Image from the CCA website.
With the finality of the last tree crashing to the ground in a clear cut forest, California College of the Arts announced plans to shutter its doors this morning. What was San Francisco’s last remaining nonprofit private art school has been acquired by Vanderbilt University. With plans for CCA to wind down over the next academic year, Vanderbilt will begin operations in fall 2027.
“I am writing to share an important update with you about the future of California College of the Arts. To support opportunities for our students to complete their education and to honor CCA’s significant role in the Bay Area’s creative ecosystem, we have entered into an agreement with Vanderbilt University,” David Howse said in a statement posted on the CCA website.
CCA, founded in 1907 in Berkeley, has a long and prestigious history, nurturing the talent of notable artists including Tom Franco, Wayne Wang, Peter Voulkos, Maia Kobabe, and Amy Karle, among others. Despite this legacy, CCA has struggled in recent years amid declining enrollment and mounting financial challenges. The school was recently awarded 22.5 million in funding from the foundation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, but the infusion ultimately proved insufficient to stabilize operations.
Vanderbilt plans to dedicate the acquired campus and assets to a school focused on arts and design. The deal was announced Tuesday by Mayor Daniel Lurie, who framed the acquisition as part of a broader effort to revitalize San Francisco. “A year ago, people questioned whether San Francisco would ever recover, and today major institutions like Vanderbilt see our city as the place to be,” Lurie said in an interview. “This is a huge vote of confidence.” Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but to a school mired in financial woes it might have seemed like a logical out.
“Vanderbilt also plans to operate a CCA Institute at Vanderbilt, which will include, among other things, the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts, will maintain CCA archival materials, and will serve as a vehicle for CCA alumni engagement,” Howse said. “Through these activities, Vanderbilt will honor CCA’s longstanding creative mission and maintain a strong presence for art and design education in the Bay Area.”
CCA’s closure reflects a broader crisis facing art schools nationwide. In 2024, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the college was facing a 20 million budget deficit, citing declining enrollment. Several art institutions across the country have closed in recent years, including the San Francisco Art Institute, founded in 1871 and the nation’s first art school west of the Mississippi, which filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The loss of CCA is expected to be deeply felt in the Bay Area art community and beyond.
