School of Architecture at Taliesin Announces Closure

Updates: Inside Higher Ed posted articles March 6, 2020, "Former Frank Lloyd Wright School Will Fight to Stay Open," and March 10, 2020, "Fight Unfolds Over Frank Lloyd Wright's Educational Legacy," by Rick Seltzer indicating a reversal of the decision to close the School of Architecture at Taliesin.

Antonio Pacheco reported for Archinect News on January 28, 2020 that the School of Architecture at Taliesin announced its intent to close in June 2020, "Frank Lloyd Wright's School of Architecture at Taliesin shutters its doors after 88 years."

The institution was founded in 1932 in Spring Green, WI. After 1937 it operated seasonally with classes in Scottsdale, AZ from October-June and at the Spring Green location from May-October.

The institution worked aggressively to secure and maintain accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. 

A formal separation from the Frank Lloyd Foundation was negotiated in 2017 and the name formally changed from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture to the School of Architecture at Taliesin.

Though current enrollment is roughly 30 students, Pacheco notes that there are over 1,200 graduates.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.