Mark Saville named LCAD’s interim president, as Steven Brittan steps down
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Laguna College of Art and Design has named Mark Saville as interim president and chief executive, the school announced in a news release Thursday morning.
Steven J. Brittan, who became the 14th president of the Laguna Beach-based arts institution in September 2021, stepped down to spend more time with family and return to private consulting.
Brittan had previously spent five years as the president of Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy, where he had been a student and a member of the faculty. He succeeded Jonathan Burke, for whom LCAD named its fine arts department, as president of the school.
Saville joined the college’s administration as its vice president of advancement in 2024.
“I’m proud to lead the institution as we fulfill our vision to enhance educational resources for creatives, expand our capacity and improve our campus infrastructure for generations to come,” Saville said in the news release. “As we break ground on our new Innovation Center this month, we continue our mission to empower our students to create with purpose and make an impact in the industries they serve.”
The two-story, 22,000-square-foot Innovation Center was made possible by a $100-million capital campaign. School officials shared plans for the project in August, after receiving a $40-million gift from Patrick Quilter, founder of QSC Audio and Quilter Labs. The school has raised $47 million toward its goal, a school spokesperson said.
Laguna College of Art and Design is preparing to begin construction on a new Innovation Center in early March. The college plans to mitigate parking impacts by renting lots from the city.
Laguna College of Art and Design was founded in 1961 and serves a population of approximately 750 to 800 students. The Innovation Center, billed as a campus consolidation project, aims to bring the academic community together on the Big Bend Campus for interdisciplinary collaboration. It includes space for digital arts classrooms, exhibitions, climate-controlled art storage and a print lab.
“Mark is a mission-driven leader who has demonstrated the organizational skills to lead LCAD through this exciting time of historic transformation,” Jared Mathis, chair of the LCAD Board of Trustees, said in a statement.
Saville’s career has also seen him hold leading roles as vice president of development for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, vice president of advancement for the Long Beach Symphony, director of development for the Fort Worth Opera and director of development for the Arizona Opera.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and government, as well as Near and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Arizona.
“Higher education and the creative industries are both undergoing profound change, and that demands clarity of purpose, steadiness of vision and focused leadership,” Saville said in a message via LCAD’s newsletter on Thursday.
“LCAD will meet this moment as it always has, by remaining committed to what has defined our success: an uncompromising standard of artistic excellence, deep connections to the industries our students will enter and a learning environment where creativity is treated as both a rigorous discipline and a distinctive way of engaging with the world.
“The future of the creative economy will belong to those who combine imagination with discipline and vision with craft,” he contined. “Our students arrive with the ambition to shape what comes next, and it is our responsibility to ensure they are prepared not simply to participate in that future, but to lead it. I am deeply honored to serve this institution and forever looking forward to the work ahead.”
