Kendall College of Art and Design
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Kendall College of Art and Design, of Ferris State University is a college of the visual arts in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It offers a Bachelor's degree in several fields, and a Master's degree in Fine Art.
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[edit] Academics
Kendall has major programs in Art Education, Art History, Digital Media, general Fine Arts, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Metals/Jewelry Design, Painting, Photography, and Sculpture/Functional Art. Most first-year students take a selection of common "foundation" classes and introductory courses in their major, along with some general Humanities, Science, and Art History classes. Later years' studies consist primarily of studio classes in the student's major field and related electives, and additional general education classes.
Dual enrollment for advanced high school students is available. Also a variety of non-credit classes for both children and adults are offered to the community.
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1928 as David Wolcott Kendall Memorial School, through a bequest by his widow Helen M. Kendall. Mr. Kendall had been a nationally-recognized pioneer in the local furniture industry. The institution became known as Kendall School of Design in 1947, was accredited as Kendall College of Design in 1981, and became Kendall College of Art and Design in 1987 with the addition of programs in the Fine Arts. Previously a private college, it merged with Ferris State University in 2000, but retains a substantial degree of autonomy as a full college, with its own academic programs, facilities, faculty, staff, and president.
[edit] Facilities
The college occupies a 7-story historic building in downtown Grand Rapids. Facilities include color and black-and-white darkrooms, photo studios, a library, two galleries, a furniture collection, wood- and metalworking shops, printmaking equipment, 24-hour-access student studios, a coffee shop, a bookstore with art supplies, and classroom/labs with approximately 350 Mac and Windows computers. It also houses the Dow Center for Art, Design, and Technology - which maintains a number of 3D digital fabrication technologies including an Envisiontec Perfactory Rapid Prototyping System, 4 CNC milling machines, and a Sensable Technologies Haptic Interface.
A substantial expansion of the college's facilities began around the time it joined Ferris, first taking over the adjoining building, renovating and adding studio, classroom, gallery, and office space, nearly doubling its space. Later, the college committed itself to acquire and adapt the Grand Rapids Art Museum building across the street when the museum finishes relocating in 2007, where it plans to add gallery, auditorium, and more classroom, studio, and office space.
[edit] Students
As of Fall 2005 total enrollment (undergraduate and graduate) is just over 1000 students, with a faculty:student ratio of about 1:14. Most students live in apartments downtown or in nearby neighborhoods such as Heritage Hill and Eastown. The college assists students in finding housing, and began a housing program of its own in the Fall of 2004, offering renovated, furnished apartments a block from the main building.
