Pacific Northwest College of ArtPortland Oregon

Presidential Search Prospectus

Shinagawa Station, 2014Nicholas Pennell BFA ‘16

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The Board of Governors of the Pacific Northwest College of Art invites applica-

tions for the position of President, with duties commencing by August 1, 2016.

The College seeks an accomplished and forward-thinking leader to guide the

College through the next phase of its storied evolution.

Founded in 1909 as the Museum School of the Portland Art Association and

located in the heart of one of the nation’s most creative cities, PNCA has been

enriching Portland and the greater world with exceptional talent and achievement

for more than a hundred years. One of Oregon’s most influential arts organiza-

tions, PNCA has doubled both its student body and full-time faculty, quadrupled

its endowment, and added numerous undergraduate and graduate programs in

the last 10 years.

PNCA provides professional education in the visual and design arts and grants

the degrees Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and Master of Arts. It

also serves approximately 1,400 community members annually in the Continuing

Education program. With a mission of preparing students for lives of creative

practice, PNCA equips emerging artists and designers with a broad world view

and the ability to leverage curiosity, passion, and talent to address contemporary

challenges of all kinds.

In January 2015, PNCA moved to a new campus centered on Portland’s North

Park Blocks. The College’s new main campus flagship, the Arlene and Harold

Schnitzer Center for Art and Design, is located in a historic federal building, ren-

ovated with a contemporary, light-filled interior designed by noted architect Brad

Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture.

PNCA is an accredited institutional member of both the National Association of

Schools of Art and Design and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Uni-

versities. PNCA is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art

and Design. It is a co-educational, nondenominational, independent institution.

PACIFIC NORTHWESTCOLLEGE OF ART

OVERVIEW

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The story of PNCA is in many ways the story of Portland, a city relentless in its

pursuit of innovation and cultivation of the artist’s voice. The College embodies

these qualities, which are vital pieces of its rich history, bustling present, and

evolving future.

PNCA’s origin can be traced to 1891, when a cadre of Portland artists estab-

lished a weekly paper-and-charcoal program of artistic study. Artist Harry Wentz,

architects Albert E. Doyle, Joseph Jacobberger and John B. Reid, along with ar-

chitecture student Seth Catlin and merchant grocer Fred Weber, formed a mod-

est sketch club and cemented their forward-thinking ways by allowing a handful

of women to join. Among them was young Anna Belle Crocker, an art student

and secretary to banker William Ladd, whose energy and commitment would

eventually make the Museum Art School’s founding a reality. One year later, the

club inspired the creation of the Portland Art Association by local merchants and

businessmen, including W.H. Corbett who two years later purchased giant Greek

and Roman casts and installed them in the old Portland Library as ideal subjects

for the sketch club, which descended upon the gallery to capture the behemoth

figures.

The year 1905 was a benchmark for the Portland Art Association, as it saw the

donation of $30,000 by William Ladd’s arts-enthusiast mother, Abigail, and Mr.

Corbett’s offering of property at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Taylor Street as the

Museum’s first official site. Four years later, the School of the Portland Art Asso-

ciation would open its doors as the first museum art school on the West Coast. 

This ambitious endeavor was largely the brainchild of Anna Belle Crocker, who

was soon appointed curator and principal of the Museum Art School, a role she

would play until her retirement in 1936.

In 1914, the Museum Art School awarded its first three-year-study certificates

and within the next several years, enrollment reached 127 students. Concurrent

with growth among the student body was a movement within the board of trust-

ees to acquire space for a new Museum and Art School, which came to be in

1930 when the trustees negotiated the purchase of a South Park Blocks parcel in

exchange for the Southwest Fifth Avenue and Taylor Street property. 

THE COLLEGEINSTITUTIONAL HISTORY

511 Exterior

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The end of World War II saw a renewed vigor in arts education, a trend that

played out loudly for the Museum Art School. The school thrived in the coming

decades, receiving accreditation and membership from the Northwest Associ-

ation of Schools and Colleges in 1961 and adding a liberal arts curriculum in

1968; the class of 1969 was the first to receive the BFA degree. The 1970s saw

further expansion into the L. Hawley Hoffman Wing, designed by Portland archi-

tect Pietro Belluschi, and experienced constant flux at the College’s helm until

1982 when renowned Portland arts supporter and educator Sally Lawrence was

appointed director of the school, by then renamed the Pacific Northwest College

of Art. Lawrence was ultimately appointed president, a post she held until her

retirement in 2003.

