Dear CCA Alumni Community,

It has been some time since my last communication, but as we get closer to the end of this semester I wanted to update you on the work we are doing to support the development and goals of the CCA Institute at Vanderbilt—and how you can support this important process.

As we look toward Spring 2027, our focal point is the preservation of CCA’s legacy and the long-term impact of our mission of art and design education. To that end, we have developed the following strategic roadmap that will guide us through this evolution. This framework allows us to protect CCA’s historic DNA and our rich legacy, ensuring they are meaningfully honored in the new entity. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we are in a critical 15-month window of profound influence to shape the future of the CCA Institute at Vanderbilt. While final decision-making authority rests with Vanderbilt University, this is our opportunity to provide a blueprint for what we believe should come next.

To manage this, we have designed a tiered governance structure intended to funnel our community’s specialized expertise directly into the transition process. This will be managed through four interconnected layers of leadership and engagement:

• Advisory Body: Composed of the President, Provost, and Trustees, this group is responsible for high-level strategy and senior-level engagement with Vanderbilt.
• Steering Committee: The central hub for collaboration, including the Chief Transition Officer, the Director of the Wattis, representatives from the Library and Archives, Academic Deans, and Alumni representation.
• Working Groups: These groups are the engine of the transition, focusing on Advancement, Academic Affairs, Tech/Facilities, Finance, and HR. They serve as the vital conduit for community feedback, ensuring faculty, staff, and student perspectives are integrated into our conversations with Vanderbilt.
• CCA Legacy Committee: A crucial internal body dedicated to the "human" element of this journey. Led by faculty, staff, and student affairs, this committee is tasked with honoring and celebrating our community’s history throughout these next several months.

Over the next 15 months, these teams will contribute to foundational documents—including a Vision & Charter and a Legacy & Audit Catalog—to address our named spaces, endowments, and archives. While the Wattis, our Archives, and our Alumni Network are immediate priorities for 2027, our focus remains on leveraging community input to ensure this transition is grounded and intentional.

In the coming days, we will announce the co-chairs of the CCA Legacy Committee, who will help steward this transition. In the meantime, we want to ensure that our roadmap fully reflects the breadth of our community. We invite you to share your ideas and perspectives at presidents-office@cca.edu. This structured approach will ensure that every voice is captured as we work toward a more complete representation of our history.

We are moving forward with the belief that the values we built together at CCA are too important to fade; they deserve a lasting home. And I am committed to keeping you informed as these groups begin their work.

I also want to note that we have some immediate celebrations of our work ahead of us, with our end-of-year exhibitions and the upcoming Commencement. These are essential opportunities to recognize and reflect on our hard work, both individually as students, faculty, and staff, and as a community working together. Your ongoing support as alumni is an important part of that process, encouraging our community along during these times.

As we move through the coming months, we all recognize that many in our community will be transitioning into new chapters. For some, it is the celebratory milestone of graduation; for others, it is the pursuit of new opportunities; and for some, it is the wind-down of their specific roles at the college. While these shifts are personal and varied—and while there are important waypoints on the horizon—it does not necessarily make it easier for each of us to look ahead toward the fall and our path to Commencement 2027. Therefore, I want to thank you again for the care you show one another—and acknowledge the important supporting role that alumni play in our ongoing work.

Sincerely,
President Howse