# University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

University of the Arts (UArts) was a private arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts cultural district in Center City, Philadelphia. On May 31, 2024, university administrators suddenly announced that the university would close on June 7, 2024, although its precarious financial situation had been known for some time. It was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The university included two colleges and two divisions: the College of Art, Media & Design; the College of Performing Arts; the Division of Liberal Arts; and the Division of Continuing Studies. The School of Music was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the College of Art, Media and Design by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

## History

In 1870, the Philadelphia Musical Academy was created. In 1876, the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was founded as a museum, which became the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and an art school, which went through various name changes and mergers before becoming the University of the Arts. Though never housed in the same building, the museum and the school were one institution. In 1877, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music was founded.
In 1893, the School of Industrial Art purchased an early 19th century neoclassical building at 320 South Broad Street, which had been designed by John Haviland for the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
In 1921, contralto Marian Anderson applied to the Philadelphia Musical Academy but was turned away because she was "colored."
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).
In 1944, the Children's Dance Theatre, later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy, was established by Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck. In 1962, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and the Philadelphia Musical Academy merged; in 1976, the combined organization acquired the Dance Academy and renamed itself the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. 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 later became the College of Performing Arts of the University of the Arts.
In 1985, the Philadelphia College of Art and the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts merged to become the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts, and gained university status as the University of the Arts in 1987.
In 1996, the university added a third academic division, the College of Media and Communication. In 2011, the College of Media and Communication merged with the College of Art and Design to become the College of Art, Media & Design.
The Philadelphia Art Alliance became a part of the university in 2017.

### Financial and enrollment challenges

In the late 2010s and 2020s, the university faced declining enrollment and a poor financial outlook. In the 2018–19 school year enrollment was at 1,914 falling to 1,149 by the start of the fall 2023 semester. The university was profitable for the 2021–22 fiscal year, but the next year it had a projected operating loss of $2.56 million, on a budget of about $50 million.
From 2018 to 2022, the university led a capital campaign that allegedly raised $67.2 million, including $5.5 million for financial aid and $24 million for its endowment, which grew to $61.2 million. The school also received a $2.5 million grant from Pennsylvania for infrastructure projects. The exact amount gifted has since come into question. The endowment money was not usable for day-to-day operations, which remained imperiled. Starting in 2019, the day-to-day university fund ended each academic year with only a single month of funding remaining. In 2022, the president behind the capital campaign, David Yager, was driven out by a faculty vote of no confidence. He was replaced by Kerry Walk.
In October 2023, Walk privately announced to the deans of the university that "she’d recently discovered serious financial problems that she’d been unaware of when she accepted the job". This was not communicated to students, faculty or alumni, and is the only known discussion of serious issues before the following May.

### Closure

On May 31, 2024, Walk abruptly announced the school had exhausted all of its funds and would close on June 7. The announcement caught many by surprise, including then-current students, faculty, and the university's accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The accreditor withdrew the university's accreditation the day after the closure was announced; it could be restored if the university successfully appeals. On June 4, 2024, Walk announced her resignation after canceling an information meeting for faculty and students the night before.
On June 5, 2024, the board of trustees hired the consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal to oversee the closure. On September 13, 2024, the university filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

## Academics

The University of the Arts' approximately 1,500 students were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in six schools: Art, Design, Film, Dance, Music, and the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. In addition, the university offered a PhD in Creativity. The Division of Continuing Studies offers courses through its Continuing Education, Pre-College, Summer Music Studies, and Professional Institute for Educators programs. The university was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

