Hasta La Ideas

The trouble began in 2014. What was then called the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, established by the American architect in 1940, received some unwelcome news: The Higher Learning Commission, an agency that accredits colleges and universities, had implemented new rules that would negate that school’s accreditation.

Without that accreditation, graduates of the school would lose their eligibility to take the Architectural Registration Examination; in other words, they could not become licensed architects.

The new rule the HLC was implementing was that “accredited institutions must be separately incorporated from sponsoring organizations,” John Hausaman, the HLC’s public information officer, told USA Today.

Taliesin West, site of the school’s Arizona campus

Since the school relied on the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for funding, incorporating separately meant they’d have to sever the Foundation’s governing link, while still needing to retain the Foundation’s cash flow for operations. Unsurprisingly, FLWF President Sean Malone found this unpalatable. “The school would not only have full control of the money and the governing, but the foundation would be required to guarantee well over seven figures [to keep the school running] and have to guarantee this funding with no direct government or operational control,” Malone said at the time.

The school complied, managing to raise $2 million from outside contributors and meeting the HLC’s 2017 deadline to split from the Foundation. They also changed their name to the School of Architecture at Taliesin as part of the split.

Taliesin West, site of the school’s Arizona campus

In my understanding, this split did not preclude the flow of money from the Foundation to the school, just the decision-making aspects of what could be done with the money depending on whose account it was in. Despite the $2 million in donations the school had managed to secure, running an architecture school is expensive, and it appears they were still propped up by the Foundation. As ArchPaper reported, “As part of the agreement [to split], the foundation will loan the school classroom and residential facilities at Taliesin and Taliesin West. The FLWF will put $1.4 million over four years towards the operating costs of the school, in addition to a $7 million investment over the same period.”

That arrangement was apparently unsustainable. Yesterday Archinect broke the news that the school would shut down in June, following an rift with the Foundation:

An announcement from the school states: “The School of Architecture at Taliesin will cease operations after this semester, after a gut-wrenching decision by its Governing Board on Saturday. The School of Architecture at Taliesin was not able to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to keep the school open.”

Here’s what the rift was about, according to Arizona newspaper The Scottsdale Independent:

Foundation officials say the School of Architecture “unequivocally did not have a sustainable business model.”

As a result, leaders of the separate boards of the two organizations had developed a proposal that would have allowed the school to continue operations on the Foundation’s two campuses — use of which was donated to the School of Architecture — by the Foundation since it became an independent organization — through the end of July, 2021.

During that transition period, the organizations would have worked collaboratively to develop alternative programs for which accreditation was not needed.

“The Foundation had reached an agreement with the leaders of the SoAT Board that would have allowed for second- and third-year students to complete their education at Taliesin and Taliesin West, and we are disappointed that it was not approved by the full SoAT Board,” said Stuart Graff, president and CEO of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

However, Foundation officials say in light of the SoAT announcement, the foundation will maintain and expand its impact on the field of architecture and design by advancing Mr. Wright’s legacy through its educational programs, K-12 through adult ongoing education.

So it looks like Frank Lloyd Wright’s teachings will continue to be spread; they just won’t have any official, on-paper value.

As for the current, final crop of 30 SoAT students, the school is reportedly negotiating with The Design School at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design to allow the students to transfer their credits and earn their degrees there.

Taliesin West, site of the school’s Arizona campus