Dear SFAA,

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The Committee to Re-Imagine SFAI, a fully autonomous committee empowered by the board of trustees, is fully focused on re-imagining what it takes to prepare emerging artists in the year 2021 and beyond.

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The three co-chairs, Chris Williams BFA’ 17, MFA'20, Tom Loughlin MFA'13 and Karen Topakian MFA’87, formed the Committee with representation from tenured faculty (Lindsey White and Cristobal Martinez), adjunct faculty (Matt Borruso and Jennifer Locke), staff (Zeina Barakeh and Ana Suek), alumni (Annie Reiniger, Emily Reynolds and Rye Purvis) and students who were enrolled in Spring 2020 (Oscar Lopez and Kav Hambira).

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By the end of December, the Committee will deliver a proposal to the board that responds to the questions in the board’s charge.

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Since holding its first weekly meeting in August, the Committee has built a working team who now lead and populate the following seven sub-committees – Pedagogy, Degree + Non-degree programs; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion + Culture; Development + Partnerships; Finance; Governance; Marketing + Communications + Enrollment; Sustainability and Environmental Justice.

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The sub-committees, which also meet weekly, focus on re-imagining SFAI within their specific area. Their reports and plans will ultimately form the basis of the plan provided to the board.

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In order to keep the SFAI community and engaged and informed about our work, the Committee has held a series of Town Halls (two in July and two in September) where we have sought feedback to help us incorporate other viewpoints and perspectives into the plan.

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We will continue to hold monthly Town Halls until the end of the year. Our October Town Hall, set for the week of October 26, will present a progress report on our sub-committees’ findings and ideas.

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Thank you,

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Chris Williams BFA’ 17, MFA'20, Tom Loughlin MFA'13 and Karen Topakian MFA’87