Recently, I was proud to accept an invitation to speak to the students and faculty at SCAD (The Savannah College of Art and Design). I’d heard a lot about the excellent and extensive programs at SCAD, but I’d never been to Savannah so I was excited to visit.
SCAD is the realization of the dream of Paula Wallace, who has been accurately described as an academic visionary. She co-founded the school in 1978 to provide college degree programs not previously available in southeast Georgia and to create a specialized professional art college of such distinction that it would attract students from around the globe.
36 years later, SCAD is the nation’s most comprehensive art and design university, offering a breathtaking number of degree programs and specializations – in fact, more than any other art and design university in the United States. And as for that global dream, about 23% of this year’s students are from other countries.
But what was started in Savannah and bears its name has not stayed entirely in Savannah. Today, SCAD’s more than 12,000 students study at campuses in Savannah, Atlanta, Lacoste, France and Hong Kong, and the school has been an early adopter of online programs via “SCAD-eLearning.”
Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia. In 1733, King George II sent General James Oglethorpe to establish a defensive buffer to protect the Carolina colonies from Spanish Florida and French Louisiana. Oglethorpe established his base in what became Savannah, and it was the first capitol of the Royal Colony of Georgia.
As a consequence of its long history as a commercial center and important seaport – and the fact that local leaders negotiated the peaceful surrender of Savannah during the Civil War, thereby eluding its destruction – there is a palpable sense of history and an amazing inventory of historic buildings. From the outset, SCAD has been dedicated to historic preservation and restoration. In the spring of 1979, it purchased and renovated the Savannah Volunteer Guard Armory to serve as its first classroom and administration building. The historic significance of the 1892 structure has been recognized by its nomination for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Renamed Poetter Hall in honor of two of Wallace’s co-founders, the building is still actively used by SCAD today.
Since the acquisition and restoration of the armory building, SCAD has built an enviable legacy of historic preservation, demonstrating its commitment to renewing urban landscapes through an impressive series of restoration projects in the historic district of Savannah as well as in the medieval village of Lacoste, France.
While my SCAD visit didn’t include a side trip to Lacoste, France, to experience the restorations there, I did get to stay in one of SCAD’s restorations in Savannah. I was hosted in the graceful and gracious Magnolia Hall, an antebellum mansion the school bought, renovated and uses as a bed and breakfast for its guests.
My guide and boss during my visit was Alison Hopton Davis, director of External Relations. While she is the embodiment of southern charm, she kept me on track and on time to my many pre-arranged appointments. Her enthusiasm for the school and her deep knowledge of its history and mission are phenomenal.
One document I received states, “As a private non-profit university, SCAD exists to prepare talented students for professional careers, emphasizing learning through individual attention.” I had an opportunity to sit in on several classes and found them to be small and collaborative, but demanding with an appropriate level of criticism. It struck me that the students were, indeed, getting good training for the professional world. All the professors I met have had, and in most cases still have, successful careers in their fields.
It is really quite amazing to contemplate what founder Paula Wallace and her colleagues have accomplished in just 36 years. SCAD is accredited to offer Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, and Master of Urban Design degrees in a whole host of majors such as advertising, animation, illustration, graphic design, interior design, interactive design and game development, motion media design, photography and quite a few more. And the university is not just accredited, but ranked number one in the U.S. in interior design by Design Intelligence and number one in fashion design by The Business of Fashion.
So with all those up-to-date art school creds, I found it highly surprising to learn that the university also offers degrees in equestrian studies and owns a gorgeous “state of the barn” equestrian center as well as the national champion equestrian team.
I found it pleasantly amusing that since most of the students of the equestrian school were busy with other duties, one young lady was assigned to attend my talk and interview me; reporting back to her lucky classmates who got to clean the barn rather than attend! Her major is equestrian studies with a minor in journalism. She wants to write about the equestrian world when she graduates…who knew.
The campus of SCAD is spread across the city of Savannah quite randomly. It gradually becomes obvious to a visitor that the dedication to historic preservation is a primary motivating factor as the university deals with growth and the pressures of expanding enrollment and curricula. Of all the buildings I visited, only the Gulfstream Center for Design was purpose built; all the rest involved some degree of restoration and renovation.
The SCAD Museum of Art is a multiple award-winning example of purpose building around and through an existing structure, thus both celebrating the past and preserving it for the future. When SCAD acquired the depot, roundhouse and headquarters of the Central of Georgia Railway Company, it acquired the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America. The slave-made, sundried “Georgia grey” brick structure has been sensitively woven into the fabric of an absolutely up-to-date museum that mounts up to 20 exhibits a year featuring the work of world renowned artists as well as students and alumni of the school.
Throughout my tour of the campus, from the tech labs and 3D printing facility of the Gulfstream Center to the historic preservation labs, I was amazed at the exceptional level of technology available for students to use or learn to use. For example, the 3D printing lab had the latest models of printers using each of the several different techniques used in “additive manufacturing,” such as stereolithography and fused deposition modeling. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and able to advise students on the appropriate choice of technology for the desired outcome.
But as with any school, the quality of the program is a direct reflection of the quality of the instructors, which is probably at some level a reflection of the quality of the leadership of the school. Over the course of two days, I attended five classes and found every one of the professors to be engaged and engaging mentors in the best sense of the concept. From a statistical point of view, the school employs a faculty of more than 650 full and part-time instructors, 78% of whom hold the “terminal degree” in their field.
I would feel remiss if I didn’t personally thank Bob Bazemore, furniture design professor and my friend of many years for arranging my visit. And I’d also like to acknowledge Owen Foster, chair of Industrial Design, Kambua Steele of his office and all the inspiring professors who let me interrupt the smooth flow of their classes: Joel Wittkamp, industrial design; Fred Spector, furniture design; John Pierson, materials and processes; Meng Hai Xia, industrial design; and Sheila Edwards, materials and processes.