A crucial milestone of Lawrence’s tenure was the separation of the College from

the museum in 1994. The evolution of this 84-year relationship afforded the Col-

lege financial independence and administrative freedom, and completing this rite

of passage was the College’s 1998 move to the 92,000-square-foot Goodman

Building on Johnson Street in the Pearl District.

Dr. Thomas Manley was appointed president in 2003 and guided PNCA through

what may well be its most auspicious era yet. In 2007, the College received $15

million from longtime local arts supporter Hallie Ford, the largest gift to an arts

organization in Oregon’s history, and the following fall the MFA in Visual Studies

program was launched, the College’s first graduate program. In 2008, the Col-

lege initiated the process to acquire from the U.S. Department of Education the

1916-era former federal building at 511 NW Broadway on Portland’s North Park

Blocks.

As PNCA prepared for this dramatic brick-and-mortar expansion, its educational

and public programs continued to grow. Between 2009 and 2014, the College

added five more graduate programs.

In June 2012, PNCA launched a $15 million philanthropic campaign, Creativity

Works Here, to support its strategic move to renovate the historic building. PNCA

alumna Arlene Schnitzer kicked off the campaign with a gift of $5 million to name

the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design. The campaign met

its goal in January of 2015, and classes began in the new campus building on

February 2, 2015, signaling a new era for art and design education in the Pacific

Northwest.

INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, CONT’D

MISSION

Pacific Northwest College of Art prepares students for lives of creative practice.

Ann Edlen Creative Corridor

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DEGREE PROGRAMS AND CURRICULUM

PNCA provides professional education in the visual and design arts at three

levels: undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education. In recent years

PNCA’s faculty has worked to implement the largest curriculum change in more

than two decades, with the priorities of revitalizing the overall undergraduate

curriculum, responding to the need to strengthen Professional Practice, and de-

veloping 400 level curriculum and provide multiple pathways for students with

expanded goals and opportunities. 

A new focus on Professional Practice throughout the curriculum scaffolds the

various types of skills and tools necessary for a variety of post-graduate op-

portunities, including entrepreneurial enterprise, graduate studies, animation

festivals, gallery practice and national and international residencies. The new

BridgeLab resource center offers career guidance and skill building by bringing

in professionals from the greater community to provide workshops and coaching

in business and legal basics, marketing, manufacturing, design and other entre-

preneurial skills.  

To fulfill its mission PNCA seeks to equip new generations of artists, designers,

and scholars with the skills and knowledge needed to become the culture mak-

ers, leaders, inventors, entrepreneurs and creative problem solvers of tomorrow. 

The College’s Illustration and Animated Arts programs are recognized among

the top 10 nationally, and the six programs of the Hallie Ford School of Graduate

Studies collectively rank eighth.

PNCA’s Undergraduate Program is focused on four Core Themes: Studio Prac-

tice, Critical Inquiry, World View, and Professional Practice. The Bachelor of

Fine Arts degree program offers 10 concentrations in four majors:

• Studio Arts: Painting + Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture;

• Media Arts: Animated Arts, Intermedia, Photography, and Video and Sound;

• Design Arts: Communication Design and Illlustration;

• Liberal Arts: Writing.

PNCA students balance studies in the humanities and sciences with hands-on

art making in small, mentor-based classes. Five student galleries showcase their

work on campus. Farther afield, students participate in PNCA Global Studios in

Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

BFA graduates leave PNCA equipped for a wide range of creative careers with a

portfolio of interdisciplinary skills, specialized expertise, personalized style, and

the professional life skills of collaboration, entrepreneurship, and interpersonal

communication.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Ryan Miller, BFA ‘16Thesis Proposal

Visual Activisim ‘15Thesis WorkStephanie Fogel, BFA ‘15

Samala Coffee, BFA ‘11Animation Studio

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The Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies is the result of the historic $15

million gift to PNCA in 2007. Mrs. Ford wrote that her gift reflected her desire to

see “a globally recognized center for visual art and design education located in

Oregon.” Since receiving the gift, PNCA has launched six graduate programs:

• MFA in Applied Craft and Design (offered jointly with Oregon College of Art and

Craft)

