The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Strategic Plan 2013-2022 Fall 2012

The School of the Museum of
     Fine Arts, Boston
       Strategic Plan 2013-2022

                Fall 2012

Table of Contents

I.    Executive Summary

II.   Introduction

III. Educating for Creative Leadership

IV. The Competitive Landscape

V.    Key Contextual Factors

VI. Building for Sustainable Growth

VII. Implementation Plan and Goals: FY 2013–2022

       A. Financial Plan

       B. Management Plan

       C. Initiatives and Action Steps for Goals 1-8 (see Addendum)

VIII. Conclusion

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I. Executive Summary

Founded in 1876, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA or the School) has educated
generations of some of the world’s most influential artists and creative leaders. The School was conceived at
the same time as the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA or Museum), as a crucial part of a mission to educate
through the arts. Now, over 136 years later, the School continues its unique legacy and supports the work of
nearly 150 faculty, 1300 students, and over 15,000 living alumni. The continued influence that those
associated with the School have in the contemporary art world is a testament to the exemplary art education
received at SMFA.
The Strategic Plan for the School of the Museum of Fine Arts was developed over the past 14 months by many
representatives from the entirety of the School community, including students, faculty, alumni, staff,
administration, governors and trustees. It is the result of contributions by numerous individuals (see
APPENDIX A) and represents a collective reassessment of the School’s mission and vision.

The mission of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is to provide an education in the fine arts—for
undergraduate and graduate artists—that is interdisciplinary and self-directed. This education values cultural,
artistic and intellectual diversity; it embraces a wide range of media; it stresses the development of individual
vision and its relation to culture in general; it values equally the knowledge gained by thinking and doing; it is
deeply engaged with the world as a whole. While the School’s mission is constant, its practice is always
transforming.

This mission continues to guide the School’s effort to provide the highest quality education in the fine arts for
the new century, and has been paramount in establishing an educational foundation with many strengths.
These defining characteristics, critical to the continued success of the School, include an open curriculum that
emphasizes student choice; a teaching faculty of professional artists; small class sizes; a reputation for
innovation and excellence; global visibility and connectivity, a unique partnership with Tufts University and one
of the world’s great encyclopedic museums, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and alumni success in a
diversity of fields.

Building on these strengths, the SMFA will incrementally increase graduate and undergraduate enrollment
through new curricula, new programs, and new forms of educational experience. Long-term goals include a
recruitment plan to build a highly competitive and diverse student community; a curriculum that emphasizes the
relationship between art and ideas; an internationally recognized teaching faculty; a global campus created by
key partnerships and innovative use of technology; a broad community of philanthropic support; and a flexible
and sustainable business plan.

Like its peer institutions of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), the School of
the Museum of Fine Arts faces a future of new challenges and increasing competition. In the School’s case,
however, the path toward success is predicated on a fundamental first step, the gaining of independent
accreditation for the SMFA. As the only AICAD institution without regional accreditation, this step is essential to
both the excellence of the School and its long-term financial sustainability.

The Plan that follows includes both a review of the School’s history, and also the current competitive
landscape. The resulting long-range goals of the Plan are:

      To become a model for educational, artistic, and business innovation
      To become one of the country’s great institutions of higher education
      To become one of the world’s most recognized and prestigious art schools

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II. Introduction: SMFA’s History

Since its founding in 1876, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has educated some of the world’s
most influential artists and creative leaders. The School was conceived at the same time as the Museum of
Fine Arts (Museum) itself, as a crucial part of the mission to educate through the arts. The SMFA was intended
to be a school of art; not simply a technical institute, but an educational institution—an academy—of the most
rigorous ideas and concepts. Less than a year after its founding, the School, in the words of one commentator,
transformed the Museum itself into a vital, living institution through the faculty and students, whose “words of
instruction” echoed through the collection as did their “enthusiasm” as “artists and scholars.” (Thomas
Appleton, 1876)

