11/02/2009: Lecture about the ‘Plastic Reef’ project at ROSKI School of Fine Arts @ USC / University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
The University of Southern California Roski School of Fine Arts offers Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees at the undergraduate level, and Master’s degrees in Fine Arts (MFA) and Public Art Studies (MPAS). Approximately 275 students are currently enrolled as undergraduate majors, and 50 students are enrolled in the two graduate programs.The school currently employs 21 full-time faculty and 42 part-time faculty.
The school was founded by artist William Lees Judson as the College of Fine Arts in 1895, making it the oldest art school in the region. Originally located in the historic Pasadena Arroyo on the site now occupied by the Judson Stained Glass Studios, the school moved to the USC campus in 1919, further enriching students’ education within the inspiring and stimulating context of downtown Los Angeles.
In 1919 the school became known as the School of Art and Architecture, eventually splitting into separate professional schools in 1975. For a time the school conferred degrees in art history, though since 1996 the Department of Art History has been located in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
With a major endowment gift from Ed and Gayle Roski in 2006, the school officially became the USC Gayle Garner Roski School of Fine Arts. Gayle Roski is an alumna of the school and a member of the school’s Board of Councilors. Ed Roski is an alumnus of the USC Marshall School of Business and currently serves as Chairman of the USC Board of Trustees.
Today the school is dedicated exclusively to the visual arts, offering courses in painting and drawing, design, photography, digital media, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, and theory and criticism. Approximately 75 students graduate each year with 15 of those receiving their graduate degrees.