• MFA in Collaborative Design

• MFA in Visual Studies

• Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies

• MA in Critical Theory and Creative Research

• MFA in Print Media

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Complementing PNCA’s degree programs is a dynamic Continuing Education Pro-

gram that provides year-round classes to approximately 1,400 adults and children

annually. Offerings range from drawing and painting fundamentals to master classes

in printmaking, as well as Certificates in digital publishing, fine art, graphic design,

and illustration. PNCA’s summertime Pre-College Studios for high school students

help to prepare them for the rigor of an art and design education. SmARTworks

youth camps guide children in exploring project topics and applying their ideas to

materials.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

ENROLLMENT

In fall 2015, 399 undergraduate and 115 graduate students enrolled at PNCA:

68% female and 32%  male; 40% from Oregon and 60% from outside the state,

with 39 states represented. A small but growing international student body of 2%

brings diverse perspectives to the mix. Nearly three-fourths of PNCA students

identify as Caucasian and 22% as a non-white ethnicity, including 6% Hispanic/

Latino, 2% Asian, 1% African American, 1% Native American or Alaska Native,

and 12% students who consider themselves “two or more” ethnicities. PNCA’s

impressive first-to-second-year retention rate of 70% (2015-16) speaks to the

College’s compelling programs and curriculum, one-on-one learning opportuni-

ties and close knit community. 

smART Works, 2015

Taking Flight, 2013Christina Conant and David BoekelheideMFA Applied Craft and Design ‘11Commission for Innovative HousingPortland, OR

MFA Visual StudiesOpen Studio Event, 2015

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FINANCIAL AID

Scholarships help to ensure a diverse student population. In 2013-14, 84% of

PNCA students qualified for federal student loans; 51% qualified for federal Pell

grants; and the average grant or scholarship aid from the federal government,

state/local government or institution was $13,012. Student aid at PNCA has

more than tripled since 2008. In 2015, PNCA disbursed more than $4.8 million

in scholarships to students. Federal funding as well as generous support from

donors and foundations has enabled PNCA to provide scholarships and continue

to attract top students.

FACULTY AND STAFF

PNCA has 34 full-time faculty and a deep and energetic pool of adjunct faculty, aver-

aging 67 per semester. The College boasts a 7:1 student-faculty ratio and integrates

a one-on-one mentorship-based approach to thesis work. A robust year-round vis-

iting artist/scholar series hosts lectures, studio visits, technical demonstrations and

critiques for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

PNCA’s faculty of artists, designers and scholars are at the same time diverse

in creative endeavors and united in their commitment to mentoring emerging

creative thinkers and makers. Galleries, museums, publications, and leading

collections feature their studio work, and their writing, scholarship and research

actively shape the current understanding of art, design and creative business

practices. Among the faculty are Abra Ancliffe, Modou Dieng and Ellen Lespe-

rence, who were included in the recent Portland Biennial; Kate Copeland, a re-

cent Fulbright-scholar recipient; David Eckard, recent Hallie Ford Fellow and

winner of a RACC Individual Artist Fellowship, Sara Jaffe, who’s debut novel

Dryland is recently published by Tin House, Monica Drake, critically acclaimed

author of Clown Girl and the Studbook, and internationally recognized MK Guth,

2011 Bonnie Bronson Fellow, featured in the 2008 Whitney Biennial.

PNCA has a staff of 90, including many accomplished artists and writers. Among

them are Lisa Radon, who has given readings at San Francisco’s Wattis Institute

for Contemporary Arts; Mack McFarland, who was  included in the  Kaunas Bien-

nial in Lithuania; and Jean Hester who has exhibited at the Center for  Art and

Architecture in New York City. 

Deployment, 2011Installation ShotArt Gym, Marylhurst University

David Eckard,Associate Professor Sculpture, Lead Faculty Sculpture

Holding Sway: PNCA Faculty and Alumni Exhibition, 2015

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In January 2015, PNCA moved to its new campus centered on Portland’s North

Park Blocks and into its new flagship, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center

for Art and Design. The light-filled historic building houses studios, exhibition

spaces, and educational resources such as the Albert Solheim Library, Lemel-

son Innovation Studios, dedicated critique rooms, and centers of making. These

centers include photography and printmaking facilities; the Digital Print Studio,

Center 4 Design and Digital Production Center; a green screen recording facil-

ity, sound booth, and documentation studio; and Animated Arts and Video and

Sound studio suites.

Three blocks from the main building is the Falcon Building at 321 NW Glisan,

home to PNCA’s fabrication studios for ceramics, wood, and metal, as well as

individual studios for undergraduate painting students, thesis students and stu-

dents in the MFA in Visual Studies and MFA in Print Media programs. Also a

short walk away is the LEED certified ArtHouse student residence building, a

beautiful three-year-old structure that also faces the tree-covered park blocks.

