The Art Institute of Seattle was a private for-profit art school in Seattle, Washington. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in North America, owned and operated by Education Management Corporation. EDMC owned the college from 1982 until 2017, when, facing significant financial problems and declining enrollment, the company sold the Art Institute of Seattle, along with 30 other Art Institute schools, to Dream Center Education, a Los Angeles–based Pentecostal organization, before shuttering.
The Dream Center Foundation acquired the school in 2018 and laid off ten of its thirteen full-time teachers in October 2018. The Washington Student Achievement Council then suspended Ai-Seattle's license to operate, which blocked enrollment of new students.
The school closed permanently on March 8, 2019, with 650 students unable to finish the winter quarter. Students were forced to retrieve paper copies of their documents during the last day and were offered scholarships and classes from other nearby universities, including Seattle Pacific University.
History
The Art Institute of Seattle was located in several buildings near the Elliott Bay waterfront in the Belltown neighborhood of Downtown Seattle, near many of the city's design studios, restaurants and corporate offices. It was founded in 1946 as the Burnley School for Art and was renamed in 1982.
In 1946, Edwin Burnley founded the Burnley School of Art and Design and opened the doors at the end of World War II in 1947. Also in that year, Jess Cauthorn stepped down as the Art Institute of Seattle's president and on May 23, George Pry became the new President of the Art Institute of Seattle. In October 1989, George Pry left the school and Hal Griffith took his place. In February 1994 Less Pritchard became the President of the Art Institute of Seattle. In 1999, Timothy Schutz became President of the school and The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities granted regional accreditation to the school. In 2006, the school was granted accreditation at a baccalaureate level to offer programs leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 2009, Barbara Singer became the President of the Art Institute of Seattle followed by Elden Monday in 2010.
Closure
Shortly after laying off most of its teaching staff, the Art Institute of Seattle closed suddenly in March, 2019, amid the shuttering of other Art Institutes locations nationwide.
Presidents and deans
- 1946 – Edwin Burnley (Founder and original owner of the Burnley School of Art and Design)