Alberta College of Art + Design will become Alberta University of the Arts

Alberta College of Art + Design in Calgary announced that it will become Alberta University of the Arts on February 1, 2019.

The institution was founded in 1926 as Alberta College of Art.  The name changed to Alberta College of Art + Design in 1995.  

The college was initially part of what is now the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), though the two campuses officially separated in 1985 and Alberta College of Art + Design became an autonomous, free-standing, publicly funded art and design college.

You can also view a short interview on the Global News Calgary website, "Alberta art school aims to offer students more opportunities with new university status," with President Daniel Doz and Scott Cressman, Chair of the School of Communication Design, as they discuss the importance of the institution's new name and how the change will impact the students and faculty.

Eva Ferguson also reports on the name change for the Calgary Herald, "New name, new direction: ACAD becomes Alberta University of the Arts."