It is wonderful to see so many alumni, staff, faculty, students, neighbors, and friends of the college here today to help us honor CCA history and express our gratitude to the Oakland campus.

I want to thank the Oakland Campus Legacy Committee for planning this special event.

The committee was launched in 2018 by alum and faculty member Deborah Valoma and is comprised of faculty, staff, and alumni representatives.Over the past four years they have worked with dedication and care to document, honor, and preserve the legacy and history of this campus through research, special projects, and events that bring our community together. And I thank them for bringing us together today.

As you know, CCA was founded by cabinetmaker and art teacher Frederick Meyer in 1907, at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement. His idea was to create a new “practical art school” to provide an education for artists and designers that would integrate both theory and practice in the arts.

One hundred years ago, he purchased the land we gather on today - the four-acre James Treadwell estate. His family moved into the top floor of the Treadwell mansion (that we all know today as Macky Hall) and students, faculty, and alumni began transforming the estate into a campus. This was the beginning of a long history of community driven work to not only develop the facilities and gardens of the Oakland campus but also the unique creative spirit that continues to define CCA.

This is a transformational moment for college. While we move physically across the bay, we remain connected to this place, forever formed by the one hundred years we have spent here. We are carrying forward the principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement—a melding of theory and practice; an integrated approach to art, design, and craft; and a commitment to social activism and engagement.

Since its inception, the school has specialized in “educating those who do,” emphasizing the value of craft and making in concert with theory and scholarship. Those values and our distinctive pedagogical approach were molded and fostered by this campus and will continue to shape CCA and its students into the future.

It is now my pleasure to introduce Professor Chris Johnson, a distinguished and long-time faculty member in photography.

Remarks delivered September 24, 2022