of race, creed, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or military status.

This policy includes the rights, policies, and procedures set forth in the University’s anti-harassment policy, set forth in Section 3.14 of the Faculty Handbook.

The University also strictly prohibits any form of retaliation or reprisal against anyone reporting allegations of harassment or discrimination, or cooperating in an investigation of such a report. Such retaliation shall be considered a serious violation of the University’s nondiscrimination policy and shall be punishable by discipline up to and including termination, regardless of whether the charge of discrimination is substantiated. However, if an employee, student, or faculty member is found to have intentionally lied about a claim of discrimination, or brought a claim in bad faith, knowing that the allegation of discrimination is false, then that employee, student, or faculty member may be subject to discipline or expulsion.

Examples of prohibited retaliation include: threatening reprisals against the person who complained or cooperated in an investigation; unfairly changing a person’s evaluations, assignments, grades, or working conditions; or otherwise continuing any harassment or discrimination against such person.

The University of the Arts gives equal consideration to all applicants for admission and financial aid, and conducts all educational programs, activities, and employment practice in accordance with the policy as stated above.

Inquiries concerning the application of the laws and regulations concerning equal employment and education opportunity at the University of the Arts (including Title VI - equal opportunity regardless of race, color or national origin; Section 504 - equal opportunity for the disabled; and Title IX - equal opportunity without regard to gender) may be referred to:

The Office of Personnel Services
The University of the Arts
Hamilton Hall, Room 260
320 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
personnel@uarts.edu

The Office of the Vice President for Enrollment, Retention & Student Affairs
The University of the Arts
Hamilton Hall, Suite 260
320 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-717-6618

This catalog was updated as of August 2009. 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 catalog. 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.