College of Visual Arts

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College of Visual Arts
Watson P. Davidson House.jpg
The College of Visual Arts' former administrative building
TypePrivate
Active1948–2013 (2013)
President Ann Ledy
Academic staff
50
Students200
Address
344 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
,
Saint Paul
,
Minnesota
Campusurban
Nickname CVA
Website www.cva.edu

The College of Visual Arts (CVA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, was a private, accredited, four-year college of art and design offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, fashion design, and photography. The fine arts degree offered concentrations in drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture.

Saint Paul, Minnesota Capital of Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2018, the city's estimated population was 307,695. Saint Paul is the county seat of Ramsey County, the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city. Known as the "Twin Cities", the two form the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.6 million residents.

A Bachelor of Fine Arts is the standard undergraduate degree for students in the United States and Canada seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts.

Contents

CVA began as one of the first learning environments in the Twin Cities specifically designed to ignite the creativity of artists and designers. CVA was one of a handful of art and design colleges in the U.S. that provided an arts education steeped in the liberal arts. With an enrollment of approximately 200 students and a faculty of 50, CVA offered a low student-teacher ratio. The College was one of only two private art and design colleges in Minnesota. The College announced in January 2013 that its doors would be closing forever effective in June. [1] President Ann Ledy resigned on January 23, 2013, and Dr. Susan Short served as Acting President until the college closed on June 30, 2013.

History

In 1948 Lowell Bobleter acquired Mills College of Art and Advertising and transformed it into what would become the College of Visual Arts. Bobleter, a prominent Saint Paul artist and educator then serving as chairman of the fine arts department at Hamline University, based the new curriculum on the Bauhaus model: an integrated program including both fine and applied arts, and general courses in the humanities, natural sciences, and aesthetics. As president, Bobleter renamed the institution the School of Associated Arts (SAA). In 1969 the school assumed non-profit status. During the 1970s the school achieved national accreditation with the National Association of Trade and Technical Schools (NATTS) and began to participate in federal financial aid programs. In 1989 the college changed its name to the College of Associated Arts and began the process of seeking accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC). To clarify that the college was a four-year institution, the administration adopted the name "College of Visual Arts" (CVA) in 1995. CVA was granted candidacy status by HLC in August 1994, and was granted full accreditation in 1998. In October 2011, CVA also acquired accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). In January 2013, CVA announced that it would be closing its doors forever effective in June of that year. [2]

Hamline University United States historic place

Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1854 and is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline of the United Methodist Church. Hamline was the first institution of higher learning in Minnesota and is one of five Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities. The university is composed of the College of Liberal Arts, School of Education, School of Business, and the Creative Writing Programs. Hamline is a community of 2,117 undergraduate students and 1,668 graduate students.

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Educational accreditation

The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It was one of six regional accreditation bodies in the U.S. and its Higher Learning Commission was recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as a regional accreditor for higher education institutions.

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. Member institutions complete periodic peer review processes to become, and remain, accredited. NASAD accreditation should not be confused with regional accreditation.

Campus

The campus was located in Saint Paul's historic Ramsey Hill and Summit Avenue neighborhoods and comprised five buildings: the 1915 Watson P. Davidson House on Summit Avenue (which housed administrative offices, classrooms, computer labs, and printmaking and sculpture studios); a public gallery at Selby and Western avenues; and three buildings near the gallery that housed the library, additional classrooms and studios, and a photography lab.

Summit Avenue (St. Paul) United States historic place

Summit Avenue is a street in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, known for being the longest avenue of Victorian homes in the country, having a number of historic houses, churches, synagogues, and schools. The street starts just west of downtown Saint Paul and continues four and a half miles west to the Mississippi River where Saint Paul meets Minneapolis. Other cities have similar streets, such as Prairie Avenue in Chicago, Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, and Fifth Avenue in New York City. Summit Avenue is notable for having preserved its historic character and mix of buildings, as compared to these other examples. Historian Ernest R. Sandeen described Summit Avenue as "the best preserved example of the Victorian monumental residential boulevard."

Mission

The College of Visual Arts provides a collaborative environment that focuses on individual student development by fully integrating the study of the liberal arts and the visual arts. We cultivate a worldview that recognizes the value of art and design in promoting pride in place and responsible citizenship.

Academic Program

All first year students participate in a clearly sequenced yearlong foundation program consisting of a strong standardized curriculum in studio arts, liberal arts, and an orientation to art and design. It provides a required introduction to the essential visual vocabulary, concepts, and technical skills necessary for success in all the upper level programs. This program provides all first year students with the information necessary to make an informed choice of major at its conclusion.

What students learn in the first year, and expand upon in courses in their major, culminates in the Senior Thesis Program. Thesis work includes the development of a mature body of studio work for exhibition and a written analysis of the student's collection, a professional portfolio, website, and opportunities to develop presentations for public address. This program also equips students with career-focused skills and experience—from interviewing for art and design positions, teaching, and applying for public commissions to writing grant proposals, launching and promoting a freelance business, and applying for graduate school.

Integration of liberal arts coursework in all of the art and design majors is a distinguishing feature of the College of Visual Arts; CVA offers a robust selection of liberal arts courses to enhance the student's learning experience. Extensive study in art history helps the students understand their own work in the context of the larger world of art and design. Active learning through the arts is employed in many areas such as math and science courses. Oral presentation and critical reading, thinking, and writing are important skills across the curriculum.

Notable alumni and faculty

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Combs, Marianne (16 January 2013). "College of Visual Arts in St. Paul sunk by recession". MPR News. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Combs, Marianne (16 January 2013). "College of Visual Arts in St. Paul sunk by recession". MPR News. Retrieved 15 January 2013.

Coordinates: 44°56′34″N93°6′49″W / 44.94278°N 93.11361°W / 44.94278; -93.11361

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