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|name = Pratt Institute
|name = Pratt Institute
|image_name = Pratt Institute.jpg
|image_name = Pratt Institute.jpg
|motto = Be true to your work, and your work will be true to you
|motto = Be true to your work, and your work will be true to you.
|established = 1887
|established = 1887
|type = [[Private school|Private]]
|type = [[Private school|Private]]

Revision as of 22:09, 1 October 2010

Pratt Institute
MottoBe true to your work, and your work will be true to you.
TypePrivate
Established1887
Endowment$64.8 million[1]
PresidentThomas F. Schutte
Academic staff
899
Undergraduates3,070
Postgraduates1,607
Location
Brooklyn
,
NY
,
USA
CampusUrban
25 acres (10 hectares)
ColorsBlack and cadmium yellow    
AffiliationsPratt at Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Delaware College of Art and Design
MascotThe Cannoneer
Websitewww.pratt.edu

Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States[2] and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Fashion Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Digital Arts, Creative Writing, Library and Information Science, and other areas. Pratt is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of 36 private art schools in the United States.

History

File:Prattold.jpg
The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY

Charles Pratt (1830–1891) was an early pioneer of the natural oil industry in the United States. He was founder of Astral Oil Works in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York. He joined with his protégé Henry H. Rogers to form Charles Pratt and Company in 1867. Both companies became part of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil in 1874.

Pratt is credited with recognizing the growing need for trained industrial workers in a changing economy.[citation needed] In 1886, he founded and endowed the Pratt Institute, which opened in Brooklyn in 1887.

Pratt ended its engineering program in 1993 citing "a continuous decrease in its enrollment and the growth of competition for a shrinking pool of prospective students."

Presidents

  1. Charles Pratt (1830–1891), president from 1887–1891
  2. Charles Millard Pratt (1855–1935), 1891–1893
  3. Frederic B. Pratt (1865–1945), 1893–1937
  4. Charles Pratt (1892–?), 1937–1953
  5. Francis H. Horn, 1953–1957
  6. Robert Fisher Oxnam (1915–1974), 1957–1960
  7. James Britt Donovan (1916–1970), 1968–1970
  8. Richardson Pratt Jr. (1923–2001) (grandson of Charles Millard Pratt and great-grandson of Charles Pratt), 1972–1990
  9. Warren F. Ilchman (1933–), 1990–1993
  10. Thomas F. Schutte (1936–), 1993–present

Campus

File:Pratt Institute Higgins Hall rebuilt center section.jpg
Higgins Hall center section rebuilt by Steven Holl
DeKalb Avenue gate

Pratt Institute is an enclosed beautifully landscaped 25-acre campus in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with historic buildings, library, and an athletic center. A residential campus, it offers several different kinds of residential options. It has two public entrances,which close in the evening hours. The main gate on Willoughby Avenue (for pedestrians and cars) is guarded by a security post 24 hours a day. The Hall Street entrance is convenient for commuters. Buildings on campus include the Library, Dekalb Hall, ISC Building, Main Building, North Hall, East Building, Student Union, Memorial Hall, Machinery Building, Chemistry Building, Engineering Building, Pratt Studios, Steuben Hall, and the ARC building. Off-campus buildings include the newly renovated Higgins Hall which contains the School of Architecture and a new "green" building on Myrtle Avenue for digital arts programs and student services including admissions scheduled to open in fall 2010. The contemporary sculpture park on campus is open to visitors during the day.

In addition, Pratt has another campus in Manhattan on 14th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue. This new building houses the Graduate School for Information and Library Science, the Graduate Programs in Communications and Package Design, Design Management, Arts and cultural Management and the two-year Associates Degree Programs in Digital Design, Graphic Design and Illustration. The modern building has many resources like a library, computer lab and meeting spaces. In 1977, the original school was opened in a nineteenth-century women's dress-design school, a New York City Landmark building at Lexington Avenue and 31st Street. At this time, Manhattan had long been the epicenter of publishing design during the latter-twentieth century, and this new commercial-art-dedicated satellite was modeled to apply intensely concentrated vocational training in graphic design, illustration, package design, and textile design. Its faculty was largely composed of Manhattan's working professionals, who themselves had achieved the level of skill necessary to meet the city's global-defining standards. Magazines, books, music albums, movie posters, print and television advertisements and packaging for all forms of retail products were the intended goals for its graduates, as well as Manhattan's omnipresent fashion industry. In addition, the below-ground space in the school was converted into a state of the art printmaking facility, teaching artist-created lithography, silkscreening and engraving.

