CCA was founded in 1907 by
Frederick Meyer in
Berkeley as the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts during the height of the
Arts and Crafts movement. The Arts and Crafts movement originated in Europe during the late 19th century as a response to the industrial aesthetics of the machine age. Followers of the movement advocated an integrated approach to art, design, and craft. The initial campus was in the "
Studio Building" at 2045
Shattuck Avenue, and they had 43 enrolled students. In 1908 the school was renamed California School of Arts and Crafts. In 1910, the school moved to the site of the former
Berkeley High School building at 2119 Allston Way (at Grove Street, now Martin Luther King Way). After the San Francisco campus opened, the Oakland campus housed the more traditional, craft-based studios such as art glass, jewelry and metal arts, printmaking, painting, sculpture and ceramic programs. In 1936, it became the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC). In 1940 a Master of Fine Arts program was established. In the 1980s, the college began renting various locations in San Francisco, and in 1996 it opened a campus in the city's Design District, converting a former
Greyhound maintenance building.
21st century In 2003, the college changed its name to California College of the Arts, under the leadership of president
Michael S. Roth. In fall 2024, the college completed its expanded campus, adding 82,300 square feet of new space for teaching, making, and presenting art in a continuous indoor-outdoor environment. Clifton Hall, one of the dormitories at the Oakland campus, was bought by the city of Oakland to use for public housing. Other parts of the Oakland campus remained unused in 2024, with plans to create a mixed-use development with hundreds of residential units. In 2025,
Nvidia co-founder and owner,
Jensen Huang matched the $22.5 million already raised in donations, allowing CCA to fill the budget shortfall. In January 2026, it was announced that CCA's campus was purchased in an agreement with
Vanderbilt University. CCA plans to cease operation at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. Vanderbilt plans to start using the campus for San Francisco-based academic programs in the 2027-2028 academic year. == List of presidents ==