Each month the Arts Commission recognizes individuals or groups who have made a significant contribution to the artistic and cultural life of the Santa Clarita Valley. At the meeting on March 9, 2017, the Arts Commission recognized Dr. Steven Lavine for his twenty-nine years as the President of California Institute of the Arts.
During his tenure as President, Dr. Lavine has provided exceptional leadership and dedication to CalArts, which under his guidance has become one of the most recognized arts institutes in the world. The Institute’s annual fundraising has tripled and its endowment has grown by 476%. Major endowment gifts led to the naming of The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance and The Herb Albert School of Music on the school’s campus.
President Lavine has led CalArts with a strategic and creative vision that has included initiatives that have expanded not only the reputation of the institute but also the opportunities for the students. To build a bridge to the vibrant art scene in downtown Los Angeles, Steven led the effort to build the internationally renowned Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater, or REDCAT, which opened in 2003 in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Recognizing the need for arts education to begin at an early age, he founded the CalArts Community Arts Partnership or CAP program. This award winning program, which serves as a national model in arts education, brings the arts to underserved students throughout Los Angeles County, including several programs in partnership with Santa Clarita schools, social service nonprofits, and the City.
One of President Lavine’s biggest leadership challenges came with the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which caused extensive damage to the Valencia campus. He led the effort to raise $42 million to rebuild the campus and was able to reopen in just eight months.
President Lavine has also represented CalArts and Santa Clarita on many regional and national arts efforts, including serving on the boards of the American Council on Education, Americans for the Arts, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, KCRW-FM, Idyllwild Arts, and on Barack Obama’s Arts Policy Committee. He also co-chaired the Blue Ribbon panel that led to a major ten-year investment in arts education by the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has also demonstrated a commitment to supporting cultural exchanges as a way to build bridges between countries, for which he was honored with the Federal Republic of Germany’s highest honor, the Cross of Merit.
As the Arts Commission Chair shared in his comments, “Steven’s most important role as President has been his commitment and belief in empowering students to realize their creative potential, and anyone who has heard him speak about the need to support and grow young artists easily recognizes why he has been so successful leading CalArts for almost thirty years and why the students and faculty of the institute think so highly of him. It is impossible to measure the impact that he has had on Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, and the entire arts world, but it is easy to realize that he deserves to be recognized and honored for that impact.”