The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design was awarded LEED

platinum status in 2015. To learn more about the College’s commitment to sus-

tainability, see http://www.pnca.edu/about/c/sustainability.

CAMPUS AND FACILITIES

511 GalleryStudent Residence

511 Atrium

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TECHNOLOGY

PNCA provides students, faculty, and staff with the hardware, software, and net-

work capabilities needed to support course work and projects.  Under the Aca-

demic Technology umbrella, several computer labs comprise the Computer Arts

Center (CAC), providing access to professional equipment and studio space.

These labs include the Digital Production Center and Digital Print Studio, staffed

by technicians and work-study students. Technological assistance is available

through a Technology Help Desk and online request system. Media Arts and

Design Arts digital labs support professional grade software specific to the disci-

plines and coordinate with the CAC to provide training and access to a range of

digital tools, including moving image and the capacity to move between analog

and digital production. The Animated Arts and Video and Sound programs sup-

port software specific to the disciplines and are located in a moving image and

sound suite staffed by a fulltime technician. Other resources include the Media

Resource Center, an equipment rental library; and the Mediatheque, a 170-seat

black box theater equipped for high-end lighting, sound, and technology.

STUDENT LIFE AND SUCCESS

Students at PNCA are governed by a robust Student Council and elect represen-

tatives to the Faculty Senate, PNCA Board of Governors, College Cabinet, and

Staff Council. The Office of Student Life is an integral part of the student experi-

ence at PNCA, providing access to a wide range of support services, programs

and social events. The student body funds and organizes 15 student clubs, in-

cluding Queer Union, Ecology Club, People of Color and the Ukulele Society.

PNCA supports students’ professional ambitions by connecting lessons in the

classroom to current issues and opportunities outside the College. Active part-

nerships with local and national organizations provide internships and profes-

sional skill-building opportunities. Among recent partners are the National Oce-

anic and Atmospheric Administration; Oregon Museum of Science and Industry;

SOLVE, a statewide non-profit for volunteer environmental action; local alter-

native high schools; and social service organizations in Portland’s Old Town/

Chinatown neighborhood.

Other opportunities for project-based courses, studio clinics, incubators and in-

ternships have come from collaborations with creative firms Wieden+Kennedy,

Nike, Laika, and Xplane; the environmental organizations Ecotrust and Rising

Tide; and arts organizations including Portland Institute for Contemporary Art,

Regional Arts and Culture Council, Leland Iron Works, Caldera, Elizabeth Leach

Gallery, Worksound International, and the Oregon Symphony.

Rhythm and Flow ClubFirst Thursday Performance, 2015

Jackson Ward, BFA ‘16Computer Arts Center

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ALUMNI/AE

PNCA alumni/ae apply technical and professional skills as well as critical and

studio thinking to diverse professional pursuits. Among graduates are working

artists who show internationally, small creative business owners, designers and

animators at top firms, freelance illustrators with high-profile commissions, and

commercial and editorial photographers. Of PNCA alumni surveyed, nearly 85%

report working in fields related to their PNCA education. Many PNCA alumni and

accomplished artists serve on PNCA’s staff.

PNCA is proud to continue a tradition of excellence modeled by alumni/ae art-

ist-teachers such as Mike Russo, Louis Bunce, Lucinda Parker, and Anna B.

Crocker, among many others. The College has steadily enriched the region and

beyond with celebrated makers, thinkers and artists such as Lee Kelly ’59, whose

sculptures are sited throughout Portland and along the West Coast and whose

Memory 99 sculpture is positioned just outside PNCA’s front doors; Michael Cur-

ry ’81, whose puppets animated the 2014 Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremonies

and Super Bowl XLIX; and John Summerson ’15, whose 2014 animated shorts

have earned him both a Princess Grace Award and the Grand Prize at the LG

Art of the Pixel Competition. The recent Portland Biennial featured alumni Devon

Van Houten Maldonado ‘13 and Antonia Pinter ‘11, while the Portland Institute

for Contemporary Art’s TBA Festival included the work of Nat Andreini ’05, R.

Scott Porter ’05, Morgan Ritter ’11 and Alex Mackin Dolan ‘12. Recent national

press has highlighted Julia Fish ’76, Mary Mattingly ‘02, and Tabor Robak ’10 in

Artforum International.

