University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

The University of the Arts
Established 1985, 1877, 1870
Endowment $24.6 million[1]
President Sean T. Buffington
Academic staff 114 full time, 420 part time
Students 2,300
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Campus Urban
Colors red, white
Website http://www.uarts.edu

The University of the Arts (UArts) is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up 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.

Contents

History

The University was created in 1985 by the merger of the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts (PCPA) and the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA), two schools that trace their origins to the 1870s.

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 1996, the University added a third academic division, the College of Media and Communication.

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, all students may take classes at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

College of Performing Arts

College of Art and Design

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.

Facilities and collections

The University's campus, located in Center City Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts cultural district, includes 10 buildings with more than 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2).

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 about 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' 10 galleries includes one curated by students. Exhibitions have included 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.

The University of the Arts currently has 7 theaters. The Merriam Theater is the largest on campus with a seating capacity of 1,840 people. The Levitt Auditorium in Gershman Hall can seat 850 but there is also standing-room-only for up to 1,500. Also in Gershman Hall is a black box theater used for student run productions. There is also the Philadelphia Arts Bank which seats 230. The university also owns the Drake Theater which is used primarily by the College of Performing Arts Dance Department. The Caplan Performing Arts Center (formerly the Skyline Performing Arts Center)(located on the 16 & 17th floor of Terra) which opened in 2007 currently house two theaters. The black box seats 100 and the recital hall seats 250.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 2, 2010. 
  2. ^ http://www.cinemassacre.com/new/?p=1033

External links

Liberal arts
colleges
Universities
and colleges
Alvernia • The American College • Arcadia • Art Institute of Philadelphia • Baptist Bible College & Seminary • Bucknell • Bryn Athyn • Cabrini • Carlow • Carnegie Mellon • Central Pennsylvania College • Chestnut Hill • Curtis Institute of Music • Delaware Valley College • DeSales • Drexel • Duquesne • Eastern • Gannon • Gratz • Gwynedd-Mercy • Harcum College •Harrisburg University of Science and Technology • Holy Family • Hussian School of Art • Immaculata • Keystone • La Roche • La Salle • Lackawanna • Lancaster Bible College • Lehigh • Manor • Marywood • Misericordia • Moore College of Art and Design • Mount Aloysius • Neumann • Peirce • Pennsylvania College of Art and Design • Philadelphia Biblical • Philadelphia • Point Park • Robert Morris • Rosemont • St. Charles Borromeo Seminary • St. Francis • St. Joseph's • Salus • Seton Hill • Thiel • Thomas Jefferson • University of Pennsylvania • University of Scranton • University of the Arts • University of the Sciences in Philadelphia • Valley Forge Christian College • Villanova • Widener • Wilkes
AIB • Cooper Union • Corcoran • DCAD • FIT • LACFA • MECA • MICA • MassArt&Design • Montserrat • Paier • Parsons • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts • Pratt • RISD • SMFA • SVA • UArts
United States:
International:
The American College • Arcadia University • Art Institute of Philadelphia • Bryn Mawr College • Cabrini College • Chestnut Hill College • Cheyney University • Curtis Institute of Music • Delaware Valley College • Drexel University • Eastern University • Gratz College • Gwynedd-Mercy College • Haverford College • Holy Family University • Immaculata University • La Salle University • Lincoln University • Manor College • Moore College of Art and Design • Neumann University • Peirce College • Penn State Abington • Penn State Brandywine • Penn State Great Valley • Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts • Philadelphia Biblical University • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine • Philadelphia University • Reconstructionist Rabbinical College • The Restaurant School • Rosemont College • Rutgers–Camden • Saint Joseph's University • Salus University • Swarthmore College • Temple University • Thomas Jefferson University • University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey • University of the Arts • University of Delaware • University of the Sciences in Philadelphia • University of Pennsylvania • Ursinus College • Valley Forge Christian College • Villanova University • West Chester University • Westminster Theological Seminary • Widener University