Mission and Vision

Mission

Learn to create. Influence change.

This is our mission statement—and our answer to how art and design impact our global society. Part call-to-action. Part promise. All opportunity.

Vision

A new model for art and design education in the 21st century.

ArtCenter’s visionary approach to art and design education is based on the College’s conservatory-like approach to teaching and learning; a desire for rich, intercultural and transdisciplinary dialogue; and a mandate to provide students innovative learning and making spaces.

Strategic Priorities

For over a decade, the College has twice authored a strategic plan, Create Change 1.0 (2011–2016) and Create Change 2.0 (2017–2021), both of which were used to focus our collective efforts, guide our decision-making and inform our allocation of resources. These strategic plans were heavily community-driven, reflecting input from students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry partners and trustees—all with the goal of maintaining ArtCenter’s position as a leading art and design school in the 21st century, delivering on exceptional education experience for our students.

Coming out of the pandemic in 2022, the College developed a Strategic Agenda, designed to provide a roadmap for the College during a period of presidential transition, allowing incoming President Karen Hofmann time to build an executive team and develop a meaningful strategic plan to guide the College into the future, and into its second century.

Building on the vision of our co-founder, Tink Adams, ArtCenter is committed to delivering transformational learning experiences to creative problem solvers. We believe academic excellence takes place with hands-on learning in professional-oriented environments where curiosity, thinking, exploring, diversity and making are paramount.

As we look towards the future with the shifts transforming our world today, along with changes occurring in the higher education landscape, it is essential that we continue to prepare our students to be resilient, brave and creative leaders.

Creativity, the arts, and problem solvers have never been more vital to society, and our role in cultivating these influential voices has never been more important.

To meet this moment, and as ArtCenter leadership works with its community to develop the full institutional strategic plan, ArtCenter President Karen Hofmann has noted the following 2025 strategic priorities:

Academic excellence and student success
Student experience, including access and affordability
Alumni and industry partnerships
Extended studies for non-degree learners
Responsible and transparent stewardship and governance operations model
Celebrating our culture, history and future through our Centennial Anniversary in 2030
Continuing our institution’s commitment to cultivating, preserving and championing a positive culture, woven into each of the above priorities are the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging (DEIAB)

While actively in the institutional strategic planning process, these strategic priorities serve as the principles for current decision-making for the College.