FINANCES

PNCA’s operating budget for FY2015-16 is $16 million, and the College has an

endowment of approximately $14 million.

PHILANTHROPY

In addition to receiving support from hundreds of individual donors, PNCA has

been supported by the Ford Family Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for

the Visual Arts, William G. Gilmore Foundation, Lamb-Baldwin Foundation, Port-

land Development Commission, Meyer Memorial Trust, M.J. Murdock Charitable

Trust, and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation and the Regional

Arts and Cultures Council.Dreamer, ‘79Manuel Izquierdo BFA ‘51

PNCA Alumi Reunion 2015

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GOVERNANCE

PNCA is overseen by an active and engaged 37-member Board of Governors,

whose roster includes corporate and community leaders with strong expertise in

art and design, law, finance, fundraising, real estate, education and business.

Member terms are three years and are renewable.

Faculty are self-governed by a Faculty Senate that works to ensure a committed,

engaged, informed, and respected faculty body and a strong faculty voice in Col-

lege proceedings. The Faculty Senate consists of 15 members.

Administratively, the College consists of three clusters of departments: Opera-

tions, encompassing finance, development, and human resources; Core, respon-

sible for curriculum, programs, and enrollment; and Futures, the research-and-de-

velopment arm of the College, responsible for identifying and establishing new

partnerships, audiences, programs, and business models. Each cluster is led by

two or three senior staff members.

Other standing bodies involved in governance include the College Cabinet, com-

prising two students, two faculty, and two staff who provide input and recommen-

dations to the president; and the President’s Cabinet, a monthly roundtable of

department managers. The staff is governed by a Staff Council.

ACCREDITATION

PNCA is an accredited institutional member of both the National Association

of Schools of Art and Design and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and

Universities. It is also a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of

Art and Design, a national consortium, and the Oregon Independent Colleges

Association.

Albert Solheim Library

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PORTLAND

PNCA sits proudly in the heart of Portland, one of the nation’s fastest growing cit-

ies. With a penchant for creative, independent thinking and DIY culture, Portland

routinely finds itself on “best” lists of all types: best place to live, best city for eat-

ing, best place to get around without a car, best place to start a small business,

best city for books, bikes and microbrews.

Against a spectacular backdrop of mountains, rivers and forests, Portland sits

to the north of the vineyard-laden Willamette Valley (think pinot noir), and just

inland from the rugged Oregon Coast. To the east, iconic Mt. Hood offers snow

sports year round.

We encourage candidates for the presidential position to explore the city online. Here

are just a few websites that showcase the region’s offerings: the New York Times’ 36

Hours in Portland http://nyti.ms/1UvJ1z6, Travel Portland www.travelportland.com,

Travel Oregon http://traveloregon.com/ and http://traveloregon.com/7wonders/.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

As an arts hub and civic center, PNCA welcomes more than 30,000 people an-

nually to its 200-plus public programs, lectures, workshops and exhibitions on

campus. In the past two years, lecturers have included Guggenheim Fellows

Rebecca Solnit, Marina Zurkow, and Stephanie Syjuco; MacArthur Fellow Ann

Hamilton and Joe Sacco; Native poet, activist, and musician Joy Harjo; photogra-

pher Atta Kim; design critic Susan Szenasy; writer Bill Deresiewicz; musician Re-

becca Gates; futurist Jay Harman; ethicist Chris Phillips; curators Jens Hoffmann

and Amanda Hunt; philosophers Jacques Ranciere, Brian Holmes, and Graham

Harman, and international exhibited artists, Luc Tuymans, Critical Art Ensemble,

and James Turrell. In January 2016, the College exhibited Wangechi Mutu: The

Hybrid Human, which draws from the aesthetics of traditional ritual arts, science

fiction and Afrofuturistic funkadelia. Poet and conceptual artist David Horvitz is

scheduled for the summer as is The Design and Craft of Prosthetics, exploring

the role of art and design in navigating the intimate landscape between ability

and disability.

Photo by Ian Sane

Portland, Oregonphotograph by Sama

Annaul event Feast, 2015Portland, Oregon

Tillikum CrossingPortland, Oregon

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In seeking the College’s next president, PNCA governors, faculty, students, graduates, administration, staff

and community members have weighed in to identify key challenges and opportunities for the College that

they know and love. They are eager to embrace a president who will inspire and guide them in advancing

the College and pursuing new directions that will enable PNCA to be successful well into the 21st century.

