Cornish College of the Arts Strategic Plan: Grow, Connect & Innovate by Cornish College of the Arts

CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS STRATEGIC PLAN “GROW, CONNECT & INNOVATE!” 2013/14 – 2017/18

CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS MISSION STATEMENT The mission of Cornish College of the Arts is to provide students aspiring to become practicing artists with an educational program of the highest possible quality, in an environment that nurtures creativity and intellectual curiosity, while preparing them to contribute to society as artists, citizens and innovators. Cornish College realizes this mission by offering baccalaureate studies in the performing and visual arts and by serving as a focal point in the community for public presentation, artistic criticism, participation and discussion of the arts.

ACADEMIC CORE THEMES Develop student core competencies. Develop student agency. Foster experimentation and innovative practice among students. Foster a campus community conducive to learning and positive growth.

INTRODUCTION

AS CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS approaches our 100th

technologies that drive forward-looking teaching methods and

anniversary, we stand at a crossroads of challenges and oppor

reflect the tools our students will be expected to use throughout

tunities. This strategic plan is intended as a statement of goals for

their careers. With the explosive growth of our Seattle environs,

the present and as a marker for the future. At best, this document

Cornish has the opportunity to act as a cultural and arts magnet

will unify the various stakeholders of the Cornish community

for the people and companies located here, leveraging both our

around a set of agreed-upon long-term goals and will also enable

location and our talented students and faculty. To accomplish

future stakeholders to understand the “thought process” of those

these goals, this plan seeks to identify the right set of strategies,

invested in the college as of 2013, the 99th year since the

programs, facilities and principles for our future.

founding of Cornish. This is not a work plan outlining the concrete and specific steps that need to be taken to realize our vision.

Cornish is one of only three private colleges in the United States

Rather, we wish to articulate goals that will serve as our “pole stars”

that offers a four-year Bachelor of Music degree and Bachelor

as we move into our next century as a thriving institution that

of Fine Arts degrees—Art, Dance, Design, Music, Performance

celebrates our students, faculty and the broader arts community.

Production and Theater—as well a program in Humanities and Sciences. We recognize that we must build on this strength to

Cornish finds itself in a rapidly evolving cultural climate and neigh

graduate students who, as artists, citizens and innovators, will

borhood. As technology and the global economy increasingly

achieve great things both in the arts and for our society at large.

value flexible skills and new forms of artistic expression, Cornish

The strategies set forth in this plan are designed to advance

will explore new approaches to teaching and learning: enabling

this educational mission and to produce Cornish graduates who

multi-disciplinary ways of knowing and making art, while building

are prepared to challenge and change the world.

upon the seven departments and six professional degrees that Cornish offers. We must harness our departmental strengths, value

We need to honestly assess our strengths and weaknesses in order

the opportunities that come with offering both the visual and

to tackle the challenges we identify in this plan. At present, Cornish

performing arts, make efficient use of shared resources and facil

is enrollment-dependent, real estate-rich and endowment-poor.

ities, and incorporate into our educational programs the new

We seek to reconfigure that equation by utilizing our real estate

GROW We define â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;growthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as building a larger and diverse student body, encompassing a mix of talented students and faculty that will sustain our artistic community and fully realize the disciplines taught at Cornish. The concept of growth includes larger enrollÂ ment, new campus facilities and a financial foundation that includes more revenue streams to achieve our immediate operational needs and also build an endowment, which will put Cornish in a stronger position for our long-term future.

INTRODUCTION continued

assets to strengthen the financial position of the college, recog

for what we need to achieve over the next five years, and not

nizing that our over-arching challenge is to serve the needs of our

operational in terms of the necessary and ongoing functions of

students and give our faculty the tools they need to achieve

the college.

academic excellence in arts education. This will require a mix of rental space, new space, improvements of planned spaces, and

In its century of existence, Cornish has transitioned from a teaching

the sale of some assets, recognizing that Cornish is not defined by

institution with part-time teachers to an accredited college with a

its real estate holdings but by the idea of our college as an arts

faculty of teaching artists and a staff infrastructure reflective of

and education leader. We strive to establish a set of facilities that

best practices in arts education. The time has now come to

will offer the best environment for fulfilling our mission.

