Otis College of Art

Contrary to the misinformed letter published Nov. 22, the Otis College of Art and Design (Parsons was dropped about five years ago) is not “seriously underfunded.” Our primary reasons for not pursuing the landmark May Co. building was lack of parking for our expanding student body--increasing from 700 to 1,200. In fact Otis has received generous gifts enabling it to purchase its own campus--a 4.5-acre site with a seven-story building on Los Angeles’ Westside. Consequently, we will be able to provide students access to safe, affordable housing and to the active studio and gallery scene of the Venice-Santa Monica area.

Our alumni are a veritable who’s who of the art world and include Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Philip Guston, Robert Irwin and John Baldessari. Otis fashion graduates will continue to be leaders in the growing Los Angeles fashion industry, and we owe our success to some of the finest artists/educators in the world, most of whom work in their fields in addition to teaching.

We’ve been around since 1918, so don’t worry about Otis, we’re here to stay.

NEIL HOFFMAN, President

Otis College of Art and Design

Los Angeles