## Facilities and collections

The university's campus, in the Avenue of the Arts cultural district of Center City Philadelphia, included six academic buildings and four residence halls. There were 10 performance venues and 12 exhibition/gallery spaces on campus.
The Albert M. Greenfield Library housed 152,067 bound volumes, 6,936 CDs, 14,901 periodicals, 16,820 scores and 1965 videos and DVDs. The Music Library collection held about 20,000 scores, 15,000 books, 10,000 LP discs, and 8,000 CDs. The Visual Resources Collection includes 175,000 slides. Additional university collections included the University Archives, the Picture File, the Book Arts and Textile Collections, and the Drawing Resource Center.
UArts' 10 galleries included one curated by students. Exhibitions have included the Quay Brothers, 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 Poirier, Yvonne Rainer, Lenore Tawney and Andy Warhol.
The University of the Arts had seven theaters. The Levitt Auditorium in Gershman Hall is the largest on campus with a seating capacity of 850. Also in Gershman Hall was a black box theater used for student-run productions. The university's Arts Bank Theater seats 230, and the Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater is located in the same building. The university also utilized the adjacent Drake Theater, primarily for dance productions. The Caplan Center for the Performing Arts, located on the 16 & 17th floor of Terra Hall – which opened in 2007, housed two theaters. Its black box theater seated 100 and a recital hall seated 250.
At the time of closing, it had three dormitories for students: Furness Residence Hall, Juniper Residence Hall, and Spruce Residence Hall. In 2023 the university sold another, Pine Residence Hall.

## Polyphone Festival

The annual Polyphone Festival of New and Emerging Music, launched in 2016, focused on the emerging musical. Composers, librettists, directors, choreographers and music directors were invited to the campus to work with students on developing musicals.

