Paier College of Art Changes its Name and Moves to University of Bridgeport Campus

Cayla Bamberger reports for The Wilton Bulletin Paier College of Art will be moving to the campus of the University of Bridgeport and will change its name to Paier College. 

Paier's move results from agreements announced in 2020 where Goodwin University of East Hartford, CT, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, and Paier College of Art indicated they would be co-locating on the campus of the University of Bridgeport and purchasing all of the school’s property and programs.

Bamberger indicates that there are no plans to sell the Hamden campus. Paier College will occupy "...the Arnold Bernhard Center, a nine-story building on the Long Island Sound, houses a 1,000-seat performing arts theater, a permanent art gallery and dozens of classrooms, offices and performance and event spaces. Cooper Hall will provide 140 beds of on-campus housing to Paier students and UB students taking classes through Paier."

Paier was founded by by Edward T. and Adele K. Paier in 1946. They acquired the Whitney School of Art in 1954, changed the name of the combined institutions to Paier School of Art, and also moved to New Haven, CT. Paier then moved again to Hamden, CT in 1960 and was accredited as a 4-year, degree-granting institution in 1982.