SAN FRANCISCO, CA.-/PRNewswire/A jam-packed crowd of hundreds of people attended the opening night of the Academy of Art University "Spring Show" on Thursday, May 26, 2005 at the Academy's Main Gallery located at 79 New Montgomery Street. The opening capped a day when more than 200 leaders from cutting-edge art and design companies nationwide -- ranging from Hollywood to General Motors -- came to tour the Academy of Art University's juried art and design Spring Show and interview students for potential employment.

The industry leaders also attended the President's Reception, hosted by Dr. Elisa Stephens, President of the Academy, which honored home design expert Chris Madden (often called "The Next Martha Stewart"), and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne. Both Ms. Madden and Mr. Osborne were given honorary degrees today at the Academy's graduation ceremony.

"These leaders have come because they have heard of, or seen in action, the excellent quality of our students' work," said Dr. Stephens. "It is because of networking events such as this one that more than 80 percent of Academy students are working in the art and design industry," she continued.

The Academy is the nation's largest, private, accredited art & design school. For the Spring Show, each Academy school is holding an art and design show displaying the best work by the Academy's top-notch students in all of its 12 schools including acting, animation and industrial design. The show, which is free and open to the public, is held in the different schools located at both 79 New Montgomery Street and 180 New Montgomery Street and runs until August 13, 2005 from 10am-6pm, except for Sunday's and holidays. Much of the artwork is available for purchase, with proceeds going directly to the students.