focus on the kind of student we wish to attract to Cornish and the elements of a new arts education that will be required to

Strategic plans are only useful if they are clear and concise. The

make that happen. To that end, this plan advocates three over-

process of formulating this plan has involved numerous discus

arching principles to allow our community to achieve its

sions among the leadership, faculty, board, students and college

foundational goals—Grow, Connect and Innovate.

staff. Many things that “need to be done” may not appear in the plan, but that does not mean they are not considered to be essential. Rather, this plan has been designed to be aspirational

CONNECT

INNOVATE

Building on our existing professional degrees, Cornish will create

Cornish must be entrepreneurial and nimble to survive and grow.

a multi-disciplinary approach to education, connecting dance,

We must be responsive to the way both the arts and arts education

design, music, theater, visual arts, and performance production.

are changing around the world, in order to provide programs that

This will entail Cornish students taking classes across departmen

meet student needs. Recognizing that Cornish strives to graduate

tal majors as well as building bridges to key Cornish communities.

students who are able to create art for the future, we will employ

We will recruit faculty, reform schedules and design facilities to

technology and deploy equipment to advance our educational

foster this goal. Recognizing the global culture of the arts, we also

mission, add new programs such as Media Arts and create an

will set goals to raise the prominence of Cornish over the next

Innovation Lab to foster experimentation.

five years, including admitting more international students and making it possible for more Cornish students to study abroad.

INTRODUCTION continued

There is a growing consensus that while Cornish made good

of applicants who are the best candidates for completion of our

tactical choices to consolidate the campus in downtown Seattle

degree programs. Because the pillars of this strategic plan are self-

and opportunistically acquire valuable real estate parcels, the

reinforcing, investments to be made in academic programs and

time has come to “right size” Cornish based on teaching and

raising the profile of Cornish will help us attract more students, who

student needs, which include the need for more common space

identify Cornish as their first choice for the broad arts education

that will foster a multi-disciplinary approach to education at

that only Cornish can offer. Our enrollment model will contain goals

Cornish and greater interaction between students of different

for both total number of students and the types of students we

majors, and between students and faculty. The long-term rental

would like to recruit for each of our six academic departments. This

of the Cornish Playhouse at the Seattle Center, beginning in

will dovetail with the budgets contained in our financial model and

2013, and the completion of the Centennial Lab represent key

help us establish our space needs going forward.

elements of this plan. To this end, the Board will work with Cornish staff to develop a five-year financial model, a tuition-financial

We have organized the goals of this plan in three major pillars:

aid model, and five-year enrollment model. Cornish staff will also develop a longer term facilities plan, continuing to advance the

·· Student and Faculty Success

concept of campus consolidation in the South Lake Union area.

·· Cornish As Arts Leader ·· Valuing Cornish Communities

Cornish will also require an enrollment model to ensure that we recruit and enroll the mix of students fostering an ethnically

These rest and depend upon a fourth set of foundational goals,

diverse population that reflects our long-term goals for a school

Sustaining Cornish.

that is a leader in education, the arts and our community. Traditionally, Admissions has established a wide funnel to attract

If we adopt the principles of Grow, Connect and Innovate and

the final enrolled student body. We need to adopt best-practices

successfully implement our foundational goals, we will create the

with respect to identifying students who could be right for

resources required to achieve the key elements of our plan.

