The American College of the Building Arts Launches Quest for Arts-Oriented Students

Students can apply for the 2- and 4-year programs at the new American College of the Buiding Arts, in Charleston, SC. In August the small College will offer students six arts-oriented majors in ironworking, timberframing, masonry, plastering, stone carving and carpentry.

(PRWEB) November 24, 2004 -- The American College of the Building Arts (formerly the School of the Building Arts) has launched its recruitment activities. Today, the new College unveiled its curriculum and other plans, and outlined important milestones on the way to an August 2005 opening here. The College will be the first in the nation to focus fully on teaching the building arts, and is modeled on a centuries-old system that French artisans have used to preserve their artistry and ensure the longevity of cherished buildings.

Ø   Interested students can now apply online at http://www.buildingartscollege.us. College administrators are seeing interest from around the nation, and abroad, in this first-ever program in North America.
Ø   The College will offer Associate and Bachelors degrees in Applied Sciences.
Ø   The Colleges first student Open House is set for December 3rd and 4th and will introduce students and their parents to the college, the faculty and the Charleston area. More than 200 potential students have been invited, based on their past interest in the college.
Ø   The College has begun recruiting faculty from around the country.

Students will learn marketable skills during their degree, and also during paid apprenticeships each summer.

David AvRutick, the colleges president, noted today: The American College of the Building Arts is designed to ensure that for generations to come, this nation will produce building artisans equipped to design and maintain the nations most impressive and enduring buildings. We are excited by the early response, and eager to welcome our new class in August," he said.

The college, which will launch with 48 students and grow to approximately 144 over four years, has been granted an initial license by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. The college will offer an Associates and a Bachelors degree in Applied Sciences. Students will major in one of six disciplines: architectural stone, carpentry, masonry, plaster, ornamental iron work and timber framing.

Currently, the campus is located in the historic Old City Jail in downtown Charleston. Plans for the creation of the permanent college campus on the nearby 300+-year-old McLeod Plantation are underway. Both these sites offer the students and faculty the chance to work together in a living laboratory that encompasses history and beauty.

The artisans who graduate from the College will be the hands that rebuild and preserve the critical, historic built environment in this country, and put beauty into structure for years to come," said AvRutick.

The private, non-profit college is the only four-year college in the United States where a degree can be earned in the building arts. The curriculum combines a general college education with the expert hands-on training in the building arts.

According to AvRutick, the college was approved on a provisional basis, meaning it must meet certain criteria, such as establishing specific facilities and hiring faculty, before it receives its full license. That review process will take place in Summer 2005.

In addition to its work gearing up for next fall, the College continues to teach through hands-on workshops, lectures, field trips, festivals, discussions and demonstrations by master craftsmen and women. For more information, phone the college at 843 577 5245.

Media Contact:
Colleen Troy
Rawle Murdy Associates Inc.
843-577-7327
ctroy@rawlemurdy.com

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