The SMFA awarded its first credential, the Diploma, in 1885. As an institution it fostered one important artistic
movement after another, including American Impressionism, the Boston School, and Boston Expressionism.
The SMFA was home to many notable teachers, including Edmund Tarbell and Frank Benson, Karl Zerbe, and
European modernists Henry Schwartz, Gyorgy Kepes, and Oskar Kokoschka. The School’s studio faculty
members continue to be working and exhibiting artists, many of whom are internationally recognized. Alumni
include such significant figures as Loïs Mailou Jones, Allan Rohan Crite, Richard Scarry, Cy Twombly, Jim
Dine, Ellsworth Kelly, Joan Jonas, Ellen Gallagher, Mike + Doug Starn, Kristin Baker, and Omer Fast.

Since 1876, the School’s faculty, administration, and curricula have been dynamically engaged with
educational issues in general, and education through the arts specifically. At its founding, the School created a
program that blended the academic rigor of the French Ecole des Beaux Arts—a classical program of
observational drawing, anatomy, perspective, and the study of European art history—with the pragmatism of
the English Arts and Crafts movement, particularly as it came to be expressed in the South Kensington School
with an emphasis on a practical address to a changing world.

Over the next decades the SMFA’s programs took a decidedly more modernist turn with the introduction of
Bauhaus ideas, including a 1930’s consideration of industrial processes adding its own innovations along the
way. In the 1960’s the SMFA radically altered its structure to better address the relationship of art and ideas
and embraced new technologies and materials such as photography and film. Consistent through past and
present, the School has emphasized the development of individual creativity through sustained, self-directed
study in both the studio and in the classroom.

III. Educating for Creative Leadership

The fundamental principles of an SMFA education include an emphasis on practice and critique. When
students are asked their intentions, or to reflect on decisions they made in relationship to a work, they are
being asked to account for a choice. It is in this process of exchange—the dialogue between and among
students and teachers—that a student’s own line of reasoning develops. At the heart of an education at the
SMFA is this formal expression of dialogue in the curriculum, the give and take of critiques, experienced in a
variety of ways: in groups, in one-on-one mentoring with faculty, in the formal awarding of credit, and in the
Review Board. This exchange is the point at which individual experience and intention, the unique nature
present in the student’s work, and the more general understanding of culture meet. The negotiation between
these worlds is a central organizing experience at the SMFA.

A fundamental objective of the SMFA is for each student to acquire skills that will prepare him or her to make
educated and informed career choices. These include the development of cross-cultural awareness; an ability
to think critically, to assess and understand the changing nature of the world; the ability to represent ideas
effectively and persuasively, whether in artwork, writing, or other forms of presentation; and an ability to
actively participate in meaningful dialogues. These skills provide a competitive edge and confidence in their
ability to sustain forms of creative work as educators, cultural producers, artists, and creative leaders in a wide-
range of fields. The SMFA will continue to support student development by examining the structure and

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022                 4

content of its curriculum, strengthening and expanding its programming, and increasing its educational breadth
through new national and international partnerships.

In 2012, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston began the first phase of its Strategic Plan for the next
decade and beyond. Working within the context of today’s world, the Plan reinforces the School’s fundamental
strengths and seeks to define the art school of the future. The School’s strengths become the foundation for
continuing to:

      Ensure keen attention to the individual student
      Focus on the intimacy and intensity of the experience, i.e., the emphasis on dialogue and critique
      Insist that art is related to a broad range of ideas, and society as a whole
      Highlight the relationship between thinking and creating
      Leverage the relationship to the School’s key partner, the Museum of Fine Arts
      Exploit the School’s deep, historic relationship to Boston, as well as its international reach
      Maintain a diverse, world-class faculty, as well known for their commitment to teaching as for their work
       and research
      Recruit passionate and engaged students who reflect a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and
       interests
      Build an environment of excellence defined by its people, educational programming, and campus
       culture

IV. Key Contextual Factors

The world of higher education has changed dramatically across the board, resulting in a myriad of external
factors that must be acknowledged both in the short term and throughout the life of the Plan:

