The University of the Arts (UArts) was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

arts university in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts cultural district in

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

. 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 Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. The university included six schools: the School of Art, School of Dance, School of Design, School of Film, School of Music (accredited by the

National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Resto ...

), and the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts, along with graduate and professional programs. A Saturday School of art classes for children opened in 1900.

History

In 1870, the Philadelphia Musical Academy was created. In 1876, the

Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (PMSIA), also referred to as the School of Applied Art, was a museum and teaching institution which later split into the Philadelphia Museum of Art and University of the Arts. It was chartered b ...

was founded as a museum, which became the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

, 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 Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art purchased an early 19th century neoclassical building at 320 South Broad Street, which had been designed by

John Haviland John Haviland (December 15, 1792 – March 28, 1852) was an English-born American architect who was a major figure in American Neo-Classical architecture, and one of the most notable architects working from Philadelphia during the nineteenth ce ...

for the

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is the third-oldest school of its kind in the United States. Its founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf chil ...

. In 1921, contralto

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

applied to the Philadelphia Musical Academy but was turned away because she was "colored." In 1938, the museum changed its name to the

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. Then, there were just 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 College of Art, Media and Design was accredited at the time by the

National Association of Schools of Art and Design The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees ...

. The

Philadelphia Art Alliance The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts was a multidisciplinary arts center located in the Rittenhouse Square section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the oldest multidisciplinary arts center in the United States for visual, ...

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 received from those gift pledges is unknown. 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 2023, the president behind the capital campaign, David Yager, retired. He was replaced by

Kerry Walk Kerry Walk is an American academic administrator, teacher, and college president. She served as the fifth president of University of the Arts in Philadelphia from 2023 to 2024, and resigned three days before its closure. She was the president of ...

. 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, the

announced that the University had lost its accreditation. In a subsequent announcement, President Walk announced the school had exhausted all of its funds and would close on June 7. The announcement caught many by surprise. 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 an information meeting for faculty and students was canceled. On June 5, 2024, the board of trustees hired the consulting firm

Alvarez and Marsal Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC (A&M) is a global professional services firm notable for its work in turnaround management and performance improvement of a number of large, high-profile businesses both in the US and abroad such as Lehman Brothers, ...

to oversee the closure. On September 13, 2024, the university filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

liquidation. The

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

is now the home for a collection of archive materials from the UArts Libraries as well as a limited collection of student archives of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art / Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. The UArts library collection is now owned by the Forman Arts Initiative.

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

by the

Facilities and collections

The university's campus, in the Avenue of the Arts cultural district of

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

, 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 Donald Lipski (born May 21, 1947) is an American Sculpture, sculptor best known for his installation art, installation work and large-scale Public art, public works. Early life and education Donald Lipski was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. ...

, Robert Motherwell, Stuart Netsky, Irving Penn, Jack Pierson, Anne and Patrick Poirier, Yvonne Rainer,

Lenore Tawney Lenore Tawney (born Leonora Agnes Gallagher; May 10, 1907 – September 24, 2007) was an American artist working in fiber art, collage, Assemblage (art), assemblage, and drawing. She is considered to be a groundbreaking artist for the elevation o ...

and Andy Warhol. The University of the Arts had seven theaters. The Levitt Auditorium in Gershman Hall was the largest on campus with a seating capacity of 850. Also in Gershman Hall was a small black box theater used for student-run productions. The university's Arts Bank Theater seated 230, and the Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater was located in the same building. At one time, the university also utilized the nearby 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

Phoebe Adams Phoebe Adams (born 1953) is an American painter, sculptor, and educator. She is known for her biomorphic artwork. Adams was active in New York City for a decade from 1985 to 1995, and has lived in Maine and New Mexico. Early life and education ...

(BFA 1976), painter and sculptor *

Julian Abele Julian Francis Abele (April 30, 1881April 23, 1950) was a prominent black American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer. He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library ...

, architect *

Richard Amsel Richard Amsel (December 4, 1947 – November 13, 1985) was an American illustrator and graphic designer. His career was brief but prolific, including film posters, album covers, and magazine covers. His portrait of comedian Lily Tomlin for the cov ...

