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Rhode Island School of Design
Established: 1877
Type: Private
Endowment: $380 million1
President: John Maeda
Faculty: 146 full-ti 336 part-time
Students: 2,282
Undergraduates: 1,883
Postgraduates: 399
Location: Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Campus: Urban
13 acres (53,000 m²)
Website: risd.edu

The Rhode Island School of Design (abbreviated as RISD, pronounced /ˈrɪzdi/) is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and is currently located at the base of College Hill and contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and offer joint courses. RISD is considered to be one of the top fine arts schools in the nation. According to a recent poll, RISD has the highest freshman workload of any college in the United States. Applicants must complete RISD's infamous "hometest" — three drawing assignments.

The school includes about 350 faculty and curators, and 400 staff members. About 1,880 undergraduates and 370 graduate students enroll from all over the United States and 50 other countries. It offers 16 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate majors. RISD is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States. It also maintains over 80,000 works of art in the RISD Museum.

In May 2006 the RISD Board of Trustees approved this mission statement:

The mission of the Rhode Island School of Design, through its college and museum, is to educate its students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to make lasting contributions to a global society through critical thinking, scholarship and innovation.

Contents

History

The Centennial Women were a group formed to raise funds for Rhode Island's exhibit at the Centennial Exposition in 1876. The group had $1,675 left over after the exposition, and, inspired by foreign exhibits on design and interior decorating, Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf persuaded the group to donate the money to found what would become the Rhode Island School of Design. The school was incorporated in 1877 and opened its doors the following fall. Metcalf directed the school until her death in 1895. Her daughter, Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke, then took over until her death in 1931.2

The Rhode Island General Assembly ratified “An Act to Incorporate the Rhode Island School of Design” on March 22, 1877. “For the purpose of aiding in the cultivation of the arts of design.” Over the next 129 years, the following original by-laws set forth these following primary objectives:

First. The instruction of artisans in drawing, painting, modeling, and designing, that they may successfully apply the principles of Art to the requirements of trade and manufacture.
Second. The systematic training of students in the practice of Art, in order that they may understand its principles, give instruction to others, or become artists.
Third. The general advancement of public Art Education, by the exhibition of works of Art and of Art school studies, and by lectures on Art.

Programs of Study

Concentrations

Concentrations at RISD do not confer a degree, they act as minors and require extra courses in the chosen field.


Architecture

Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design is headed by Department Chair Lynette Widder. The first year program was designed by faculty member Kyna Leski. Undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture students share studios and coursework through the first year of study.

Athletics

Athletics are not the focus of campus life but do provide a rare sense of school spirit. RISD sports have fluctuated over the years with the RISD archives containing photos of football, baseball, and basketball teams spanning the very early 20th century. Yearbooks and alumni reveal the RISD Student Association funded basketball teams throughout the 1950s and 1960s that were called the 'Nads'. An ice hockey team formed soon after using the same name, 'Nads'. The ice hockey team played through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s with little record of other athletics. In 2000, a new basketball team was formed under the name 'Balls' to complement the ice hockey team, each with its own slogan: "When the heat is on, the Balls stick together", and "Go Nads" (deliberately sounding like "gonads"). Currently, these are the two most active and organized sports teams at RISD, with basketball the only sport played at varsity-level competition. Together, both teams provide a rally ground for students, faculty, administration, and staff alike. Intramural level teams round out the offering in rock climbing, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, frisbee, skiing and snowboarding.

In 2001, the Nads created the infamous, and unofficial mascot, "Scrotie," a man-sized penis wearing a red cape. RISD students claim Cooper Union and Pratt Institute as their archrivals in sporting events, and the two hold an annual basketball match in both Providence and New York.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Rhode Island School of Design people

Notable current and past faculty

Main article: List of Rhode Island School of Design people

References

  1. ^ "College and University Endowments Over $250-Million, 2007", Chronicle of Higher Education (2008-08-29), pp. 28. 
  2. ^ Kirk, Laura Meade (2004-03-21). "From bonnets to baccalaureates", The Providence Journal. Retrieved on 17 October 2007. 

External links

v • d • e
Northeast U.S. Art Colleges
AIB • Cooper Union • FIT • LACFA • MECA • MICA • MassArt • Paier • Parsons • Pratt • RISD • SMFA • SVA • UArts • Vesper George Art School
v • d • e
Universities & Colleges in Rhode Island
v • d • e
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
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