Is Art Center Gehry-Rigged? Richard Koshalek Says No

But, they say, all new buildings have kinks that need to be worked out.

Still, while the administration deals with building plans and infrastructure dilemmas, many say fund-raising for scholarships is suffering. Ninety percent of Art Center’s $65 million annual budget is funded by tuition, and though the school’s endowment has increased by $25 million during Koshalek’s nine-year tenure as president, “we’re just barely keeping up with tuition hikes,” says Stan Kong, a product-design teacher at both Art Center and Pasadena City College, and co-chair of the alumni scholarship fund-raising group Legacy Circle.

Courtesy Art Center

Richard Koshalek

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More About

• Nathan Cooke
• Richard Koshalek
• Courtesy Art Center
• Nate Young
• Visual Arts

“I’m concerned. I’ve always directed my most talented PCC students to Art Center — I’d say more than 1,000 over the years — and I want to make sure Art Center continues to attract the best students from around the world, not just those whose parents can afford it.”

Kong has cause to be concerned.

“The administration is letting in kids who aren’t qualified,” says one faculty member, who wished to remain anonymous. “We have students who can’t even speak English.”

Again, there’s truth to that. Art Center grades the portfolios of its prospective students on a 1 through 10 scale. Only scores of 5 and above have typically been considered Art Center material. But faced with projected enrollment shortfalls of nearly 100 students for the fall trimester (and therefore budget shortfalls) department heads were told to go back into the application pool and start letting in the 4's.

“It’s true we’re letting in 4's,” says Mark Breitenberg, dean of Humanities and Design Sciences, “but that isn’t unique to Art Center. Times are tough all over. Two hundred new design schools have opened in China alone, which we have to compete with.”

This naturally begs the question: Is it fiscally responsible for a small, private college that is facing infrastructure problems, running a budget deficit and lowering its admissions standards, to pursue a $50 million building that many students, faculty and alumni regard as superfluous to the educational needs of the college?

“We’ve put eight years of planning into this building,” Koshalek says. “We’re not going to just give up at the first bump in the road. That’s not planning for the future.

“This building is going to be the critical factor for the college to distinguish itself in the global marketplace — to attract the best students, faculty and corporate partners. Involving a name like Gehry will be essential for fund-raising — not just for the building itself but to ensure the studios continue to be upgraded with the latest technology. And it’s a simple fact that great architecture inspires great work.

Koshalek adds: “It’s an adventurous path we’re taking, one that will face some opposition — but we knew that going in.”

Is there anything that can stop this new building?

“No. Not unless the world and technology suddenly change so these things become unnecessary.

“Or,” he adds, “if we can’t raise the money.”

 
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Nathan Cooke's name. We regret the error.