Hollywood is known for a lot of things movie star glitz in the past and, recently, nightclubs but education isn’t one of them.
But that may change soon.
This week, a coalition of business groups plans to kick off an initiative highlighting the area’s surprisingly large cluster of postsecondary schools, which specialize in all aspects of the arts and entertainment industry.
“We’re looking at branding Hollywood as a focal point for education,” said Kerry Morrison, executive director of the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance, which is supporting the initiative along with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not something that people would have normally associated with Hollywood.”
Hollywood U, as the effort is known, also will promote collaboration between the schools including the Los Angeles Film School, Musician’s Institute, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and Napoleon Perdis Makeup Academy on matters of mutual interest.
One of those matters is dormitory space. Just one of the 16 schools participating in the effort offers student housing, Morrison said. “Our vision,” she said, “would be that of a (joint) Hollywood dorm. There’s a huge need for student housing.”
Antoine Ibrahim, a spokesman for Los Angeles Film School, said high housing costs can discourage students from attending.
“To get somebody from out of state or even out of the vicinity, housing is a big obstacle,” he said. Creating affordable student housing “will do nothing but increase our out-of-state enrollment.”
The idea for Hollywood U was first floated several years ago, but gathered steam recently after Emerson College, a performing arts school in Boston, announced it would build an extension campus on Sunset Boulevard.
Emerson, which typically sends students to Los Angeles for a live-study program during their senior years, turned heads after announcing the $85 million project and the hiring of star architect Thom Mayne to do the design work.
Other than housing, Morrison said the participating schools are interested in a shuttle bus system for students.
“There’s a lot of potential to weave these schools together,” she said.
