by Colleen Miller
Once boasting over 50 schools across the United States, The Art Institutes’ network has fallen due to difficult times. After Dream Center Networks purchased only 31 of the campuses in 2017, 18 other locations closed in the past year.
According to their website, The Art Institutes have decreased to nine campuses. These closures continue to displace students and faculty, many turning to institutions like SCAD for continued education and employment. One such individual is Jay Peteranetz, a SCAD professor of illustration, who began teaching in the fall of 2018.
“I think it is really disappointing,” Peteranetz said. “The Art Institute schools were positioned with the intention of serving the artistic needs of the communities they were in. Each focused on their area demographics and really served the needs of those communities.”
As an alumnus of SCAD’s undergraduate and graduate programs, Peteranetz was recruited to join SCAD’s illustration department shortly after the closure of the Art Institute of Colorado. The summer of 2018 brought a whirlwind transition in which he and his family relocated from Denver to Savannah. Only three days after moving in, orientation began.
“Moving the entire family across the country, start teaching, and finding a permanent place to live has been tough,” said Peteranetz. “Not only that, the expectations of SCAD from all sides: students, professors
With the cloud of uncertainty surrounding these changes, Peteranetz has found some positivity. “The silver lining has been the support and friendship of the other professors and administrative staff here at SCAD. I have found people I can lean on, people I can confide in, and people that have been willing to go the extra mile to make sure I feel welcome and ready.”
