Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art Agree to Merge

Update On December 14, 2018, The Oregonian reported, "No merger for Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon College of Art and Craft."  The article indicates that, "After three months of discussion, the boards of both schools voted Friday against the merger, calling it “not a feasible option” at this time..."

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Oregon Public Broadcasting posted an excellent article by April Baer on November 1, 2018, "Oregon Art Schools PNCA And OCAC Vote To Merge."  Baer reports that the "...governing boards for Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art will spend the next month working on a memorandum of understanding..." to guide a merger of the two institutions.

OCAC was founded as the Arts and Crafts Society in 1907. The name changed to the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in 1978 and the BFA program was added in 1994.  The name changed to Oregon College of Art and Craft in 1996.  OCAC enrolls 143 students.

PNCA opened in 1909 as the School of the Portland Art Association. It soon became known as the Museum Art School. The first BFA awarded in 1969 and the name changed to Pacific Northwest College of Art in 1981.  PNCA's last enrollment reported to IPEDS was 512 students.

You can also read about the two institutions in an article by Douglas Perry of The Oregonian, "With merger, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon College of Art and Craft try to buck trend," posted on November 2, 2018.  Perry's article includes a number of photographs.