LCAD President, Steve Brittan, talks about the four keys to educating your workforce for the creative economy.
Office of the President
About the President
Steve Brittan – President + CEO
Throughout his career in college education, commercial architecture, and local government, Steve brings extensive leadership experience in the intersection of art and design. His innovative and forward-thinking approach to the environmental, economic, social, and technological impacts on the arts has gained him recognition as a designer, author, and speaker. Steve led the design of multiple award-winning buildings and urban developments in the US and abroad. He has served on academic and corporate boards, design jury panels, and mentored technology start-ups. His expertise in sustainable urbanization, technology and design and art and architecture education has been shared in publications, speaking engagements on podcasts, conferences, and panel discussions.
He taught art and architecture at institutions including Columbia University, RISD, Boston Architectural College, and Harvard University, where he earned his Master’s in Architecture. Steve is passionate about practice-based learning and established multi-disciplinary collaborations for students and faculty with design industry partners and private art institutions.
to the lcad community
Message from the President
We are at a critical moment in human history where creativity and ingenuity are needed most. It is a moral imperative for each and every one of us to rise to the occasion, to problem-solve, constructively disrupt, and innovate with the collective purpose of making the world a better place. As a new member of the LCAD community, I look forward to leveraging the abilities, talents, and passions of our creatives in every corner of our campus.
To prepare our students for success, we must constantly evaluate the ways we teach and learn. At the same time, we need to invigorate and strengthen the connection between our learning institutions and our professional workplaces. Conventional structures for learning must continue to be interrogated and disrupted, which takes fortitude, courage, and willpower to remain relevant to the issues of our day. Large and small companies alike are also adapting to seismic changes in commerce, technology, production, and values. Silos between disciplines and skills just don’t cut it anymore. They are dissolving as we speak. Look at any successful entity and you will see a plethora of skills, disciplines, and mindsets working collaboratively. Pressure is also mounting for big business to be socially aware, incorporating a moral and ethical purpose into what they do. Our learning institutions should be no different.
Recent global events have irrevocably changed life as we know it, and life as we will know it. We all need to vigorously pivot to a different, more sustainable, resilient and socially responsible way of living. As we build capacity for our art and design students to think critically and act responsibly, we will continue to engender a deep conscience in our ability as a community of educators and students to positively and creatively improve our trajectory.
Steve Brittan
President | CEO
Laguna College of Art + Design
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