Cornish, encouraging their application and enabling recruitment

I. SUSTAINING CORNISH THE KEY ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINING CORNISH FOR THE FUTURE ARE 3%

DIVERSIFY REVENUE STREAMS

Other Revenue

Cornish currently is highly tuition-driven and we recognize the need to build a financial base that is more diverse and flexible. There appears to be broad consensus that to increase total reve nue, fund new programs and achieve our goals, we need to significantly add additional sources of revenue over the next five years. We also recognize that our total debt burden is too high for a college of our size. With many goals outlined in this Plan that will require new financial strength and resources, we believe we should set a goal of moving from 97% tuition funding to 90%

97% Tuition

tuition funding over the course of this Plan. The steps to increase revenue will include: ·· Create new major gift and planned giving programs by 2014. ·· Increase total revenue derived from foundation grants with the

2013

goal of making this a significant funding source for the college. ·· Invest in building our base of annual donors through greater outreach to community, alumni, parents and arts patrons. ·· Formalize a Planned Giving program toward building the Nellie

20%

Grant and Foundation, Contributed and Other

Cornish Legacy Society, thereby encouraging estate gifts dedicated to the college. ·· Execute a capital campaign sufficient to support the facilities needs of the college. ·· Win corporate project-based grants for specific programs and departments. ·· Generate more revenue from outside programming, such as the Cornish summer program. ·· Improve the net yield of fundraising efforts by securing more

80% Tuition

corporate sponsorships for programs, events and facilities. ·· Engage in more fee-for-service work—such as performances and exhibitions paid for by third parties. ·· Build our endowment from $5 million to $10 million. ·· Increase Trustee financial participation to 100%.

2018

As a result of these initiatives, we also aim to lower our debt-perstudent burden to be in line with the average for peer institutions.

SUSTAINING CORNISH continued

GROW OVERALL STUDENT ENROLLMENT TO THE 1,100–1,200 LEVEL We envision many potential benefits from growing the size of the college over the course of the next five years. A larger group of students will allow us to recruit a more diverse student body, add talent and enrich the quality of student life. In addition, higher enrollment will have a net positive effect on revenue from tuition and allow us to more efficiently leverage existing programs and facilities, some of which are not operating at full capacity. As an arts school with seven distinct departments, Cornish has special challenges and requirements for achieving growth, as we need to maintain balance within disciplines and work within constraints of facilities. This plan adopts the following guiding principles for achieving growth: ·· Enrollment growth will be across all departments, with Cornish administration and staff setting the right mix of growth and sequence for such growth over the next five years. ·· We will closely coordinate increased enrollment with facilities to enable capacity in a sequence that allows for a smooth process. ·· Cornish will study enrollment trends, including peer arts institutions, in order to gauge where we stand in the larger arts education and post-secondary education community and use these findings to inform our recruiting strategy. We will also conduct quantitative analysis of student satisfaction surveys with a goal of improving our enrollment performance. ·· We will increase financial aid grants as we increase enrollment, with specific programs to be adopted by Cornish administration in order to balance the needs of individual departments and also achieve the multi-disciplinary educational approach embraced in this plan. ·· We will at least double the number of international students admitted to Cornish and provide the required outreach and infrastructure to serve this vital community. ·· We will establish strategies to increase the size of the applicant pool, giving the college the flexibility in admitting students who are a good fit for Cornish and who are likely to possess the success factors necessary to graduate. To that end, we will adopt best-practice recruitment strategies, which take advan tage of new technologies and communicate more effectively with prospective students.

SUSTAINING CORNISH continued

INCREASE RETENTION Over the past five years, Cornish student retention has averaged 68%, although there has been an uptick in the past year or two. Our peer institutions average closer to 80% retention, although we recognize that it is difficult in some cases to make strict comparisons. We recognize the need to develop more efficient and targeted recruiting and marketing strategies in order to enhance the perceived value of a Cornish education. We also believe that we can do a better job of identifying students who are a good match and more likely to achieve their BFA or BMus degree. Key elements of our student retention strategies include: ·· Extend financial aid to more students, as set forth above, recognizing that aid packages should extend across four years for most recipients of aid. ·· Offer attractive student housing for 280 to 300 students. ·· Create a Teaching and Learning Center by 2014, with its own physical space and full-time staff. ·· Advance the goal of college completion by identifying students who are near degree completion—15 credits or less—and offering flexible programs to ensure their graduation. ·· Offer academic programs that keep pace with the evolving concept of being a contemporary artist. ·· Create more flexibility for interdisciplinary teaching and courses.