      Higher expectations regarding the quality, relevance and affordability of an education continue to
       increase the competitive landscape for sought-after students. At the same time, current and
       prospective students have evolving interests, experiential preferences, and developmental needs.
      Regulatory demands will increase in an effort to assess and quantify the academic and experiential
       rigor of our colleges and universities. There will be an emphasis on standardized metrics, including the
       employment and placement of graduates. The pressure to prove a satisfactory return on investment to
       students and their parents will be consistent and intense.
      Technology continues to accelerate, evolve, and influence our society. The effect on the world of higher
       education can be seen in every aspect of the student experience, including enrollment, financial aid,
       registration, curriculum, the classroom, and student life—the making and exhibition of art itself is
       mediated through digital technology. This trend will only increase as the technological options available
       for creative expression, information gathering, media consumption, business, and interpersonal
       communication multiplies.
      Widespread economic uncertainty, increasing competition for financial support, and generational shifts
       are all contributing to a fundamental change in philanthropy. This is the context for building the School’s
       philanthropic capacity through the development of its board, donors, and alumni base.

V. The Competitive Landscape
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Of the 37 independent colleges of art and design in the United States, 36 are accredited, and only one, the
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, is not. All of the SMFA’s major competitors offer a wide variety of
undergraduate and graduate programs—some more than 20—which are accredited and vital for attracting
potential students and parents. The SMFA offers only three (3) degree programs, all of which are in
partnership with Tufts. In order to remain competitive, it is critical that the SMFA establish its own accredited
programs and expand its offerings to appeal to a larger pool of highly-qualified applicants.

Beyond accreditation, the SMFA must establish itself as a market leader in the field of art education. This
distinction brings new opportunities and supports “pricing power” through increased enrollment and competitive
tuition rates. Reports show that a common element of “market leader” schools is having a strong international
presence, which in turn leads to increased selectivity and a higher net tuition per student. Other characteristics
of schools consistently in high demand by top quality students and faculty are: multiple business lines which
generate revenue from a diversity of sources, comprehensive academic offerings, often multi-site operations,
minimal reliance on state funding, and generous philanthropic support. The Strategic Plan acknowledges all of
these considerations and aims to position the School at the forefront of the industry.

VI. Building for Sustainable Growth (Accreditation)

The essential precondition for ensuring the School’s future is accreditation. Through accreditation the SMFA
will be able to develop and offer new degree programs, attract a larger and more diverse student body, and
establish a firm financial base for the coming years.

The SMFA recognizes the need to offer additional programs that focus on new and emerging areas of interest
to not only prospective BFA and MFA candidates, but also other potential degree-seeking students. Beyond
redefining the BFA and MFA programs in studio art, there are opportunities to reinvent already existing areas,
including a low-residency, hybrid MFA with a global focus; a re-forming of Film, Video, and Animation into an
undergraduate BFA with an integrated technology focus; evolving Sculpture, Ceramics and Metals into a larger
Fabrication Program; and finally, new graduate programs in Conservation and Museum and Exhibition Studies,
to be jointly offered with the Museum of Fine Arts. These programs allow the SMFA to address a wider group
of potential students, while simultaneously enhancing the core BFA/MFA experience.

Over the next few years the School will become a degree-granting institution, licensed by the Massachusetts
Department of Higher Education and accredited by the Northeast Association of Schools and Colleges. In
conjunction with accreditation, the School is preparing a series of freestanding undergraduate and graduate
degree programs, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art.

At the heart of the Plan is a revitalized School with an independent curriculum, new content and new forms of
educational instruction. Through effective and innovative delivery, the School’s solid new foundation assumes:

      Accreditation as the foundation for excellence, innovation, and growth
      Careful market analysis to align new programs, undergrad, graduate, post-bac and diploma
      New delivery of those programs, including online and hybrid
      Ongoing attention to cost efficiencies
      Sustained and comprehensive recruitment of international students
      Innovative and sustained marketing
      An expanded campus, integrated technology, reshaped classroom, instructional and exhibition space

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VII. Implementation Plan and Goals: FY 2013–2022

Since 1998 the School has weathered an extended period of financial fragility, coinciding with ongoing
uncertainty in the local and national economy. At the same time, the scale and complexity of the School’s
programs, faculty, staffing and infrastructure, including buildings and systems, grounds, and technology have
greatly increased. The School is now positioned to address new long-term priorities.

