About

Mission and Purpose

AICAD – the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design – is a non-profit consortium of 43 leading art schools in the US and Canada. It was founded in 1991 by a group of 25 presidents who felt a need for the similarly structured art schools to come together so as to mutually develop their schools and programs. Our mission is to help strengthen the member colleges individually and collectively, and to inform the public about these colleges and the value of studying art and design.
AICAD colleges educate more than 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year, plus many thousands more in summer and continuing education programs. Our students are drawn from all 50 US states and more than 60 foreign countries. Over 70% of these students receive financial aid to support their education.

Membership

Membership in AICAD is open to colleges in the US and Canada that are: private, nonprofit, free-standing (that is, not a department of a larger college or university), specialized colleges of art and design, BFA and/or MFA degree granting, and accredited by NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art & Design) and the appropriate regional accrediting agency (New England, Middle States, North Central, Northwest, Southern, and Western).

We also have International Affiliates which must meet the equivalent criteria in their home countries.

Programs and Activities

AICAD achieves its mission of strengthening and connecting its member schools through a variety of programs and activities, including:

• distributing information about AICAD and its members, and about art and design education and careers, to students, parents, teachers, and others;
• conducting regular conferences and symposia on contemporary academic and administrative subjects;
• operating an independent studio and internship program in New York City (New York Studio Residency Program);
• overseeing student exchanges and mobility among the member schools and international affiliates;
• gathering and analyzing substantial institutional data annually, accompanied by analysis and forecasts to assist in future planning efforts;
• providing members with information about current art and design education issues, and about relevant legislation and government policies;
• working with other educational and cultural groups on various policy issues and mutually beneficial programs; and,
• maintaining a communication and information exchange system for senior staff and faculty of the member schools, including frequent meetings to discuss timely issues.

GOVERNANCE

Responsibility for the general direction of AICAD is vested in its Board of Directors, which consists of the president/CEO of each of the 43 member institutions. Financial and administrative oversight are provided by a seven member Executive Committee. Daily management and services are provided by the Executive Director.

Executive Committee

	Chair Larry Thompson (President, Ringling College of Art & Design)
	Vice Chair Tom Manley (President, Pacific Northwest College of Art)
	Treasurer Richard Rogers (President, College for Creative Studies)
	Secretary Denise Mullen (President, Oregon College of Art and Craft)
	Chair, Futures Committee Ron Burnett, (President, Emily Carr University of Art + Design)
	Chair, Information Committee Denny Griffith (President, Columbus College of Art & Design)
	Chair, Programs Committee Mary Colleen Heil (President, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design)

Staff

	Executive Director Deborah Obalil has over fifteen years experience as a leader in the national arts and culture industry, having led multiple highly acclaimed organizations and served as a well regarded management consultant to the field. She was appointed the Executive Director of AICAD in June 2012. As Executive Director she leads the organization in achieving its mission of strengthening and connecting its members schools, thus advancing art and design education. Prior to her appointment with AICAD, Deborah operated a successful boutique arts management consulting firm, Obalil & Associates, for four years. The firm provided consultation and facilitation in strategic planning, marketing research and planning, and board development for non-profit arts organizations, independent artists of all disciplines, and creative for-profit ventures. Deborah’s career within arts organizations placed her most recently as the Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities, an organization dedicated to the advancement of America’s creative vitality through supporting the field of artists’ communities, based in Providence, RI. The Alliance acts as the collective voice of the field while providing a variety of advocacy services and educational programs. During her six-year tenure as Executive Director, the Alliance’s membership grew by more than 20%, the annual budget tripled, and new relationships developed with the Ford Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation and the Joyce Foundation directed more than $2 million of re-granting funds through the Alliance. She also served on the board of directors of Res Artis, the international association for artist residency programs. Deborah received a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University in History and Dance, and a certificate from the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders – Arts at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
	Assistant Director Rebecca Deans has served as AICAD’s Assistant Director since 2008 and was Executive Assistant from 2005. Prior to joining AICAD, she worked for the New England Board of Higher Education in Boston, Massachusetts. Rebecca has a BFA in Metals from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She is Past Co-President, Board member, and Librarian of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco, one of the nation’s oldest organizations dedicated to supporting the metals/jewelry field. She has an active studio practice as a jewelry designer and exhibits nationally.
	Administrative Coordinator Lee Ann Adams has served as AICAD’s Administrative Coordinator since September 2012. Prior to joining the AICAD team, she was an Admission’s Officer at the Rhode Island School of Design for four years. Lee Ann has also worked as an Administrator in the American Paintings Department at Christie’s Auction House in New York City and as Assistant to the Director at the National Museum of American Illustration in Newport, Rhode Island. Lee Ann graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration in 2003.