SUSTAINING CORNISH continued

FACILITIES GOALS

QUEEN ANNE

goal of achieving our mission and providing a first class education for our students. To that end, we will continue to pursue the

3rd Ave N

to wisely develop its real estate assets in order to meet the overall

2nd Ave N

Warren Ave N

This plan reflects a broad consensus that Cornish must continue

Valley St

Roy St

long term goal of campus consolidation in the Westlake-South Lake

Scene Shop

Union neighborhood, build new facilities and renovate existing

Mercer St

facilities to provide great teaching spaces, allowing for multiple use wherever possible in order to advance our interdisciplinary

Playhouse

goals. Our overall planning principles for facilities encompass:

5th Ave N

·· Provide housing for 280 to 300 students in the immediate

1st Ave N

we can successfully complete a capital campaign for the project.

Queen Anne Ave N

·· Build new facilities, such as the new Centennial Lab, provided

SEATTLE CENTER

vicinity of Main Campus Center, which will require planning to inhabit a new space when the current property rental expires

Space Needle

in July of 2016. This facility may be financed, if the board deems Br oa

that is a financially sound approach. ·· Enter into a long-term lease for use of the theater facilities of the Seattle Center, which will include significant Cornish branding.

Denny Way

·· Determine uses for the Lui-Beebe and Notion buildings, as well

tA ve

as future use of other Cornish real estate assets, and the eventual

·· Maximize the value of our real estate holdings to pay off debt, provide funds for new facilities and sustain the financial position of Cornish, as directed by the Board of Trustees.

·· Use our various spaces to build a sense of community among students, faculty and staff. ·· Apply sustainability and environmental principles wherever possible, with specific standards to be researched and adopted by the Cornish administration. To implement these goals, we will adopt an updated Master Campus Facilities Plan, updating the space needs of the college based on enrollment projections and academic program priorities.

sale of Kerry Hall.

CAMPUS

Av e

eN Republican St

E Harrison St

Thomas St

Harvard Ave E

Boylston Ave E

E Republican St

Bellevue Ave E

I-5 Corridor

Minor Ave N

Fairview Ave N

Harrison St

Terry Ave N

Westlake Ave N

Dexter Ave N

Aurora Ave N

Thomas St

Minor Ave N

Republican St

Kerry Hall Belmont Ave E

Summit Ave E

9th Ave N

9th Avenue Studios

E Roy St

Harvard Ave E

Harrison St

Boylston Ave E

Valley St

Fairview Ave N

Terry Ave N

Westlake Ave N

Dexter Ave N

SOUTH LAKE UNION

CAPITOL HILL

E Thomas St

John St

Olive Way

John St

DENNY PARK

E Denny Way

Av e

Te r

Av e

re n

Av e

Vi rg ini a

DENNY Residence Halls PARK Denny Way

Av e

ar d

ll S

Denny Way

Av e

E Pine St

P C

B Main Campus Center

Notion Building

Raisbeck Performance Hall

The Annex

Centennial Lab

ar d

Av e

Parking

St ra

Lui/Beebe Building

Te r

Le no

Vi rg ini a

Av e

re n

Av e

SUSTAINING CORNISH Continued

CREATING A MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL COLLEGE We recognize that the concept of an arts education is rapidly changing in modern society and that Cornish will continue to prepare artists for the future. Cornish is located within a rapidly developing high tech and science neighborhood, offering exciting opportunities to build long-term relationships with local companies and institutions. The educational artistic forms of the past century will not necessarily cross over to the new century and students will require the tools to adapt to a more rapidly changing environment. To that end, this plan adopts the following principles to guide our future decision-making:

·· Design classes and facilities to be more “nimble.” ·· Build capacity by coordinating equipment, technology and facilities. ·· Develop a financial model that serves us as a guide for establishing enrollment and retention targets. ·· Enable multiple learning modes. ·· Grant more flexibility in creating degrees (such as a three-year BFA for some students). ·· Conduct regular surveys of recent graduates and alumni to assess whether Cornish graduates believe that we were successful in fulfilling our mission statement; and share these results with the Cornish community.

