Food for Thought

While life seems to move at a slower pace in the August heat, things at ArtCenter are certainly starting to simmer—and I'm not just referring to the extraordinarily creative cuisine at alum Justin Pichetrungsi’s restaurant, Anajak Thai, which the Los Angeles Times named 2022’s Restaurant of the Year.

Starting August 18, we have a full slate of activities honoring our Summer 2022 graduating class—from open studios to film screenings. We’re also excited to welcome back our graduates from 2020–2021, who were unable to participate in-person because of the pandemic.

August also marks National Black Business Month. So in between graduation events, I encourage you to fill your cup (maybe with something cold in this summer heat) at Sailor’s Brew, a Black-owned coffee shop close to campus, and fill your plate at Alice's Southern Comfort, owned by Kimberly Velazco, an integral member of our Designmatters team. And now for more of what’s on the menu at ArtCenter.

We recently commissioned Graduate Film student Sean May to create dynamic, visually distinct profiles of diverse students at ArtCenter.
Aaron I. Bruce, MIBA, Ph.D., Chief Diversity Officer

One to Watch

I’d like to announce that we’ll be launching a partnership with Small Town Animation Studios, which has recently launched Animation TV, one of the first Black-owned television networks. CEO/Founder Jermaine Hargrove is dedicated to carving pathways to success for the next generation of diverse animators, so we’ll be introducing students to the network and the opportunity to gain more global exposure as historically underrepresented animators and visual storytellers.

Lessons in Equity

I’m pleased to share some excellent feedback from our Universal Design Learning (UDL) faculty sessions, in partnership with the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), as well as our faculty + staff LGBTQ Ally and Pronoun Presentations workshop, in partnership with Employee Experience and Engagement (HR)—both dedicated to creating more equity-minded classrooms.

Here’s how Jay Sanders, executive director of our Transportation Department, reflected his experience at the UDL event:

"I attended the workshop without knowing much about the topic other than being attracted to the idea of offering different approaches for learning. When I think about some of the students who have struggled in our department, I wonder whether we could have done anything differently that might have helped them to be more successful. We'll be talking with our faculty about this in the months ahead, and we hope to create a program that's more inclusive while still upholding high standards."