## Notable alumni

* Julian Abele, architect
* César Abreu, Puerto Rican actor, dancer and singer, former member of "Menudo"
* Phoebe Adams (BFA 1976), painter and sculptor
* Richard Amsel, illustrator, recipient of 2009 UArts "Silver Star Alumni Award"
* Chiquita Anderson, model, dancer, musician, and former professional wrestler
* Maxwell Atoms, animator, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
* Katie Baldwin, artist
* Bo Bartlett, contemporary realist painter
* Bascove, painter and illustrator
* Irene Bedard, actress, voice of Pocahontas
* Howard Benson, rock music producer, Grammy Award winner
* Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors and illustrators, The Berenstain Bears
* Melanie Bilenker, craft artist
* Adam Blackstone, bassist, music director, Grammy Award winner
* Marc Blitzstein, composer
* Helen Borten, author-illustrator and broadcast journalist
* Aliki Brandenberg, author and illustrator
* Bryan Brinkman, cartoon animator
* Samuel Joseph Brown Jr., artist, educator
* Victoria Burge, printmaker, draftsperson
* Du Chisiza, Malawian author, playwright, producer, and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture
* Anne Chu, sculptor
* Claude Clark, artist, art educator
* Stanley Clarke, jazz bassist, Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner
* Emory Cohen, actor, Brooklyn
* Gil Cohen, aviation artist
* Cecelia Condit, video artist
* Rachel Constantine, painter
* Christine Coppa, writer
* Stephen Costello, tenor, Metropolitan Opera
* Alex da Corte, artist
* Joe Dante, film director, Gremlins, The 'Burbs
* Daniel Delaney, James Beard Award-nominated restaurateur, former host of street-food video podcast "VendrTV"
* James DePreist, conductor
* Linh Dinh, poet
* Irv Docktor, artist and illustrator
* Heather Donahue, actress, The Blair Witch Project
* James Doolin, saturated photo realist painter
* John Dorsey (poet), poet and screenwriter
* George Meade Easby, great-grandson of George Meade and a noted art and antique collector
* Wendy Edwards, painter
* Heather Mae Erickson, artist
* Wharton Esherick, craftsman, printmaker
* Robin Eubanks, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger, Grammy Award winner
* Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, artist
* Paul Felder, acting (2008), professional MMA fighter with the UFC
* Kate Flannery, actress, The Office
* Charles Fracé, wildlife painter
* Allan Randall Freelon, artist and educator
* Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, sculptor
* Cheryl Goldsleger, contemporary painter
* Sidney Goodman, painter
* David Graham, noted photographer of the American landscape
* Justin Guarini, Runner-up on the first season of American Idol
* Roger Hane, book illustrator
* Marshall Harris, photorealist, sculptor and retired professional football player
* Natalie Hinderas, professor, pianist and composer
* Frances Tipton Hunter, artist and illustrator
* Trina Schart Hyman, children's book illustrator, Caldecott Medal winner
* Judith Jamison, dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre
* Philip Jamison, watercolor artist
* Carlton Jones Lake, conductor and choirmaster
* Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus), musician and songwriter Man Man and Mister Heavenly, actor, screenwriter
* Mohammed Kazem, conceptual artist
* Elle King, singer and songwriter, author of Ex's & Oh's
* Harold Knerr, cartoonist and illustrator for The Katzenjammer Kids
* George Krauss, artist photographer, now retired from the University of Houston, where he established the photography department
* LaChanze, Broadway actress, Tony Award winner (The Color Purple)
* Jacob Landau, painter, printmaker, illustrator
* Courtney Lapresi, dancer, MasterChef (season 5) contestant & winner.
* L Morgan Lee, Broadway actress, Tony Award nominee (A Strange Loop)
* Jared Leto, Actor (transferred)
* Amy Mathews, Australian actress on soap opera, Home and Away
* Matt McAndrew, singer and musician, The Voice (U.S. season 7) contestant
* John Mecray, American realism painter
* Joseph Menna, sculptor and engraver
* Katherine Milhous, artist/illustrator, Caldecott Medal winner
* Frank Modell (1917–2016), cartoonist
* Elise Neal, actress, Rosewood, Money Talks and Scream 2
* Paul Nordoff, composer, music therapist, anthroposophist, initiator of the Nordoff-Robbins method of music therapy
* Ana Ortiz, actress, Ugly Betty & Devious Maids
* Emi Ozawa, artist
* Leslie Parrish, actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer
* Irving Penn, celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer
* Flo Perkins, glass artist
* Vincent Persichetti, composer, Juilliard professor
* Jillian Patricia Pirtle, singer
* Trudy Pitts, soul jazz keyboardist
* Henry Clarence Pitz, artist, illustrator, editor, author, teacher; best known for authoring The Brandywine Tradition (1969) about the Brandywine School
* Steve Powers, graffiti artist. Known as ESPO. Painted "Love letter for you" murals in Philadelphia
* Brothers Quay, Timothy and Steven, stop-motion illustrators and filmmakers
* Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano opera singer, Metropolitan Opera
* Ron Richardson, singer, Tony Award winner—Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Big River).
* James Rolfe, creator, The Angry Video Game Nerd
* Arlen Roth, Guitarist, performer, author, teacher.
* Arnold Roth, cartoonist
* Charles Santore, illustrator
* Cal Schenkel, illustrator and graphic designer, Frank Zappa collaborator
* Todd Schorr, artist, member of the "Lowbrow", or pop surrealism, art movement
* Richard Schultz, furniture designer
* Serpentwithfeet, singer
* Willi Smith, fashion designer
* Lucas Steele, Broadway performer famously known for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
* Miriam Tindall Smith, painter, muralist, theatrical designer
* KaDee Strickland, actress, The Grudge. 2006 UArts’ "Silver Star Alumni Award"
* Nicole Tranquillo, vocalist, American Idol (season 6) contestant
* Carson Van Osten, comics creator, rock musician (including founding member of Nazz)
* Bernard Waber, children's book author, The House on East 88th Street, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
* Dan Walsh, painter, printmaker, bookmaker
* TJ Walsh, painter, educator, psychotherapist & advisor
* Constance Walton, composer
* André Watts, German-American classical pianist, Grammy Award winner
* Neil Welliver, American modern artist, best known for his large-scale landscape paintings inspired by the deep woods near his home in Maine; professor at Cooper Union and Yale; dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Art
* Helen L. Weiss, composer
* Mark Wiener, abstract painter, editor, teacher
* Samuel Yellin, blacksmith, sculptor and teacher

## Notable faculty

* Edna Andrade (1917–2008), geometric abstract painter and early Op Artist, 1996 recipient of the College Art Association Distinguished Teaching of Art Award for her three decades of teaching at Philadelphia College of Art
* Alexey Brodovitch (1930–1940), photographer, designer, art director
* Gil Cohen (born 1931), aviation artist
* William Daley (1925–2022), American ceramist, professor from 1957 until 1990
* Aaron Levinson (born 1963), Grammy Award-winning producer and musician
* Camille Paglia (born 1947), author and feminist social critic
* Vincent Persichetti (1915–1987), classical music composer
* Ralph Peterson (1962–2021), jazz drummer
* LaVaughn Robinson (1927–2008), professor from 1980 to 2008, tap dancer, recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a "Living National Treasure"
* Lizbeth Stewart (1948–2013), ceramist
* Samuel Yellin (1884–1940), master blacksmith