, illustrator, recipient of 2009 UArts "Silver Star Alumni Award" *

Ronne Arnold Ronne Arnold (1938 – 13 February 2020), also credited as Ronnie Arnold, was an African American performer whose Australian-based career spanned some seven decades and encompassed various genres. He was a dancer, choreographer, tutor, singer and ...

, dancer *

Lydia Artymiw Lydia Artymiw is native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and an American concert pianist and Emerita Distinguished McKnight Professor of Piano in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. Formative years Artymiw was born in Philad ...

, concert pianist; Emerita Distinguished McKnight Professor of Piano, University of Minnesota; 2019 Grammy Award Nominee; Winner, Avery Fisher Grant *

Maxwell Atoms Adam Maxwell Burton, known professionally as Maxwell Atoms, is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is the creator of the Cartoon Network series '' Grim & Evil'' and its subsequent spin-offs, '' The Grim Adve ...

, animator, ''

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American Animated series, animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network. It follows Billy, a dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, and Mandy, a cynical, remorseless girl, who, aft ...

'' * Katie Baldwin, artist *

Bo Bartlett Bo Bartlett (born December 29, 1955) is an American Realism, American realist painter, working in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine. Early life Bo Bartlett was born James William Bartlett III on December 29, 1955, in Columbus, Georgia. ...

, contemporary realist painter * Bascove, painter and illustrator *

Beatrice Winn Berlin Beatrice Winn Berlin (née Beatrice Winn; May 27, 1922 – August 11, 1999) was an American printmaker, painter, and teacher. Early life and education Beatrice Winn Berlin was born as Beatrice Winn on May 27, 1922, in Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...

, printmaker, painter, and teacher * Helen Borten, author-illustrator and broadcast journalist *

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...

, composer *

Aliki Brandenberg Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg or pen name Aliki (born September 3, 1929) is an American author and illustrator of books for children. Early life Brandenberg was born in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, to James Peter and Stella (née Lagakos) Liacour ...

, author and illustrator * Samuel Joseph Brown Jr., artist, educator *

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

, jazz bassist,

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winner *

Emory Cohen Emory Isaac Cohen (born March 13, 1990) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in ''Afterschool'' (2008). He is best known for his roles as AJ Cross in Derek Cianfrance's film ''The Place Beyond the Pines'' (2012), Tony Fiorello i ...

, actor, ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

'' *

Christine Coppa Christine Coppa is an American author, blogger and columnist. She is best known for her book ''Rattled!'', published by Broadway Books in 2009. The book was named a Target Breakout Book. Early life Coppa grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, Wayne, Ne ...

, writer *

Alex da Corte Alex Da Corte (born 1980) is an American conceptual artist who works across a range of different media, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and video. His work explores the nuances of contemporary experience by layering ins ...

, artist *

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

, film director, ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voic ...

'', ''

The 'Burbs ''The 'Burbs'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante and written by Dana Olsen. It stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film pok ...

'' * Daniel Delaney,

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

-nominated

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

, former

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

of street-food

video podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

"VendrTV" *

Heather Donahue Rei Hance (born Heather Donahue, December 22, 1974) is an American retired actress, credited under her birth name during her acting career. She is known for starring in the horror film ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999) and the miniseries '' Take ...

, actress, ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a " found footage" pseudo-docume ...

'' * James Doolin, saturated photo realist painter *

Wendy Edwards Wendy Edwards (born 1950) is an American artist known for vibrant, tactile paintings rooted in organic forms and landscape, which have ranged from representation and figuration to free-form abstraction.McQuaid, Cate"The lush, feminine paintings ...

, painter *

Wharton Esherick Wharton Esherick (July 15, 1887 – May 6, 1970) was an American artist and designer. An artistic polymath, he worked in a wide variety of art media including painting, printmaking, and sculpture. His design works range from architectural int ...

, craftsman, printmaker *

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. Younger brother Shane Eubanks, twin to Duane Eubanks, is a DJ. His uncles are jazz p ...

, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger,

winner * Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, artist * Paul Felder, acting (2008), professional

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighter with the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Kate Flannery Kate Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went o ...