                 PRINCIPAL GOALS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN FOR FY2013-2022

   1. Develop and offer a diverse portfolio of accredited undergraduate and graduate programs.

   2. Partner with domestic and global institutions to create new growth opportunities.

   3. Develop an innovative, adaptable curriculum that integrates the art education with a broad range of
      disciplines.

   4. Increase enrollment through improved retention and recruitment.

   5. Hire and retain internationally recognized faculty and develop administrative staff for future leadership.

   6. Strengthen alumni and donor networks to be more extensive, visible, involved and more financially
      supportive of the School.

   7. Improve and extend the campus locally and globally.

   8. Secure a sustainable financial structure and business model.

                            INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT THE PRINCIPAL GOALS

The major initiatives to support each of these goals are outlined below. The work plan will be refined and
adjusted by the management team as the results from implementation suggest appropriate modifications. The
proposed metrics are presented in Section VII.

Goal 1: Develop and offer a diverse portfolio of accredited undergraduate and graduate programs.

      Complete the process of licensure and accreditation for the Bachelor of Fine Art in Studio Art, Master of
       Fine Art in Studio Art, modified Studio Diploma, Master of Science in Conservation, Master of Arts in
       Museum and Exhibition Studies.
      Integrate studio classes and academic classes into a single curriculum both for undergraduate and
       graduate students.
      Expand the School’s degree and other programs, while maintaining the quality and integrity of all
       offerings. This is the defining strategy for carrying out the School’s educational mission and a key
       component of enhancing a positive reputation and profile, strong student enrollment, and amplified
       philanthropic support.
      Leverage our Professional and Community Education, Visiting Artists, and Exhibitions Programs to
       promote the School as a vital place to experience global contemporary art for pre-college, college,
       graduate and adult learners.

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Goal 2: Partner with domestic and global institutions to create new growth opportunities.

      Identify new local opportunities with cultural institutions, colleges, universities, and other like-minded
       entities, while expanding the collaboration with current partners such as the Museum of Fine Arts and
       Tufts University.
      Identify new opportunities to collaborate internationally. Integrate partners such as the Ecole du Louvre
       and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts into programmatic initiatives. Continue to expand
       collaborations in advantageous opportunity areas: Tsinghua University, Beijing; Koc University,
       Istanbul; Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo. Launch an integrated communications plan to
       promote the new direction of the School on a global scale. This repositioning effort will emphasize both
       accreditation and innovative degree programs, while leveraging the School’s reputation as a
       prestigious, unique institution for art education.
      The goal will be to clearly articulate the School’s identity as a discerning international partner, and to
       leverage those partnerships as an attractive selling point for prospective faculty and students.

Goal 3: Develop an innovative, adaptable curriculum that integrates art education with a broad range
of disciplines.

      Integrate studio and academic classes into a single curriculum, applicable to both undergraduate and
       graduate students.
      Develop innovative methods for course delivery that incorporate new technology, flexible schedules
       and multi-functional spaces.
      Develop new methods for delivering programs, including hybrid, on-line and low-residency.
      Review the School’s Diploma program, expand the high school Pre-college Program, and assess the
       Continuing Education Program towards increased enrollment and net revenue.

Goal 4: Grow enrollment through improved retention and recruitment.

