The school announced Buchman’s departure on March 29.
During his tenure, ArtCenter raised $124 million, increased annual donor scholarships by 35% and expanded enrollment 32% to nearly 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students.
Buchman said his goals for the final 15 months of his tenure include safely bringing students, faculty and staff back to campus and establishing a two-year agenda for ArtCenter.
“My time at the college has represented, without question, the peak of my professional life, and I will be forever grateful to this remarkable community for the opportunity to serve as its president,” Buchman said in a statement.
He joined ArtCenter 12 years ago after serving as president of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco.
Since then, the board of trustees has awarded $69.5 million to support scholarships, student services, endowment and capital projects. The school also increased economic diversity grants by 115% and saw a 12% increase in giving for scholarship awards overall.
In addition, ArtCenter also provided $9 million in tuition reduction grants to assist students facing pandemic-related financial challenges.
Under Buchman’s watch, the school added an undergraduate degree in interaction design and graduate degrees in environmental design and graphic design, among other programs.