, actress, ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' * Allan Randall Freelon, artist and educator *

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller ( ; born Meta Vaux Warrick; June 9, 1877 – March 13, 1968) was an African-American artist who celebrated Afrocentrism, Afrocentric themes. At the fore of the Harlem Renaissance, Warrick was known for being a poet, pain ...

, sculptor * Cheryl Goldsleger, contemporary painter *

Sidney Goodman Sidney Goodman (January 19, 1936 – April 11, 2013) was an American figurative painter and draftsman from Philadelphia, PA who explored the human form. Goodman received public notice in the early 1960s for his oil paintings, leading to his incl ...

, painter * Roger Hane, book illustrator *

Marshall Harris Marshall K. Harris (born December 6, 1955) is an artist and former professional American football player. Early life and education Harris grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from Southwest High School in 1974. After earning all-distri ...

, photorealist, sculptor and retired professional football player *

Mohammed Kazem Mohammed Kazem (born 1969) is a contemporary Emirati artist working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He works primarily with video, sound art, photography, found objects and performance art. Kazem is one of the five conceptual Emirati artists who ...

, conceptual artist * Paul F. Keene Jr., artist *

Elle King Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her musical style is influenced by Country music, country, Rock music, rock, and blues. She signed with RCA Records to ...

, singer and songwriter, author of Ex's & Oh's * Jacob Landau, painter, printmaker, illustrator * L Morgan Lee, Broadway actress,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominee (''

A Strange Loop ''A Strange Loop'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' premiered on Br ...

'') *

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in Jared Leto filmography, a variety of roles, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Jared Leto, numerous accolade ...

, Actor (transferred) *

Matt McAndrew Matthew Brendan McAndrew (born September 6, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his appearance in Season 7 of NBC's reality TV singing competition '' The Voice'', where he finished as the runner-up as part of Team Adam. In J ...

, singer and musician, ''

The Voice (U.S. season 7) The seventh season of the American reality talent show '' The Voice'' premiered on September 22, 2014, on NBC. Carson Daly returns as the show's host. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton returned as coaches, while Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams jo ...

'' contestant *

Joseph Menna Joseph Francis Menna (born March 1970) is an American sculptor and engraver who has worked in both digital and traditional sculpture media. He has been the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint since February, 2019. Biography Menna trained f ...

, sculptor and engraver *

Frank Modell Franklyn Bruce Modell (September 6, 1917 – May 27, 2016) was an American cartoonist who contributed over 1,400 cartoons to ''The New Yorker'' during a period of over 50 years from 1946. Franklyn Bruce Modell was born on September 6, 1917, in ...

(1917–2016), cartoonist *

Elise Neal Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress known for her work in television and film. She rose to prominence in 1997 with roles in ''Rosewood'', '' Money Talks'', and ''Scream 2''. She later starred as Yvonne Hughley in th ...

, actress, ''

Rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

'', '' Money Talks'' and ''

Scream 2 ''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Jada P ...

'' *

Ana Ortiz Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred ...

, actress, ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

'' & ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, ...

'' * Emi Ozawa, artist *

Leslie Parrish Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years before changing it in 1959. Early life As a child, Parrish lived in Mas ...

, actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer *

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clie ...

, photographer *

Flo Perkins Flo Perkins (born 1951) is an American glass artist currently working and residing in the Pojoaque Valley north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Philadelphia College of Art (1974), Master of Arts from the Universi ...

, glass artist *

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work ...

, composer *

Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...

, illustrator and author *

Jillian Patricia Pirtle Jillian Patricia Pirtle (born 1983) is an American soprano, historian, nonprofit executive, and former beauty pageant winner. She won the title of Miss Black Pennsylvania USA 2011 and went on to compete in the Miss Black USA Pageant. Pirtle is th ...

, singer *

Henry Clarence Pitz Henry Clarence Pitz (June 16, 1895 – November 26, 1976) was an American artist, illustrator, editor, author, and teacher who wrote and/or illustrated over 160 books, and dozens of magazine covers and articles. His most well-known book is '' ...

, artist * Steve Powers, graffiti artist. Known as ESPO. Painted "Love letter for you" murals in Philadelphia *

Quay Brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for th ...

