The Art Institute of Colorado
(formerly known as the Colorado Institute of Art), located in Denver, Colorado, is a for profit university whose parent company is owned in part byGoldman Sachs.[1] The current population of the student body is about 2,100 undergraduates.
The Art Institute of Colorado is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The school was established in 1952 and founded as a private college for arts and crafts. In 1956 John Jellico, (Carol Anne's Father) a former Assistant Director of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, joined the staff and introduced the Commercial Arts program. In 1960, he took over management of the school.
In 1975, Education Management Corporation (EDMC) of Pittsburgh bought out the school and became a branch of the Art Institute System of Schools. A year later Interior Design and a Photography program were added. In 1977 the school moved from 16 West 13th Avenue to 300 East 9th Avenue in Denver.
A short lived program was the Music and Video Business program. It was started in 1987 and the first graduating class was in 1989. Some of the Art campuses still offer a video production program. In 2013, the Web Design & Interactive Media and Graphic Design programs at both the Associates and Bachelors level have been merged into the Graphic & Web Design program.
A Culinary Arts program was started in 1993 and a satellite campus in the Denver Design District at 675 S. Broadway is used for the Culinary Arts program. The Broadway location has four labs for production of hot and cold foods, one baking and pastry lab, one multipurpose lab, and one computer lab, along with the student-run Assignments Restaurant. In 2000, the school moved its main campus to 1200 Lincoln St., keeping the old location as another satellite building, primarily devoted to the Industrial Design department. In 2012, they vacated the building on 9th Avenue, and all programs other than Culinary are now hosted at the 1200 Lincoln location, which houses 26 classrooms; fifteen computer labs; a library; photography studios; digital video, animation, sound and editing studios; and the John Jellico Gallery in the Golden Triangle District in Downtown Denver. A long-term arrangement for student housing was made at 5785 E. 8th Ave. All three buildings are still used by the school today.[3]
Although the school's official name is now The Art Institute of Colorado (AiC), it is sometimes referred to by its old name Colorado Institute of Art (CIA).