San Francisco’s Top Art School Plans Closing After Almost 150 Years

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Zachary Small

The San Francisco Art Institute will not accept students for the fall semester after almost 150 years in operation, ending the legacy of a once-storied school that produced famous artists like Annie Leibovitz, Kehinde Wiley and Catherine Opie. The institute announced Monday in a schoolwide letter that it plans to suspend classes after the spring semester. Graduating students will receive their degrees in May, but faculty and staff were told to prepare for mass layoffs. One senior official close to the decision-making process said the school was likely to close because of mounting debt. Like many art schools across the country, declining enrollment and financial hardships have plagued the institution for years. [More]