Small Art School in Small City Finds Big Success

SARASOTA, Fla., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — This artsy small city is the home of a miracle school: Ringling College of Art and Design. The lusty institution:

• Won twice as many awards this year from The Society of Illustrators than schools three times its size.
• Its Computer Animation program is ranked #1 in North America and its alumni have worked on all 10 of the top grossing animated features in history, not to mention every Oscar-winning animated film.
• Is combating “the myth of the starving artist” by launching the nation’s first BA program to infuse a hardcore business curriculum with studio-based art, design and creativity education. The expectation is that this marriage will revolutionize the way business will work in the 21st century.
• Has a computer to student ratio of 2.2:1, rivaling even MIT, and its computer data center controls myriad technology — more than $10 million in hardware alone — with one unit so powerful that NASA uses the same type.

The world is noticing. Enrollment at the College has increased 27% from last year even in this downed economy, and interest in the new Business of Art and Design program has doubled.

“We believe our students will be the creative thought leaders of the new economy,” says Dr. Larry R. Thompson, president, “which is one of the reasons Ringling College developed an entirely new academic program called the Business of Art & Design (BOAD). The new major is on the crest of the wave of creative convergence of art and business, the design and whole mindedness movement, bringing art and design to the forefront of the business world. The program is the first of its kind in the nation to integrate the study of business and the study of studio art and design — marrying the right and left sides of the brain into one practice. It aims to change the very paradigm of how businesses are run today.”

The BOAD program contains echoes of Harvard Business School with a design-minded twist: to infuse creativity and innovation into any organization, product, service or experience in the world. With a solid grounding of business skills, an understanding of the creative process, the reputation of a world-class art and design institution, and the ability to work effectively with other creative individuals, students will develop the skills to understand how artists work and comprehend the role of art and design in the contemporary workplace.

Ringling has proof its concepts are working. More than three quarters of Ringling’s graduates are working, only six months after graduation. And they are earning, in their first jobs, $35,000 to $70,000 or more. This disproves “the myth of the starving artist,” says Dr. Thompson. He adds, “It’s not just about creative business. It’s about making any business creative.”

That’s partly the result of a robust career services and recruiting program rarely seen at a college of its size. In fact, Ringling hosted 50 top name recruiters this year alone from organizations which include DreamWorks, Hallmark Cards, Pixar, Disney, LucasArts Entertainment, Electronic Arts, American Greetings, J. Walter Thompson Co., Nickelodeon, JibJab, Feld Entertainment, and even The Central Intelligence Agency.

Ringling College is nearly 78 years old, having been founded in 1931. Ringling is located at 2700 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota FL 34234. Telephone 941/359-7594. Email clange@ringling.edu. Web www.ringling.edu. MEDIA CONTACT: Ron Smith, 888/730-6630 or rts941@verizon.net.

SOURCE Ringling College of Art and Design