USF, Art Institute to integrate operations
The University of San Francisco intends to acquire the San Francisco Art Institute and integrate each institution’s academic art programs and operations as part of a new program, school officials announced Wednesday.
Leaders with each institution have “signed a letter of intent to explore integrating operations and academic programs in the arts to elevate the next generation of artists,” university officials said in a statement.
The move comes after conversations among both institutions “at various times” in the past 10 years about possibly integrating operations, university officials said. The art institute was founded in 1871, and the university — San Francisco’s first university — was founded in 1855.
The new program would be called San Francisco Art Institute at the University of San Francisco, or SFAI@USF.
“We believe SFAI@USF would be a tremendous benefit to the Bay Area, the nation, and the world,” said John Nicolai, chair of the USF board of trustees. “Together, the two institutions would create a premier arts curriculum, with an intensive studio environment and a vital liberal arts education.”
As part of the acquisition, USF would acquire the institute’s historical buildings, art and film collections, and assets, university officials said, including the Anne Bremer Memorial Library, the Diego Rivera Gallery, exhibition space, studios, photo and film labs, and a rooftop amphitheater.
There will be a “period of due diligence” in which there will be a review of finances, assets at the institute’s Chestnut Street campus on Russian Hill, the accreditation process for the new program, and employment opportunities, university officials said.
“The period of due diligence will include a collaborative process of curricular redesign and development by USF and SFAI faculty to ensure the new integrated academic unit would reflect the vision and mission of both institutions,” university officials said.
Lonnie Graham, the chair of the San Francisco Art Institute board of trustees, said in a statement that the “union would create an innovative confluence of the arts and academics to advance a curriculum that reinforces the value of the arts in changing the world.”
The Rev. Paul Fitzgerald, USF’s president, said university officials are “very aware of how vital (San Francisco Art Institute) is to the Bay Area’s cultural, artistic, and philanthropic communities and we anticipate productive conversations with these essential partners.”
The financial review is expected to be completed before summer, university officials said, which would allow “integrated operations” to start this fall.
Current art institute students who complete their degrees at the University of San Francisco would “receive the same academic and co-curricular services, opportunities, and support that USF students traditionally receive,” university officials said.