Pratt also has a campus in Utica, New York, referred to as PrattMWP, at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. Students there complete their first two years of study at Munson-Williams-Proctor and finish their BFA degree at the Brooklyn campus.[3]

Residence Halls

All residence hall students are provided with a bed (twin extra-long), a drafting table, a chair and a dresser. Students residing in a dorm on campus are required to be on a mandatory meal plan (Stabile, Cannoneer, ELJ, and Pantas), while those off campus are able to sign up for an optional meal plan (Willoughby and Grand Avenue).

Cannoneer Court

Cannoneer Court, or the Cann, was designed by famed architecture firm SOM in 1986 and was constructed using a then-unique form of modular construction. Each individual dorm room was constructed off-site and then set into place like building blocks. It accommodates 94 students between two hallways. This traditional corridor-style residence houses students in double rooms, and bathrooms are communal. The building has a lounge and work area as well as a garden courtyard. The rooms are air-conditioned and carpeted. Although it was meant for temporary housing in 1986, this building still stands today for use as freshman housing as well as late-acceptance students and transfers. The first floor of this two-floor building is used as Graduate fine-arts studios.

Esther Lloyd-Jones Hall

Esther Lloyd-Jones Hall is named for a trendsetter in modern American higher education.[4] ELJH accommodates students single and double rooms. ELJH is occupied primarily by upperclassmen continuing students; vacancies for new transfer and graduate students sometimes do occur.

Leo J. Pantas Hall

Designed by SOM in 1986, the Leo J. Pantas dormitory sits centrally located on campus. Students live in four-person suites, which consist of two double rooms (two people in each double room), and each suite has its own bathroom. Suites are single sex, but floors are co-ed. Each suite is responsible for the healthy upkeep of the common bathroom area. The building boasts a large work area in addition to a dramatic main lounge area with a large screen TV. Its central location on campus makes it desirable to students, with its clock tower serving as a campus landmark.

Grand Avenue

Grand Avenue Residence is home to new and continuing graduate students. The building can accommodate 50 students in efficiency apartments (double and single) and private single rooms within two- and three-bedroom apartments. A double-efficiency apartment is two students sharing a one-room apartment (with kitchen and bath). A single-efficiency apartment is one student in a private one-room apartment with kitchen and bath. A shared single is two or more students, each with its own private bedroom, sharing kitchen, bath, and living room. The building is located one block from campus. Each living room is furnished with a sofa, club chair, coffee table, kitchen table, and chairs.

Willoughby Hall

Willoughby Residence Hall is a former 16 (no 13th floor) story apartment co-op, and is the largest residence hall. It accommodates 800 undergraduate men and women. Very few apartments are now co-ed. In addition to the standard furniture, all apartments have a kitchen table, stove, and refrigerator. All students are assigned to double, triple, or single spaces. The converted apartments consist of at least one double or triple that occupies the former living-room space of the apartment. The number of students residing in a given apartment ranges from two to six students, depending upon the size of the converted apartment—studio, one-, two-, or three-bedroom.

Stabile Hall

Vincent A. Stabile Hall opened in the Fall of 1999. Named for the donor and graduate of the Engineering School, it was designed for new undergraduate students. It houses 240 students in four-person suites. Each suite consists of two double rooms with a shared bath. There are kitchenettes located on each floor. The award-winning design[citation needed] of the building boasts a large common lounge with smaller work and lounge spaces on each floor, all of which contribute to a vital living and working environment.

A new Myrtle Avenue building currently under construction will house the Student Services Center, Digital Art Center and the Convergence and Fine Arts studios, as well as the Pratt Center for Community Development, which will share space with Pratt's Development and Alumni Relations department.Retail shops will occupy the first floor.[5] The building was designed by Pratt Institute School of Architecture alumnus Jack Esterson AIA of the New York City architecture and engineering firm WASA/Studio A, and is on track to achieve LEED Gold Certification.

The Pratt Manhattan campus, located at 144 West 14th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenue, is home to several of Pratt's graduate programs including the School of Information and Libray Science and Communication Design. This seven story historic building was acquired by Pratt in 2000. The Institute restored the building's exterior to its original facade highlighting its decorative architectural and design elements and renovated the interior to feature its high ceilings and wood beams. A lovely staircase from the building's lobby leads to the Pratt Manhattan Gallery offering an rich array of shows from fine art and sculpture to fashion.

