Tyler School of Art is presently located in Elkins Park, a small suburban town just north of Philadelphia proper. Its on the site of an old Victorian estate; the main administrative building (also where the basic drawing classes are held) is in the actual mansion. There are a number of buildings from the 60's & 70's as well, mostly ugly, but they get the job done. Its a small campus but its quite pretty, especially in the spring. There's an old Catholic convent right next door, so there arent any problems with the neighbors.
The thing is, the grounds are expensive to maintain, and Temple University feels that the school doesnt bring in enough in tuition to offset those costs enough. Another supposed "problem" is that the trip by shuttle to Main Campus (deep in the city, really just a few miles) is too inconvenient. I used to take the shuttle all the time, I liked being able to pop into the city like that, and it even enabled me to get to church *quite* a few times! At the same time, when I was checking out art schools, I chose Tyler because it wasnt in the city... after all, Philly is a rotten place, especially the neighborhood Temple is in.
When the move was strictly in the talking stage, one of the rumors was that most of the programs would be cut in the process: glass, metals, basically anything really messy and/or hazardous. That really didn't foster any support among the students.
So the real issue is whether the school does better as a more autonomous entity, in a more countrified setting, or more integrated in an urban campus. I don't really know how the present students feel, but like I said, while I was still there, the idea of a move was wildly unpopular.
The thing is, the grounds are expensive to maintain, and Temple University feels that the school doesnt bring in enough in tuition to offset those costs enough. Another supposed "problem" is that the trip by shuttle to Main Campus (deep in the city, really just a few miles) is too inconvenient. I used to take the shuttle all the time, I liked being able to pop into the city like that, and it even enabled me to get to church *quite* a few times! At the same time, when I was checking out art schools, I chose Tyler because it wasnt in the city... after all, Philly is a rotten place, especially the neighborhood Temple is in.
When the move was strictly in the talking stage, one of the rumors was that most of the programs would be cut in the process: glass, metals, basically anything really messy and/or hazardous. That really didn't foster any support among the students.
So the real issue is whether the school does better as a more autonomous entity, in a more countrified setting, or more integrated in an urban campus. I don't really know how the present students feel, but like I said, while I was still there, the idea of a move was wildly unpopular.
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