II. STUDENT AND FACULTY SUCCESS WITH A GOAL TOWARD BECOMING MORE “STUDENT-

·· Improve academic quality—adopt best practices, review work

CENTRIC,” this plan enumerates ways for Cornish to broaden its

at peer institutions, survey students and faculty to determine

course offerings and improve the quality of student life. While

whether we are achieving our goals and meeting our stated

the demands of a professional arts degree require depth of study

educational mission.

in the respective disciplines, we observe that much artistic work happens between traditional disciplines. Therefore, we have identified an over-arching goal of examining administrative struc tures to ensure that they support, rather than constrain, the ability of students to explore unique artistic paths and to develop skills in a variety of areas. We agree that continued Faculty Development will be core to Student Success and recognize the huge value of our faculty as an asset and as one of Cornish’s competitive advantages. Consequently, this plan sets forth specific goals for Faculty Development (see below).

·· Advance our four core academic themes in order to: –– Develop student core competencies –– Develop student agency –– Foster experimentation and innovative practice among students –– Foster a campus community conducive to learning and positive growth. ·· Create a Media Arts Certificate program, leading to a Media

We believe that Media Arts constitute core components of the art world, uniting and crossing our existing disciplines. A certificate program in Media Arts, drawing on current course offerings with some additions, will pave the way for a new BFA degree program. Cutting across departments, we have identified the creation of

Arts BFA degree. ·· Create an Innovation Lab at Cornish, with dedicated staff and space to foster experimentation and to raise the profile of Cornish in Seattle’s high tech community. ·· Develop opportunities for faculty development by institution

a Teaching and Learning center in 2014, serving both faculty and

alizing work days, flex time for professional leave, offering

students, as a key goal for this strategic Plan. Similarly, an

training opportunities, and increasing the number of guest

investment in technology that makes administrative functions

artists and lecturers to supplement existing programs.

more efficient, and supports both in-classroom and blended, hybrid, or remote learning are crucial elements of a 21st century arts college. Reflecting these needs, this plan sets the following specific milestones for investment over the next five years:

·· Establish compensation goals to bring salaries for faculty and staff in line with peer institutions. ·· Implement the concept of “shared governance” broadly throughout the various constituents of the college. ·· Invite 10 guest faculty per academic year. ·· Establish goals for a core faculty-to-student ratio by end of academic year 2013–14. ·· Pursue a student body and faculty that is culturally and ethnically diverse.

III. CORNISH AS ARTS LEADER WHILE CORNISH ATTRACTS STUDENTS FROM 47 STATES

·· “100 for 100 Years”—Commission 100 projects to celebrate the

AND FIVE FOREIGN COUNTRIES, it still draws most students

100th anniversary of Cornish. These will encompass diverse

from the Western United States and is perceived in some quarters

institutions—including civic organizations, private individuals and

as a “regional” arts college. This strategic plan identifies goals

corporations—and would involve all seven Cornish departments.

designed to enable Cornish to emerge and be recognized as a national and global arts leader, leveraging our unique educational profile and celebrating the accomplishments of our students and faculty. We have already begun to move in this direction by establishing a national advisory board and by ramping up recruit ment efforts for students across the U.S. and in Asia.

·· Elevate Cornish’s media profile—four measurements: web presence, recognition of the “brand,” media relations, Centennial celebration. ·· Increase the visibility of Cornish in the community—create more prominent signage and enhance our street presence, advertise ments in local publications, increase our advertising budget,

Emerging as an arts leader will require greater visibility, both in

adopt a New Media strategy and make our Internet presence

the physical and online worlds. To that end, this plan calls for

integral to all communications at Cornish.

more prominent branding of Cornish in our Puget Sound neigh borhood and the adoption of a communications plan to raise our national and international profile. To achieve these goals, this plan endorses the following activities:

·· Create integrated communications strategies that begin with web marketing and integrate other media as needed to meet our objectives. ·· Partner with other organizations—such as social services groups, arts organizations, museums, and colleges—at least 20 over the next five years. ·· Expand participation in Our Creative Society annual event— from 100 to 250 people from the community. ·· Organize four roundtable events per year with other cultural institutions, enhancing the reputation of our faculty and leadership as “subject matter” experts. ·· International outreach—conduct more student and faculty exchanges; arrange for more international visits and student internships at Cornish.