Schools

  • Pratt Institute School of Architecture
    • Department of Undergraduate Architecture
    • Department of Graduate Architecture
    • Department of Construction Management
    • Department of Facilities Management
    • Department of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design
    • Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
  • School of Art and Design
    • Department of Foundation Art
    • Department of Art and Design Education
    • Department of Creative Arts Therapy
    • Department of Arts and Cultural Management
    • Department of Communications Design
    • Department of Graduate Communications/Packaging Design
    • Department of Digital Arts
    • Department of Design Management
    • Department of Fashion Design
    • Department of Fine Arts
    • Department of the History of Art & Design
    • Department of Industrial Design
    • Department of Interior Design
    • Department of Media Arts
    • Associate Degree Programs
  • School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • Department of English and Humanities
    • Critical and Visual Studies
    • Intensive English Program
    • Department of Math and Science
    • Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies
    • Writing Program
  • School of Information and Library Science
  • Center for Continuing Education and Professional Studies

Notable alumni

Athletics

The Pratt Cannoneers, a founding member of the Hudson Valley Athletic Conference (NCAA Division III), has varsity teams competing in men's basketball, soccer, cross-country, indoor/outdoor track, and tennis; as well as women's soccer, tennis, cross-country, indoor/outdoor track, and volleyball.

The men's basketball team has a storied tradition, including the 4th longest collegiate basketball rivalry in the nation between Pratt and Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, NY), with Pratt holding the overall record 78-59. The Cannoneers also took home a national collegiate championship title in 1901, and made four NAIA ('59, '60, '61, and '62) and two ECAC ('77,'79) post-season appearances. Former players included Ed Mazria ('62), who was drafted by the New York Knicks, and Anthony Heyward ('94), who currently tours with the And1 streetball team as "Half Man Half Amazing".

The women's cross-country team recently captured the 2006 HMWAC championship title and coach Dalton Evans won "Coach of the Year" honors. The men's cross-country team also has a championship title. The women's tennis team has won three HVWAC titles, including an appearance in the ECAC tournament.

In addition, there are intramural activities schedules throughout the year, ranging from individual (tennis and track & field) to team sports (soccer, basketball, volleyball, and touch football). Two premier student intramurals events include the fall classic Halloween Pratt Ratt Outdoor Obstacle Relay Race and the annual Mr. & Ms. Pratt All Thatt Fitness & Artistic Expression Pageant finale.

The Athletics Resource Center (A.R.C.) is home to the athletic department, and features the largest clear-span space in Brooklyn. It also hosts the annual Colgate Games, the nation's largest amateur track series for girls from elementary school through college.[9]

The school's mascot, the Cannoneer, takes the name from the 19th century cannon that stands prominently near the main gate to the campus. Cast in bronze in Seville, Spain, the cannon bears the insignia of Philip V and was brought to Pratt from the walls of Morro Castle in Havana, Cuba, in 1899.

Trivia

  • The library at Pratt Institute, which was opened in 1888 to serve not only students but the general public as well, was the first free public library in Brooklyn. The architect of the building was William Tubby of Brooklyn. The decoration in the building was done by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.
  • The school had a radio station in the mid-1980s that broadcast on a limited-range signal. After students modified the broadcast tower, the FCC stepped in and shut it down. The station later re-emerged in 2001 as an internet-only station and continues to broadcast from http://www.pratt.edu/radio.
  • Comic book artist Daniel Clowes's experience at the Pratt Institute provided the inspiration for his satirical comic Art School Confidential, upon which the 2006 film of the same name was based.
  • Segments of the 1990 movie Jacob's Ladder were filmed at Pratt, as well as scenes for the 2006 film The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert De Niro. Some episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit were filmed on campus.
  • Pratt has a closed-circuit television station, PRATT TV, located on channel 66 on campus.
  • Pratt's Brooklyn campus is home to a number of cats that are known as the Pratt Cats.
  • The oldest continually functioning elevator in all of Brooklyn, installed in 1910, was located at Pratt's Main Building, until it was upgraded in October 2004.
  • Pratt has the oldest continuously accredited library-science school in the United States of America.
  • In 2007, Pratt received more applications than any other art school in the country with 4,400 applications for 585 freshman spots.
  • Pratt boasts the oldest continuously operating, privately owned, steam-powered electrical-generating plant in the country. The facility's historic value was recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and named a National Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
  • Pam Beesly from The Office was accepted to Pratt in the episode "Goodbye, Toby." She studies for three months and leaves Pratt by the episode "Business Trip."
  • The school’s logo utilizes an extra bold version of the Futura typeface in cadmium yellow.
  • The campus substitutes for Harvard University in the American television show Fringe.

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  2. ^ US News: Best Graduate Schools.
  3. ^ http://mwpai.edu/admissions/whyprattmwp.html
  4. ^ Bowling Green State University Brochure
  5. ^ Pratt Center for Sustainable Design Studies http://csds.pratt.edu/524_myrtle.html
  6. ^ Tom Nikosey's website, with examples of his work,
  7. ^ The Classics: Tom Nikosey
  8. ^ Grimes, William. "Abraham Nathanson, Bananagrams Inventor, Dies at 80", The New York Times, June 9, 2010. Accessed June 12, 2010.
  9. ^ Colgate Games homepage

40°41′28″N 73°57′51″W / 40.691184°N 73.964069°W / 40.691184; -73.964069

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