Nashville-headquartered Vanderbilt University announced plans to establish an academic presence in San Francisco through the acquisition of the campus of the California College of the Arts (CCA).
The financial aspects of the deal were not disclosed. CCA is planning to wind down its operations during the 2026-2027 academic year, with Vanderbilt beginning classes in the 2027-2028 academic year.
The transaction follows the university’s recent expansions in New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Vanderbilt expects the new San Francisco to serve about 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students and support sustained faculty, staff and academic activity. Vanderbilt will honor CCA’s history with a California College of the Arts Institute at Vanderbilt, which will include the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts.
“San Francisco offers an extraordinary environment for learning at the intersection of innovation, creativity and technology, and it provides an unparalleled setting for Vanderbilt to shape the future of higher education,” said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. “By establishing a significant full-time presence here, Vanderbilt is expanding the ways our students and faculty engage with the world’s most innovative cities and advancing our core mission of education and discovery. We are grateful to Mayor Lurie for his leadership and support, and we look forward to being a long-term partner in San Francisco as Vanderbilt continues to grow its reach and impact. At the same time, we recognize the enduring contributions of the California College of the Arts and are committed to honoring and celebrating the creative legacy the CCA community has built over more than a century.”
Photo: The campus of California College for the Arts