IV. VALUING CORNISH COMMUNITIES AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS STRATEGIC PLAN is the adoption of a cohesive blueprint, which embraces and enriches the communities within the college that are vital to its future. The strategic goals for Students and Faculty are discussion in Section II, above. We have identified other Cornish communities that are vital to our ongoing success and the achievement of the vision outlined in this plan. To that end, we adopt the following goals for these specific communities: ·· Alumni Invite alumni to more Cornish performance and exhibition events, increase percentage of alumni who donate, create an online Bulletin Board for alumni, make Cornish facilities available to alumni, make alumni part of the stories we tell. ·· Donors Complete the Centennial Lab building campaign, increase number of donors, give donors five opportunities per year to experience outreach from the college, establish departmental advisory coun cils that include alumni, establish and encourage project-based donors, build the endowment; support department efforts for program funding. ·· Local Arts Community Show up for other arts organizations in the community, partner with at least three other community organizations in the state, and create community-based internships for Cornish students with community groups in accordance with department requirements. ·· National Advisory Council Hold two annual meetings per year, engage in more geographic recruitment, and double the number of student internships through Advisory Council members. ·· Parents Formally establish a Parent Association with a leadership group of 30 members, increase the percentage of parent donors, and conduct more outreach to regional clusters of parents. ·· Regional Leadership We also wish to see Cornish emerge as a more visible institution in the greater Pacific Northwest region, and therefore will seek opportunities to establish a greater regional presence.

CONCLUSION These are ambitious goals, but we believe they can be achieved by our talented and diverse community, all working toward a common vision. Cornish will grow into its next century, by connecting our internal and external communities and being prepared to innovate the future of arts education. This plan will be published on our website and incorporated in other media. A “pocket version” of the plan will also be widely distributed to students, faculty, alumni, parents and visitors. The Board and Administration will conduct annual review sessions to monitor our actual progress against the metrics and other goals set forth in this Plan.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

Cover BFA Show Installation (detail), 2011. Photo: Winifred Westergard.

Page 7 2011 Merit/Roll Call Exhibition. Photo: Winifred Westergard.

Inside front cover Design studio. Photo: Winifred Westergard.

Page 10 Cornish Theater Department, Summer Brave. Photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis.

Page 1 Cornish Opera Theater, Venus & Adonis. Photo: Michelle Smith-Lewis.

Page 11 Cornish Dance Theater. Anna’s Circus. Photo: Colleen Dishy.

Page 2 Sculpture studio. Photo courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts.

Page 12 Cornish Big Band. Photo: Michelle Smith Lewis.

Page 4 Cornish Dance Theater. Choreography by Camille A. Brown. Photo: Chris Bennion.

Page 14–15 BFA Exhibition. Photo courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts.

Page 6 BFA Design Exhibition. Photo: Winifred Westergard.

Page 16–17 Cornish Theater and Performance Production Departments, Cloud 9. Photo: Chris Bennion.

The Strategic Plan was adopted by the 2012-13 Cornish Board of Trustees on April 16, 2013. Virginia Anderson, Chair Roger J. Bass, Vice Chair Lawrence E. Hard, Secretary Sean Owen, PhD (MU ’97), Treasurer John Gordon Hill, Immediate Past Chair Dr. Nancy J. Uscher, President, ex officio Alex Alben Glenn J. Amster Linda Brown, PhD C. Kent Carlson Jody Cunningham L. Robin Du Brin C. Douglas Francis Marianne Sorich Francis (AR ’96) Michael K. Gibson Donna James John W. Jordan Ed Littlefield, Jr. Dianne Loeb Dorothy Holland Mann, PhD Lawrence Matsuda, PhD Carol Munro Joan Poliak Sherry Raisbeck (AR ’88) Maria Renz Ellen Rutledge (AR ’96) Julie Speidel (AR ’67-’68) Peggy Swistak