Academy of Art University

The Academy was founded in 1929 as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. Stephens, a painter and editor for Sunset Magazine, at 215 Kearny Street in San Francisco. Richard S. Stephens led the institution until 1951 when his son Richard A. Stephens took over. In 1992, his daughter Elisa Stephens became president, under whose leadership student numbers increased to 18,000 by 2011. The school evolved from Académie of Advertising Art to Academy of Advertising Art, then Richard Stephens Academy of Art, later Academy of Art College, before becoming Academy of Art University in 1996. In 2006, the university acquired the Commodore Hotel for $15.7 million, converting it into student housing called "Commodore Hall." The university received regional accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 2007. The school has been participating in New York Fashion Week bi-annually since 2005. In 2016, the city of San Francisco brought a lawsuit against the university over land-use violations, resulting in a settlement requiring the university to pay $37.6 million for affordable housing. In 2023, the university announced it would eliminate its athletic department following the 2024-2025 season.