How University of the Arts students are recovering after closure
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University of the Arts students protest after the announcement of the school's sudden closure in June. Photo: Isaac Avilucea/Axios
Students impacted by the sudden shuttering of University of the Arts are moving on — but the city wants them to know that their legacy endures.
The big picture: About 750 of the more than 1,100 students affected by the June closure have enrolled at schools with "teach out" agreements that made it easier to transfer, the Inquirer reports.
- Temple, Moore College of Art and Design and Drexel absorbed more than 520 of those students.
- UArts hasn't yet reported to the state how many students have enrolled at other schools.
Driving the news: Regardless of whether they continue their studies in the city, Philadelphia leaders want the affected students to have a place to display their art here.
- Councilmember Rue Landau's office and Creative Philadelphia are inviting former UArts students to submit artwork for an exhibit spanning two floors of City Hall this fall.
- Titled "Transcending Uncertainty," the exhibit is accepting submissions through Oct. 4 and will open in November.
Catch up quick: City Council held a hearing this month about the closure, where former students and faculty shared how they were impacted and one city lawmaker called for an audit of the school.
- State lawmakers and the Attorney General's Office have said they're reviewing the closure, which UArts announced on its website at the outset of the summer session shortly after the Middle States Commission on Higher Education withdrew the institution's accreditation.
- School officials blamed a "fragile financial state" and declining enrollment.
Zoom in: Temple is still negotiating with the UArts board about a possible merger.
- Temple has made several accommodations, including hiring former UArts faculty and creating a new bachelor's degree, to help ease the transition for incoming UArts students.
- The university designated two floors of one of its residence halls for dozens of UArts students to live together, per the Inquirer.
What they're saying: "A lot of students have been very surprised to learn about the intimacy of our community," Susan Cahan, dean of Temple's Tyler School of Art and Architecture, told Temple Now.
- "We're all working as a team to welcome these new students."
What we're watching: Class-action lawsuits filed by students and faculty against UArts. Attorneys representing the separate suits want to combine the cases, per court records.
- Plus: What happens to downtown buildings still owned by the university, valued at more than $162 million.