THE FUTUREOPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

KEY OPPORTUNITIES

Academic Programming Dedicated faculty, staff and administrators deliv-

er and support PNCA’s vigorous curriculum. The

faculty recently completed a multi-year compre-

hensive curricular update of the undergraduate

programming that characterizes the inter-re-

sponsiveness between Liberal Arts and the BFA

programs and demonstrates PNCA’s quest to im-

prove student experience. While new programs

at the undergraduate and graduate levels add

breadth and depth, updated traditional programs

respond to cultural and industry changes in the

fine arts and design. We look to the next presi-

dent to leverage the strong academic program-

ming to raise PNCA’s visibility and reputation

nationally and internationally.

The 511 Building A flagship building that showcases the creativity

of its residents, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer

Center for Art and Design is poised to position

PNCA as a leading player in arts and design.

Bordering Portland’s revitalized Pearl District to

the west and Old Town/China Town to the east,

with a 13-acre urban redevelopment site on its

north side, the “511 building” has garnered much

media and community attention and acclaim.

The central urban location has both increased

the institution’s stature as well as its capacity to

accommodate additional enrollment. The next

president will have the significant opportunity

to leverage the new building to enhance enroll-

ment, fundraising, and community partnerships.

Portland One of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in

the country, Portland is increasingly renowned

for its vibrant and rich urban life and has become

a destination for those seeking its arts and food

culture, recreational opportunities, environmen-

tal conscientiousness, and progressive lifestyle.

PNCA embodies this spirit, which plays out

through its students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The next president of the College will have the

opportunity to promote and leverage Portland’s

strengths and reputation to attract new students

and grow the institution’s recognition regionally,

nationally and internationally.

Community LeadershipCreating partnerships with local organizations

is key to increasing the institution’s presence

and leadership within the community. PNCA en-

joys a strong reputation in Portland as a player

in arts and education. Still, there is much more

ground to be gained to achieve the stature that

its constituents know it warrants. Capturing the

momentum of the move into the Arlene and Har-

old Schnitzer Center for Art and Design and le-

veraging PNCA’s expertise and curriculum, the

College’s next president has an extraordinary

opportunity to build dynamic partnerships with

institutions of all kinds to become a central hub

of creative thinking and activity for the Portland

art and design community.

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KEY CHALLENGES

Enrollment As institutions of higher education have be-

come more dependent on tuition as their pri-

mary source of revenue, the competition for

enrollment has intensified. While PNCA has

successfully increased retention and grad-

uation rates, the College must enhance its

initiatives to attract new students, especially

international, transfer, and graduate students.

Growing enrollment steadily over the long

term will be essential to the College’s ability

to serve its students with excellence into the

future.

A Shared Vision The story of PNCA’s development from a mu-

seum school to a respected member of the

Association of Independent Colleges of Art

and Design is a testament to the vision of its

leadership. One of a small cadre of arts in-

stitutions that offer thriving programs in both

fine arts and design, the College recognizes

its many strengths and assets, including its

new building centered in the heart of a cre-

ative and growing city. Faculty, students, staff,

alumni and the Board of Governors will look

to PNCA’s next president to articulate a vision

around these strengths and develop and exe-

cute on a strategic plan that positions the Col-

lege for success.

Financial Strength PNCA’s ambitions for programs, campus en-

hancements, a quality workplace and its role

in the greater artistic community call for in-

creased financial strength. The next president

must lead the institution toward a sustainable

economic future.

Visibility While the internal PNCA community takes

pride in the College’s significant strengths and

assets, the institution has only begun to pro-

mote itself and its story to a broad audience.

Developing and executing on a compelling

integrated marketing plan will be essential to

drawing high-caliber students as well as build-

ing the College’s reputation overall. PNCA’s

president will need to embrace this ongoing

effort and drive it forward.

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Pacific Northwest College of Art seeks a president with the professional background and personal qualities

that will enable him or her to lead and inspire the College in addressing the challenges and embracing the

opportunities outlined above.

THE PRESIDENTPROFESSIONAL CAPABILITIES AND PERSONAL QUALITIES

EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITIES

PNCA’s next president must have the experience and capabilities that create a perfect fit with the College’s

distinguishing characteristics. The following are paramount.

• Experience. Candidates will be expected to possess an advanced degree and have demonstrated

successful senior leadership at an institution or organization of significant size and complexity.