      Implement a multi-year strategic enrollment growth plan; Increase frequency of visitation and
       penetration in key markets (geographic, economic and demographic) to attract new students. Target
       recruitment efforts in areas of high yield potential, e.g., the South, the Southwest, and internationally.
      Refine financial aid programs to achieve targeted goals and an optimum class profile, including
       diversity of student body. Implement revenue strategies for tuition pricing and financial aid to maximize
       net revenue balanced with access and affordability.
      Develop a school-wide Student Success Plan focused on persistence and retention.
      Formalize Academic Advising to consistently and effectively guide students in their degree path, and
       develop key metrics to ensure academic graduation requirements are clearly defined and successfully
       met.
      Formalize a Studio mentoring program with faculty and more advanced students to support and guide
       students’ growth.
      Create a Residence Life Program that provides a safe and cost-effective living and learning community
       for students. This program is essential to enhancing student engagement, success, and completion.

Goal 5: Hire and Retain Internationally Recognized Faculty and Develop Administrative Staff for Future
Leadership.

      Frame and implement a School-wide staff development initiative to attract and retain a diverse and
       talented workforce. Identify high-potential junior and mid-level staff to become leaders in the School,
       and invest in their professional development through formal mentoring and training opportunities.

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022                8

   Develop a Faculty Excellence Plan to include faculty revitalization through new hires and retirement;
       and provide new forms of support for teaching and research. The faculty should be multi-generational,
       diverse and widely recognized for the quality of their research, practice and teaching.
      Develop flexible teaching schedules integrating new class formats and a 12-month academic calendar.
      Support global research and teaching opportunities, including faculty exchanges, visiting faculty, and
       joint programming initiatives with international partners.
      Refine the structure and scope of the School’s administration and staff to more effectively balance roles
       and responsibilities.

Goal 6: Strengthen alumni and donor networks to be more extensive, visible, involved and more
financially supportive of the School.

      Develop new constituencies to support annual and capital fundraising. Cultivate additional cohorts of
       alumni, SMFA Medici members, volunteers, and financial supporters through strategic outreach,
       network-building, and engagement campaigns.
      Improve the performance of current fundraising programs including Annual Programs (SMFA Annual
       Fund Medici Group, Medal Award, and Art Sale), Alumni Programs, Institutional Support, Leadership
       Gifts, and Planned Giving.
      Explore new sustainable revenue opportunities.
      Collaborate with the MFA to implement and coordinate a combined MFA/SMFA capital campaign.

Goal 7: Improve and extend the campus locally and globally.

      Create a campus use and utilization study that identifies ways to align campus with curricular and other
       changes being made and identifies ways to improve usage of existing space.
      Develop a campus master plan and related technology master plan that determines priorities for long-
       term improvements, including student housing.
      Take steps to improve utilization of physical space, implement new academic calendar, and align
       current space with curriculum, with an emphasis on flexible and multi-functional utilization.
      A number of technology actions and priorities are embedded in goals outlined above. These priorities
       focus on expanding the impact of technology for students and faculty.
      The School has included funds in the annual budget for technology investments. The building envelope
       project is being addressed off-plan with a placeholder $1.2 million draw down from reserves.

Goal 8: Assure a Sustainable Financial Structure and Business Model.

      Achieve balanced annual operating budgets with sustainable and prudent levels of surpluses.
      Grow reserves to cushion against volatility, support future initiatives and opportunities, and to fund
       planned investments in campus infrastructure.
      Develop a portfolio of accredited programs that provides diverse and sustainable sources of new net
       revenues.
      Reconsider the operating structure to provide cost efficiencies in operations and delivery that address
       the changing needs of students.

   A. Financial Plan
      Achieving long-term financial equilibrium is a primary objective of the Plan. Based upon an analysis of
      revenue and expense data that assumed the existing financial structure continued into the future, the
      School’s long-term, steady-state financial model revealed unsustainable financial operating projections.
      The financial goal of the strategic plan is to assure a sustainable financial structure and business
      model. To achieve this goal SMFA has adopted the following principles:

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022               9

1. Maintain a balanced operating budget including a sustainable, prudent level of surplus. The Plan
      as envisioned seeks to integrate new programs over time through a balanced approach. This is
      necessary to enable the School to align incremental revenues with expenses. The strategy also
      provides the institution flexibility and scalability as it implements the plan moving forward.

