Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago
Encyclopedia
The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago is part of The Art Institutes
, a system of for-profit proprietary colleges focusing on creative industries.
The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago offers bachelor's degree
or associates degree for several programs including: fashion
, interior design
, visual communication/graphic design
and other media arts, and culinary arts with an enrollment of 3500 students. The school is located in two facilities in Chicago, Illinois, the Mart campus being in the West Mart Center of the Merchandise Mart
complex. The Loop
campus is located on the corner of Lake and Wabash. The Loop campus houses classes for media (graphic design, interactive media, digital film-making, videogames) and culinary programs while the Mart campus houses most of administration, library, and classes for fashion and interior design programs. The Loop campus features a student-run restaurant called "The Backstage Bistro".
During 1920s, and 1930s, the school increased substantially in enrollment as professional art, design photography, and fashion programs were added to the curriculum. In the 1930s, the name "Vogue School" was used during an advertising campaign for fashion courses offered by the school, thus the school became widely known as Ray–Vogue School. When Ruth Wade Ray assumed the presidency in 1945, Ray-Vogue had become recognized throughout the country as a leader in professional art and fashion education. The College was renamed Ray College of Design in 1981 and was granted the authority to award associate degrees in all of its programs.
In 1985, the president of the college, Wade Ray, opened a branch campus near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, which later became The Illinois Institute of Art—Schaumburg. One year later, the college was granted authority to award Bachelor of Arts degrees by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Ray College of Design joined The Art Institutes system in 1995 as The Illinois Institute of Art.
As part of The Art Institutes, The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago refocused its bachelor degree programs and mission to serve four basic creative industries (fashion, interior design, culinary and the media arts, which includes digital film-making, game art design, graphic design, and advertising) as a skill-centered and market-driven career college.
Since 1995, The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago has grown by programs and floor space for its growing student body. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago took advantage of the expansion and renovation of the first floor of the West Mart Center (350 N. Orleans) of the Merchandise Mart Center and Apparel Center complex. Most all of the new floor space was shared and occupied by the Illinois Institute of Art and by Argosy University
.
In 2007, new class space opened on a newly acquired fifth floor at the Loop campus. By the end of the 2007 school year, the college successfully expanded its floor space at both the Mart Center campus and the Loop campus, and discontinued its use of temporary spaces.
In late 2007, The Art Institute of Michigan serving the Detroit metropolitan area became a branch location of The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago. Also, progression was made to include officially The Art Institute locations at Schaumburg and Cincinnati as branch locations under the umbrella of The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago.
The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago achieved regional re-accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for ten years in 2008. The interior design program was re-certified by the Council of Interior Design Accreditation a few months earlier. Also, in June, 2008, Argosy University moved out of the spaces at the Mart Center Campus allowing The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago to grow its programs that serve the fashion and the interior design industries further there.
Each year, the journal DesignIntelligence conducts research and publishes "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools," a ranking of accredited programs across the United States to determine the top colleges and universities for architecture and design. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago was chosen one of the top 15 undergraduate interior design programs in the United States in 2008. In 2009, the program improved its ranking to No. 9.
Former presidents include:
1995 to 2001: Sandra Van Dyke
2001 to 2004: Charles Restivo
2004 to Present: John Balester Jenkins
The Interior Design BFA program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation
(CIDA). The Culinary Arts AAS program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation
.
Students can participate in several professional organizations, including Digitaleve, Association for Multimedia Communications (AMC), Chicago Area Toon Novices and Professionals (CATNAP) and International Game Developers Association (IGDA).
The Art Institutes
-Fraud lawsuit:In August 2011 Education Management Corporation was investigated and sued by the United States Department of Justice and four states for illegal recruitment practices and fraudulent receipt of $11 billion in federal and state financial aid money....
, a system of for-profit proprietary colleges focusing on creative industries.
The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago offers bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
or associates degree for several programs including: fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, visual communication/graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and other media arts, and culinary arts with an enrollment of 3500 students. The school is located in two facilities in Chicago, Illinois, the Mart campus being in the West Mart Center of the Merchandise Mart
Merchandise Mart
When opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart or the Merch Mart, located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors...
complex. The Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
campus is located on the corner of Lake and Wabash. The Loop campus houses classes for media (graphic design, interactive media, digital film-making, videogames) and culinary programs while the Mart campus houses most of administration, library, and classes for fashion and interior design programs. The Loop campus features a student-run restaurant called "The Backstage Bistro".