, filmmakers *

Ron Richardson Ronald E. Richardson (January 27, 1952 – April 5, 1995) was an American actor and operatic baritone. Richardson began his career in the mid-1970s appearing in regional theater and opera productions. He appeared in several Broadway musicals from ...

, singer,

winner—Best Featured Actor in a Musical ('' Big River''). *

James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series, ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-off projects include review ...

, creator, '' The Angry Video Game Nerd'' * Olaf Skoogfors, artist and metalsmith *

Lucas Steele Lucas Steele is an American stage actor, violinist and singer best known for his role as Anatole Kuragin in '' Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.'' Early life Steele was raised in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. He began learning piano by ...

, Broadway performer famously known for '' Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' * Miriam Tindall Smith, painter, muralist, theatrical designer *

KaDee Strickland Katherine Dee Strickland (born December 14, 1975) is an American actress. From 2007 to 2013, she played Dr. Charlotte King on the ABC drama '' Private Practice''. Strickland began acting during high school. She studied acting in Philadelphia a ...

, actress, ''

The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The ...

''. 2006 UArts’ "Silver Star Alumni Award" *

Neil Welliver Neil Gavin Welliver (July 22, 1929 – April 5, 2005) was an American modern artist, best known for his large-scale landscape paintings inspired by the deep woods near his home in Maine. One of his sons, Titus Welliver became a successful actor ...

, American modern

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, best known for his large-scale

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

s inspired by the deep woods near his home in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

; professor at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

; dean of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

's Graduate School of Fine Art * Helen L. Weiss, composer *

Deborah Willis (artist) Deborah Willis (born February 5, 1948) is a contemporary African-American artist, photographer, curator of photography, photographic historian, author, and educator.The HistoryMakersDeborah Willis biography ArtMakers, June 27, 2007. Accessed Aug ...

, photographer and author *

Samuel Yellin Samuel Yellin (1884–1940) was an American master blacksmith and metal designer. Early life and education Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1884. At the age of eleven, he was ...

, blacksmith, sculptor and teacher

Notable faculty

* Edna Andrade (1917–2008), geometric

abstract painter Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non-objective art'', and ''non ...

and early

Op Art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses distorted or manipulated geometrical patterns, often to create optical illusions. It began in the early 20th century, and was especially popular from the 1960s on, the term "Op ...

ist, 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 Alexey Vyacheslavovich Brodovitch (also Brodovich; , ; 1898 – April 15, 1971) was a Belarusian-American photographer, designer and instructor who is most famous for his art direction of fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' from 1934 to ...

(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 Aaron Levinson (born July 2, 1963) is a Grammy award-winning producer, musician, composer and record label owner. He has produced and released dozens of albums since starting his career with Inner City Records in 1981. Early life Levinson was b ...

(born 1963),

-winning producer and musician *

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia ( ; born April 2, 1947) is an American academic, social critic and Feminism, feminist. Paglia was a professor at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1984 until ...

(born 1947), author and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

social critic *

(1915–1987), classical music composer * Ralph Peterson (1962–2021), jazz drummer *

LaVaughn Robinson LaVaughn Robinson (born LaVaughn Evett) (February 9, 1927 – January 22, 2008) was an American tap dancer, choreographer, and teacher. A virtuoso tap dancer, Robinson perfected a high speed, low to the ground, a cappella style of dance tha ...

(1927–2008), professor from 1980 to 2008,

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

r, recognized by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

as a "Living National Treasure" *

Lizbeth Stewart Lizbeth Stewart (December 22, 1948 – June 24, 2013), who is also known as Lizbeth McNett Stewart, was an American ceramist who was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Southampton, Pennsylvania. She was awarded a bachelor's degree in fine a ...

(1948–2013), ceramist *

(1884–1940), master blacksmith

References

External links

*
archived on June 3, 2024
* {{Authority control 1870 establishments in Pennsylvania 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania Defunct schools of the performing arts in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1876 Educational institutions established in 1985 Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia John Haviland buildings Market East, Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia Universities and colleges established in 1870 Defunct universities and colleges in Philadelphia Educational institutions disestablished in 2024 2024 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Defunct private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2024

History

Financial and enrollment challenges

Closure

Academics

Facilities and collections

Polyphone Festival

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

References

External links