Ringling School of Art and Design
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ringling School of Art and Design
| Established | 31 March 1931 |
|---|---|
| School type | Private, Art School |
| President | Dr. Larry R. Thompson |
| Location | Sarasota, Florida USA |
| Enrollment | 1,005 undergraduate |
| Faculty | 130 |
| Endowment | US$8 million |
| Website | www.rsad.edu |
Ringling School of Art and Design (sometimes abbreviated as RSAD) is a private, four-year accredited college located in Sarasota, Florida. The Ringling School offers BFA degrees in Computer Animation, Graphic and Interactive Communication, Fine Art, Illustration, Interior Design, and Photography and Digital Imaging. Minors and concentrations include Fine Arts, Photography and Digital Imaging, Game Design, Visual Development, and Business of Art and Design.
Contents |
[edit] About the Ringling School of Art and Design
[edit] History of RSAD
Founded on March 31, 1931, the school was originally a joint venture between John Ringling, of the famed Ringling Brothers Circus and Dr. Budd Spivey, then President of Southern College which is now called the Florida Southern College of Lakeland. After much negotiation, it was decided that the school would be formed and that its name would be The School of Fine and Applied Art of the John and Mable Ringling Art Museum. The school was later renamed to the Ringling School of Art and Design. The building chosen as the site of the new school was originally a 2-star hotel. It was bought and it is now known as Keating Center and is used to house the administrative services, and part of the dormitory and classroom space.
In 1931, there were only 75 students and 13 faculty members. Each student paid $783 per year for tuition, board, room, fees, and books. Also, each student attended chapel services everyday and if they wanted to leave the town, written permission had to be received by the school's president or Dean of the College. One notable faculty member included Dr. Laura Ganno-McNeill, the first woman in the United States to have ever received a doctorate. Harold Fennyhough, known for his charcole portraits, also taught at the school during the late 1940s.
[edit] Majors
- Computer Animation - The study of traditional as well as computer-assisted animation. Revolves around the ability to tell a story with moving images.
- Illustration - The study of the singular image and its ability to tell a story.
- Graphic and Interactive Communication - The use of type and image to communicate a message to a given audience.
- Fine Arts - The study of personal expression.
- Interior Design - The study of decorating interior space as well as architecture.
- Photography and Digital Imaging - The study of photography in a fine arts context.
[edit] Mary the ghost
Ringling is supposedly one of the most haunted campuses in the US. The most famous and well-documented of these spirits is Mary, the story goes that Mary was a prostitute and used to bring her clients to the campus when it was still a hotel. It is said that she fell in love with one of her clients and when she finally told him how she felt he rejected her. She was so distrought that she hung her self in the stair well of what is now Ringling's Keating Center. That stairwell is now sealed off. Students will often speak of hearing laughing at night, seeing her in the corner of their eye, and noticing that objects have been moved to a different location. Rumors abound on campus. Some have stated that she wears blue shoes, citing a student who had apparently seen her. Another student reported that the carpeting outside his room had been worn down because of Mary pacing back and forth. It was suggested that Mary developed a "crush" on him. In recent years, Mary was reportedly exorcised. It is currently unknown if the exorcism occurred, and if it did occur, whether the exorcism was successful.
There are reports that the other dormitories are haunted as well. There is confusion as to whether this is true as there are many conflicting stories. Some students will state that they have never seen anything or that they have never even heard of other buildings being haunted while other students state that they have heard footsteps or smelled perfume in a sealed dorm.
