Art Institute of Pittsburgh facts for kids

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a special art college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a private university, meaning it was not run by the government. The school focused on teaching design education and preparing students for jobs in creative areas. It first opened in 1921 and closed down in 2019.

This school was part of a larger group called The Art Institutes. This group included many art schools across the United States. The Art Institutes system itself closed completely in September 2023.

History of the Art Institute

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh started in 1921. It began as a school that aimed to make a profit. It taught art and illustration. Many famous artists studied there. These included watercolorist Frank Webb and science fiction artist Frank Kelly Freas.

Later, the school focused more on design and cooking classes.

Changes in Ownership

Bought by EDMC

In 1968, a company from Pittsburgh called Education Management Corporation (EDMC) bought the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. EDMC then started more schools like it, creating The Art Institutes system.

Many students joined the online classes. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of online students grew a lot. This was partly because the school spent more money on advertising than on teaching. For a short time in 2008, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh became one of the biggest art colleges in the U.S., counting its online students.

In 2009, EDMC started selling shares of its company to the public. A big bank called Goldman Sachs became a major owner. The focus of the schools changed. They started to care more about making money for their owners. This led to bigger classes and fewer services for students. The lessons also became the same across all schools.

Around 2010, fewer students started joining. This was partly because of problems with student records. Some people who worked for the company said there were issues with the online division. The United States Department of Justice later joined these lawsuits. Because fewer students enrolled, many staff members in the online division lost their jobs.

In 2013, a website called Payscale.com looked at how much value colleges gave for their tuition money. They found that the Art Institute of Pittsburgh offered the lowest value. The school also had to share information with the government. These reports showed that only 39% of students graduated in 2012. For students who received special financial help (Pell grants), the graduation rate was even lower, at 27%. By 2014, the graduation rate dropped even more, to 24%.

In 2015, new owners took over EDMC. This happened because the company had money problems and couldn't pay its debts.

Bought by the Dream Center

In 2017, EDMC sold the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and other Art Institutes schools. They were sold to Dream Center Education Holdings. This group was part of The Dream Center, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles. The sale was completed in October 2017.

A report in 2018 showed that the Art Institute of Pittsburgh had a 29% graduation rate. It also had a 20.9% student loan default rate. This means that about one in five students struggled to pay back their student loans.

Later, the Dream Center said that EDMC had given them wrong information about how much money the school made and spent. This led to big financial problems. Because of this, the Art Institute had to be taken over by the government in January 2019.

School Closure

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh closed its doors in March 2019. This happened after a final attempt to sell the school failed. At the time it closed, the school was also at risk of losing its official approval (accreditation). This was due to worries about its leaders.

School Locations

In 2000, the school bought a historic landmark building at 420 Boulevard of the Allies. But in 2014, it sold this building. The Art Institute then moved to a more industrial building in the Strip District of Pittsburgh.

On March 27, 2017, the school moved again to 1400 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh. When the school was growing, it moved several times to bigger places. It also added more classes. But later, as it faced problems, it offered fewer classes.

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh also had an online division. This part of the school worked somewhat on its own. It offered degrees and diplomas that students could earn from home. The online division closed at the same time as the main campus in the Strip District.

Official Approvals and Memberships

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was officially approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. This approval meant that the school met certain quality standards. It had been accredited since 2008.

Famous Alumni

More than 55,000 students graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Here are some of the notable ones:

• Matt Bors, a cartoonist and editor.
• Shane Callahan, an actor in movies and TV.
• Stig Asmussen, a video game developer and designer.
• Julian Michael Carver, a science fiction and horror writer.
• Frank Kelly Freas, a famous science fiction and fantasy artist. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists."
• Paul Gulacy, a comics artist for DC and Marvel Comics.
• Leon Levinstein, a street photographer.
• Garrett Mason, an American politician.
• J. Howard Miller (1939), a graphic artist who created posters during World War II, including the famous "We Can Do It!" poster.
• John Prentice, a cartoonist known for the Rip Kirby comic strip.
• Martha Rial, a photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998.
• Jennifer M. Smith, a former Premier of Bermuda.
• Roman Verostko (1949), an artist and educator who created art using computer code.
• Frank Webb (1946), a watercolor painter.
• Tom Wilson (1955), the cartoonist who created the Ziggy comic strip.
• Rick Schneider-Calabash, an award-winning animation producer and director for Walt Disney Studios.