          o   Grow institutional reserves. At the same time SMFA pursues balanced operations and
              ongoing maintenance of campus infrastructure, it is imperative that the School grow its
              institutional reserves. In the long run, the reserves function as a cushion against future volatility.
              Moreover, the reserves offer a level of flexibility and can provide crucial funds for planned
              investments in infrastructure, faculty and staff excellence, and to support future initiatives and
              opportunities.

          o   Complete licensure and accreditation. The key precondition for strengthening the School as
              envisioned is accreditation. With accreditation the School will be able to develop and offer new
              degree programs, attract a larger and more diverse student body, and increase the School’s
              financial resources and stability, while allowing for reinvestment in the institution.

          o   Increase tuition revenue through addition of new programs. Following from accreditation,
              the School seeks to develop a portfolio of accredited programs that provides diverse and
              sustainable sources of new net revenues. The new undergraduate and graduate degree
              programs will expand on SMFA’s existing strengths while providing new opportunities for
              dynamic curricula that benefit from the integration of studio art practice with academic classes.
              The Plan projects enrollment will grow from 570 in FY 2013 to 670 in FY 2018 and ultimately to
              700 by FY 2022.

          o   Recruit more international students. A key goal of the plan is to grow enrollment through
              improved recruitment, including a more diverse student body. To achieve this goal SMFA will
              increase recruiting efforts to areas of high yield potential in international countries with a
              growing college-aged population. A major part of the plan to recruit more international students
              is the new programs the SMFA will offer, and graduate programs in particular will have specific
              relevance for the global market. Ultimately, the School plans to create programs that include
              elements that draw interest from international students, alongside increasing our recruitment
              activity in targeted markets overseas.

          o   Continue to seek cost efficiencies in operations and delivery. Enrollment growth will be
              realized through improved retention and recruitment and the gradual addition of new degree
              programs. Simultaneously, the plan recognizes the current changing nature of higher education
              delivery and a heightened concern for the cost and quality of education. Enrollment growth,
              therefore, will require a range of new forms, such as programs that blend conventional and
              online learning; or low residency programs. Additionally, the four-year degree, the standard
              semester system; the credit structure and its relationship to faculty time; the typical studio class
              construct – all must be reconsidered to create efficiency that addresses the changing needs of
              students.

          o   Improve data collection capabilities. Adjust reporting systems to reflect new programs; and to
              provide enhanced assessment of ongoing performance measures.

   2. Provide for ongoing and adequate renewal and replacement of the physical plant. Directly related
      to maintaining a balanced operating budget is the objective of long term planning for funding of renewal
      and replacement at levels that are adequate for the ongoing maintenance of the physical plant. Over
      time the scale and complexity of the School’s programs, faculty, staffing and infrastructure, including
      buildings and systems, grounds, and technology is expected to increase substantially. Over the long-

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022                10

term, the School seeks to grow the resources available to reinvest and improve the campus
      infrastructure.

   3. Maintain a sustainable endowment policy. Consistent with Museum planning, the School seeks to
      maintain a sustainable endowment policy to preserve the inflation-adjusted value of the endowment.

          o   Increase philanthropic funding. Increased philanthropic funding is essential to a sustainable
              financial structure and business model. It will allow the School not only to meet budgeted annual
              and current-use funding goals, which increase steadily over the life of the plan, but also to
              accelerate the investment of funds in capital projects, permanent endowment and new
              programs all of which further assure the success of the strategic plan and enhance the
              education of creative leaders within a global community.

   4. Contingency Planning. Going forward, SMFA will test and evaluate performance assumptions and
      projections based on actual operating performance to (1) assess current year performance against
      plan; (2) take appropriate contingency measures as necessary; and (3) project the School’s financial
      position for the current year and into the future.

