Point Park leans into arts education for growth
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Point Park University is leveraging the arts to secure its future.
Why it matters: Downtown's flagship university is expanding arts education as colleges nationwide slash programs amid budget constraints and enrollment dips.
Driving the news: Point Park restructured its competitive Conservatory of Performing Arts this year to establish two distinct schools — the School of Dance and the School of Theatre, Film and Animation.
- The school aims to attract more students by expanding curriculum, while "preserving the integrity of the conservatory model," Garfield Lemonius, dean of the new School of Dance, tells Axios.
- The conservatory previously housed three departments: dance, theater and cinema arts.
- The School of Dance will offer a new hip-hop concentration later this year, mirroring industry trends in Broadway and Cirque du Soleil.
Zoom in: Point Park is climbing back from an enrollment cliff led by declining birth rates and fewer students attending college nationwide — a trend worsened by the pandemic.
- President Chris Brussalis sees the conservatory as a key piece of the rebound, expanding arts programming in a broader effort to add 30% to the school's enrollment by 2030.
- "We're an arts-forward university," says Kiesha Lalama, interim dean of Point Park's new film school, noting the college recently took in students from Philadelphia's shuttered University of the Arts and Vermont's Goddard College.
Yes, but: The pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the creative economy, leaving many questioning the viability of arts careers. That, paired with an American public that's losing confidence in higher education, remains a challenge for arts programs.
By the numbers: Point Park enrollment fell by about 9% from fall 2011 to fall 2021, according to U.S. Department of Education data. The school has slowly added more students since its pandemic low of 3,278 in fall 2022 to 3,448 in fall 2024.
- The conservatory made up about a quarter of the university's overall enrollment in fall 2024.
- Enrollment in the dance program grew nearly 15%, from 317 students in the fall of 2023 to 364 in 2024. "That signals to us there are students out there still interested in the arts," says Lemonius.
State of play: To stay competitive, the conservatory offers "rigorous training" and fast-track programs allowing students to earn their bachelor's and master's simultaneously, says Lemonius.
- What they're saying: "The arts play a vital role in enhancing humanity," Lalama says. "We learned this during COVID. When everything shut down, everyone turned to the arts and entertainment."
- "Everything that exists is because of the arts," says Lemonius.