Students and staff were interviewed by Pitcher as they prepare for consolidation of programs at the institution's San Francisco campus and close the Oakland campus in 2022.
Pitcher also weaves interesting historical information into her narrative.
The institution was founded as School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley in 1907. The name changed to California School of Arts and Crafts the following year and the institution settled in Oakland by 1920s. The name was changed to California College of Arts and Crafts in 1936. A San Francisco location opened in the 1980s, offering architecture and design programs. The name changed to California College of the Arts in 2003.
Pitcher's article includes descriptions of a number of initiatives designed to preserve campus traditions. These include the formation of the Oakland Campus Legacy Committee, a group of faculty and alumni. There is work on a catalogue of plants from the community garden. Photographers are documenting events and everyday life on the Oakland campus. And, archivists are creating a log of campus relics and art objects with their respective histories.
The section describing collaboration of faculty members and administrators with the developers purchasing the campus, Emerald Fund and Equity Community Builders, to come up with a plan that preserves the legacy. The current plan includes a public park, the preservation of the college’s historical buildings, and new housing units.
Pitcher also describes a semester-long class, “Legacy Starts Here: Oakland Campus,” open to students of all majors and taught by Victoria Wagner as a way to help students understand the history of the college.
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