KQED's Forum What the Closure of California College of the Arts and Vanderbilt Expansion Mean for the Bay Area
Jan 21, 2026
Sarah Hotchkiss, a CCA alum and KQED Arts and Culture editor, shares insights on the shocking closure of California College of the Arts and its impact on the local arts scene. Jeff Selingo, a higher education expert, discusses the national implications of college closures and shifts in institutional finances. Laura Waxman of the San Francisco Chronicle reveals how the city aims to revitalize downtown through Vanderbilt's new campus. Together, they explore the losses faced by the community and the evolving landscape of arts education in the Bay Area.
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Debt, Expansion And Tuition Dependence
- California College of the Arts closed primarily due to an unsustainable structural deficit and heavy tuition dependence.
- A $123 million campus expansion plus declining enrollment left a gap the small endowment couldn't cover.
The 'Shiny Building' Trap
- Small colleges often expand with new facilities to attract students but then face declining enrollment and fundraising shortfalls.
- That pattern replicates across U.S. small-scale colleges and can trigger closures when endowments are small.
Campus Saved But Scale Shrinks
- Laureen Powell Jobs bought the San Francisco Art Institute campus and will reopen it as a non-accredited residency, CASA, with limited capacity.
- That preserves the physical site but replaces mass graduation pipelines with small artist residencies.