• Artistic commitment. The College’s new leader must bring a deep commitment to the values of the

fine arts and design program embraced at PNCA. He or she should bring enthusiasm for the potential

inherent in the College and be able to project an inspiring vision for the institution in the future.

• Team leadership and management skills. The president must develop and lead the senior staff, bring-

ing demonstrated skill in selecting excellent people, integrating them into a leadership team, and in-

spiring them to high-level performance. Competent oversight of the management of college operations

is essential.

• Ability to lead constituents toward a vision. It is essential that PNCA’s president move comfortably

among many constituent groups, inspiring, unifying and building collaboration and consensus around

a shared identity for the institution.

• Financial acumen. Along with fundraising success, the president is expected to have demonstrated

skills in prudent business and financial management.

• Enterprising spirit. We seek a leader with an enterprising spirit and a prudent risk taker. He or she

must bring ambition and creativity to the education currently provided by PNCA, while also seeing and

exploiting opportunities when they arise.

• Marketing expertise. The next president should possess a sound understanding of marketing and

brand management to project PNCA’s vision internally, locally, regionally, and nationally.

• Connections outside the College. To build partnerships and to enhance the College’s visibility and

leadership in the community, the president must be skilled at making connections on a personal and

institutional level.

• Fundraising ability. The president must have a talent for planning and executing major initiatives for

raising the endowment and operating funds. He or she must be a compelling principal spokesperson

for the implementation of those initiatives.

• Communication skill. The president must be an excellent speaker and writer with the ability to inspire stu-

dents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of PNCA. He or she must be comfortable in small and large group

settings, communicating with transparency and promoting a culture of openness. The next president must

be an exceptional listener and place a premium on inclusive collaboration and decision making.

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PERSONAL QUALITIES

To achieve the above and successfully advance the College, the president must possess and model cer-

tain personal qualities. The president will exhibit a leadership style with the following characteristics.

• Arts oriented: a personal style that aligns with the artistic sensibility of the faculty, students, staff, and sup-

porters of PNCA

• Student focused: a clear focus on the student as the heart of the institution, manifested by regularly being

available to students and making decisions with their well-being as top priority

• Consensus building: the ability to generate consensus and to prioritize a shared understanding of initiatives

before implementation

• Empowering: the talent for instilling a sense of ownership and accountability in faculty, students, and staff

• Energetic: an inspiring enthusiasm for the people and purpose of PNCA

• Approachable: a welcoming spirit that invites conversation, participation and contributions from all mem-

bers of the PNCA community

• Visible: a desire to actively and routinely be present in campus life and in the Portland community

• Embracing of diversity: an understanding the importance of a College environment that embraces and ex-

emplifies diversity in its many forms

• Accountable: the ability to consult and listen, then make decisions firmly and expeditiously and ensure their

implementation

• Embodying of SCEER: demonstration of PNCA values of social, cultural, ethical and environmental responsi-

bility.

• Character: PNCA’s next president will be a person of the highest personal integrity, with a clear sense of

ethics, fairness, and responsibility. As the principal representative of the College both within the campus

community and in local, regional, and national educational circles, he or she will be entirely trustworthy and

accountable.

16

PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

Inquiries, nominations, and applications are

invited. Review of nominations and applica-

tions will begin immediately, and expressions of

interest will be welcomed until an appointment

is made. Applications received by March 23,

2016, will be assured of full consideration; these

should include a letter of interest, a curriculum

vitae, and names of five professional references

with e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.

Calls to references will occur only later in the

search process and only with prior notification

of candidates. All submissions will be treated in

confidence and should be sent electronically (MS

Word format preferred) to:

PNCAPresident@academic-search.com

The Search Committee is assisted by:

Dr. R. Stanton Hales, Senior Consultant

rsh@academic-search.com

707-545-2203

Dr. Eric W. Richtmyer, Consultant

ewr@academic-search.com

202-263-7485

Academic Search, Inc.

Pacific Northwest College of Art is an Equal

Opportunity Employer

For more than three decades, Academic Search has offered executive search services exclu-sively to institutions of higher education. Academic Search was founded on the principle of strengthening higher education leadership through professional search services. We are the only search firm in the nation with a formal relationship to a premier leadership develop-ment program. As the subsidiary of the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), Academic Search provides substantial financial support to a number of leadership identifi-cation, development, and support programs across all sectors of public and private higher education. For more information, visit www.academic-search.com.