SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.- The Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) today announced the appointment of Christopher Bratton, presently Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a national leader in arts education, as  its new President, effective January 6, 2004. Bratton’s selection marks the first time in two decades that an individual with the combined talents of working artist, educator, and administrator will take leadership of the 133-year-old school, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges of art in the United States.
 
Bratton succeeds Interim President and Dean of Academic Affairs Larry Thomas and Interim Chief Executive Officer Lorne Buchman, who have led the school for the past two years, during which time it completed a year-long strategic-planning process as the first step in its presidential search. In addition, last spring the Board raised over $4.5 million, providing financial stability for the institution in preparation for new leadership and a new phase in its history.

Kay Dryden, SFAI Trustee and Co-Chair of the Search Committee, said, “As an artist, a teacher, and a dean, Chris Bratton has had an extraordinary record of achievement.  The Search Committee enthusiastically and unanimously recommended his nomination.” Trustee Laura Sweeney, Co-Chair of the Search Committee, added, “While at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chris Bratton provided leadership for new curricular initiatives and models, strengthened the School’s foundation studies, and oversaw an undergraduate population of over 1,800 students, in addition to teaching film, video, and new media. Over the course of our search, we consulted with every segment of our community and with leaders of higher education across the nation. We considered many possible candidates, but Chris Bratton quickly emerged as the right person for the position.”

Prior to serving as Dean at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2002-03), Bratton was Chair of the Film, Video, and New Media Department at the School. He is a co-founder of Chicago’s Video Machete, a community-based, youth-organizing arts and media project, and has spoken extensively across the nation on issues of youth, media, and technology. As an artist and videographer, his work has been shown at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; Franklin Furnace, New York; P.S. 122, New York; and on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

Chris Bratton responded, “It is a tremendous privilege to lead the San Francisco Art Institute. Few art schools in the nation have had such a long and distinguished impact on contemporary arts and culture. SFAI values rigor and innovation and provides an education where students are challenged to be their best, most-creative selves. In the past decade alone, the remarkable achievements of its alumni attest to these facts: Their work can be seen as defining the art world, but they have also provided leadership in the fields of media, arts education, design, and business to name only a few.

“I am also fortunate to assume the presidency at a time when the institution has just completed the important process of strategic planning, looking at its mission, history, current state, and projected future. I look forward to bringing fresh insights to the plan and to leading the college to a period of even greater strength and influence.”

Board Chair Charles Collins commented, “Chris Bratton’s passion for arts education and his profound understanding of curriculum structure in a studio-based environment complement the school’s history of academic and artistic excellence. During his visits to campus over the past two months, students, faculty, staff, and trustees alike have appreciated the eloquent voice he has brought to discussions of curricular reform, fiscal management, and institutional development. We look forward to his tenure with enthusiasm.”

Chris Bratton, 44, received his M.F.A. in film from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1994, attended the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York from 1984 to 1986, and received his B.F.A. from the Atlanta College of Art in 1982.  Since 1992, he has been on the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where, prior to serving as dean, he chaired the then-new Department of Film, Video, and New Media (2000-01); the Department of Video (1993-95 and 97-98); the Committee on Exhibitions and Events (1997-98); and an institution-wide technology initiative (1997-98). From 1991 to 1992 he was a visiting professor at Brown University, and in 1990 he was a guest lecturer at both the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of Visual Arts, New York. He is the recipient of grants from the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wexner Center for Contemporary Art.

Bratton moves to San Francisco immediately and will be joined in the summer of 2004 by his wife, Dalida María Benfield, an artist, educator, and current Chair of the Art Education Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his two children, Isadora, 9, and Joaquin, 5.