History
The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago was founded in 1916 as The Commercial Art School, which was one of the first applied art and design colleges in the United States. Three years later, William F. Ray became president and incorporated the school under the name of Ray School.During 1920s, and 1930s, the school increased substantially in enrollment as professional art, design photography, and fashion programs were added to the curriculum. In the 1930s, the name "Vogue School" was used during an advertising campaign for fashion courses offered by the school, thus the school became widely known as Ray–Vogue School. When Ruth Wade Ray assumed the presidency in 1945, Ray-Vogue had become recognized throughout the country as a leader in professional art and fashion education. The College was renamed Ray College of Design in 1981 and was granted the authority to award associate degrees in all of its programs.
In 1985, the president of the college, Wade Ray, opened a branch campus near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, which later became The Illinois Institute of Art—Schaumburg. One year later, the college was granted authority to award Bachelor of Arts degrees by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Ray College of Design joined The Art Institutes system in 1995 as The Illinois Institute of Art.
As part of The Art Institutes, The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago refocused its bachelor degree programs and mission to serve four basic creative industries (fashion, interior design, culinary and the media arts, which includes digital film-making, game art design, graphic design, and advertising) as a skill-centered and market-driven career college.
Since 1995, The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago has grown by programs and floor space for its growing student body. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago took advantage of the expansion and renovation of the first floor of the West Mart Center (350 N. Orleans) of the Merchandise Mart Center and Apparel Center complex. Most all of the new floor space was shared and occupied by the Illinois Institute of Art and by Argosy University
Argosy University
Argosy University is a for-profit university owned by Education Management Corporation, with 19 locations in 13 U.S. states and online. The university offers numerous programs at various levels, including certification; associates, bachelors, masters, specialist, and doctoral degrees, postdoctoral...
.
In 2007, new class space opened on a newly acquired fifth floor at the Loop campus. By the end of the 2007 school year, the college successfully expanded its floor space at both the Mart Center campus and the Loop campus, and discontinued its use of temporary spaces.
In late 2007, The Art Institute of Michigan serving the Detroit metropolitan area became a branch location of The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago. Also, progression was made to include officially The Art Institute locations at Schaumburg and Cincinnati as branch locations under the umbrella of The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago.
The Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago achieved regional re-accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for ten years in 2008. The interior design program was re-certified by the Council of Interior Design Accreditation a few months earlier. Also, in June, 2008, Argosy University moved out of the spaces at the Mart Center Campus allowing The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago to grow its programs that serve the fashion and the interior design industries further there.
Each year, the journal DesignIntelligence conducts research and publishes "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools," a ranking of accredited programs across the United States to determine the top colleges and universities for architecture and design. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago was chosen one of the top 15 undergraduate interior design programs in the United States in 2008. In 2009, the program improved its ranking to No. 9.
Former presidents include:
1995 to 2001: Sandra Van Dyke
2001 to 2004: Charles Restivo
2004 to Present: John Balester Jenkins
Accreditation
The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is authorized by the Illinois Board of Higher Education to award the following: the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees: Digital Media Production, Fashion Design, Game Art & Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Interactive Media Design, Digital Photography, Visual Communications and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics; the Bachelor of Arts Degrees: Fashion Marketing & Management; Advertising; and the Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Culinary Management; Associate of Applied Science Degrees: Culinary Arts, Fashion Merchandising, Interactive Media Production and Graphic Design.The Interior Design BFA program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation
Council for Interior Design Accreditation
The is an independent, non-profit accrediting organization for interior design education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
(CIDA). The Culinary Arts AAS program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation
American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation was established in 1929 and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America.ACF, which was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York, comprises more than 22,000 members in 230 chapters across the United States,...
.
Housing
Chicago residence buildings that have participated with The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago housing system include the Presidential Towers and Automatic Lofts.Student organizations
- A-Eye School Newspaper
- Student chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
- Student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers
- The Student Ambassadors Association
- The International Student Association
- The American Marketing Association (AMA)
- The Skyline Hip Hop Culture Club
- The Student Filmmaker's Collective
- The Textile Surface Design Club
- Delta Epsilon Chi (DECA)
- The Knitting & Crochet Club
- The Velvet Curtain Costume Club
- The Lounge-Room Game Club
- Volunteering Innovative Solutions in our Neighborhoods (VISioN)
- The Fashion Focus Club
- People Respecting Others Unique Differences (PROUD)
- Delta Sigma Alpha Sorority
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- Student Photographic Society (SPS)
- Students for Sustainability
Students can participate in several professional organizations, including Digitaleve, Association for Multimedia Communications (AMC), Chicago Area Toon Novices and Professionals (CATNAP) and International Game Developers Association (IGDA).