   B. Management Plan
      Management is currently developing a phased action plan that will provide for regular progress reviews
      to ensure that the appropriate strategic revisions are enacted, when and where applicable. To manage
      expectations and guarantee that the plan set forth holistically benefits the institution, the team will
      establish the following benchmarks:

          o   Specificity and measurability
          o   Key result areas and accountability
          o   Attainability and rewards
          o   Timeframe details

      The primary areas affected by the action plan include:

          o   Enrollment
          o   Curriculum and Programs
          o   Faculty
          o   Fundraising, Endowment and Development
          o   New Revenue Initiatives
          o   Marketing
          o   Facilities
          o   Financial Growth
          o   Institutional Profile

      The goal of establishing benchmarks for these key areas is that a clearly delineated structure will
      emerge, one that capitalizes on organizational efficiency in the execution of both everyday tasks and
      overarching objectives. Ultimately, the Management portion of the Strategic Plan aims at creating a
      vision for the future of the institution that motivates members of the organization to work collectively in
      accomplishing that vision.

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022               11

VIII. Conclusion

The SMFA has had a long and distinguished history as one of the leading institutions of art education in the
world. Throughout the years, it has been at the forefront of critical contemporary art movements which have
made a lasting impression on the entire creative community. Now, the SMFA has the opportunity to again
make history. By carrying out the goals and initiatives set forth in the Strategic Plan for the future, the School
will position itself to not only be a leader in artistic endeavors, but to be a trailblazer in both teaching and
learning.

The opportunity to embrace new creative media, to offer advanced courses in a variety of technologically
advanced formats, and to rise to the challenge of meeting the overwhelming demands placed upon today’s
institutions of higher education, are all key outcomes of the Strategic Plan. In addition, the freedom and ability
to offer uniquely SMFA programs, independent of a partner institution, provides the chance to establish the
School as never before. In the years to come, the SMFA will have made remarkable strides to reach new
audiences, to grow programs and diversify learning, and to be a market leader in the world of art education.

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022                 12

Footnotes:

National trends support the assumption that there are increasing opportunities for well-trained students to enter
the creative workforce. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics project an overall employment growth in
artists and related workers of 12% between 2008 and 2018 (75,500 jobs) and an additional increase in
arts/artistic occupations (like photographers, film editors and graphic designers) of another 12% or 194,000
jobs by 2018.

As far as the range of careers and projected growth, the National Endowment for the Arts* reports that the
artist occupations with the highest projected growth rates in the coming years will include museum technicians,
conservators, and curators; there will also be an increasing demand for multimedia artists, animators, and
illustrators. While employment for multi-media artists and animators is expected to grow at a faster rate than for
the labor force as a whole, craft artists and fine artists (including painters, sculptors and illustrators) are
projected to grow at the average rate.

In Massachusetts, the Patrick Administration has made creative workforce development a key component of
their economic policy. The sector includes a variety of profit and not-for-profit groups, including visual and
performing arts, film, advertising, architecture, and tourism, and as outlined in a study by the New England
Foundation for the Arts (2007)*, employs an estimated 100,000 people in the state. Economic activity—direct
and indirect—in the state generated by the sector is estimated to be in the billions (Boston Foundation)*.
The data points to an unfolding world of opportunity for our students, both now and in the future. At the same
time, the analyses suggest that there is a singular urgency to fundamentally realign the School—its profile,
programs, faculty, in fact, the very shape of the experience—so as to lead the trends and to leverage this
emerging demand.

Overall student demand in the US is expected to remain healthy over the next decade with a marked
escalation from international students. Over the past decade the number of students intending to major in art &
design in college has risen 40% (reported by the Art & Science Group, based on SAT exams)*.

 SNAAP (spell out with authors) Alumni Survey
2
 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition,
Artists and Related Workers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092/htm;
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos2052/htm; http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos109/htm;
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos264/htm; and at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos091/htm.
3
  National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Employment Projections Through 2019; on the Internet at
http://www.nea.gov/reasearch/Notes/103.pdf
4
  Georgetown University, Select Findings from What’s It Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors, on the
Internet at http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/whatsitworth-select.pdf

SMFA: Strategic Plan 2013 – 2022                13