Education Matters: Business of Art and Design at Ringling College

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | October 2021

Since 1931, Ringling College has been offering a first-rate education to artists. The college’s goal has always been to do more than just help students become better artists—they want those artists to find lucrative, ongoing work opportunities, too.

The recruiters who regularly came to campus to hire Ringling College talent started to say the same thing. They were desperate to find individuals who, while not full-time artists, were nonetheless creative and understood how artists and designers worked. The companies these recruiters represented yearned for people who had the ability to manage projects, work with clients and customers, and also guide creative teams. Graduates from traditional business programs weren’t fitting the bill.

In response to this industry demand, Ringling College created the Business of Art and Design minor in 2005. This new minor was deeply informed by extensive alumni data and feedback, and it was designed to provide Ringling’s art and design students with the basic business knowledge and skills they needed to make more informed career decisions and thrive as practicing professionals.

Due to the success and popularity of the Business minor, a “concept development team” was formed in 2006 to explore the possibility of adding Business of Art and Design (BOAD) as a full academic major. After two years of extensive research, the major was launched—the first of its kind in the entire US.

Kathleen Sobr, the current Business Department Head and a member of its first group of graduates herself, explains the major as one that “integrates art, design, and business management to prepare students for management and leadership positions in the creative industries—in media, entertainment, marketing, advertising, design, arts, and cultural businesses. Projects in these industries are increasingly complex and require a creative approach to management. They demand professionals that can think both creatively and critically.”

Unlike traditional business degrees, Business graduates learn to think like a designer and develop an understanding of the creative process. To this end, Business courses are situated in a creative industry context with case studies built around design management, advertising, animation and live action media production, and art and design entrepreneurship. The goal is to have learning that mirrors the real world as much as possible, which often happens through hands-on collaboration with students in other disciplines at Ringling College. These unique interdisciplinary experiences give students the ability to work with artists and designers and understand their role and value in the creative process. 

“A class project might include students from Graphic Design, Film, Photography, and Business,” Sobr explains. “As teams form, students step into the role aligned with their discipline. Business students are the strategists and producers or production managers on these teams. The work they do informs and guides the efforts of their team. And through these projects, they gain resume-worthy experiences that illustrate to everyone involved how integral these roles are on the team.” She notes that Ringling College’s creative community provides the perfect environment for this sort of work. “It’s a real differentiator for the program.”

“Many of our graduates work as producers and production managers in gaming and animation, including DreamWorks, Netflix, and JibJab Studios,” Sobr says. “We love seeing alum transition from production assistant, to production coordinator, to producer, to senior producer, and onward as their careers progress. It’s so inspiring for current students to see as well.”

While Sobr herself is a Business of Art and Design success story, a more recent example is Ellie Winslow, last year’s Trustee Scholar—an honor given to a single outstanding senior in each Ringling College major. Winslow attended Ringling College’s summer Precollege program in 2016 and was inspired by a BOAD student teaching assistant. 

“I always knew that my interests were business and art, and when looking at schools it felt like I needed to choose between the two of them,” Winslow admits. “If I chose a traditional business school, I would be letting go of my passions, and if I chose a traditional art school, I would be ignoring the way my brain naturally processes information. When I found the Business program, I realized I didn’t have to choose between them. I could use both of them to create something uniquely me.” 

Winslow now works as a strategist at a marketing agency where she helps ethical brands stand out. “My goals are to be a part of a larger conversation that impacts consumer and environmental well-being.” 

Like Winslow, Ringling College BOAD graduates are finding their skills in high demand. On the marketing and strategy side, their graduates are working as brand strategists, creative directors, and marketing managers at companies such as Meow Wolf, Game Developers Conference, Deloitte Digital, and even locally at Art Ovation Hotel, the Dali Museum, Studio BCC, and Feld Entertainment. Other graduates have found work in talent management or design resource management at production studios or on a freelance basis in the film industry. 

At the core of the major is Sobr’s educational philosophy: Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. 

“This is even more relevant today as the higher education landscape evolves,” she says. “The Business of Art and Design faculty are amazing, developing new approaches to teaching and learning each semester. We are constantly revisiting the question, ‘What can we offer students in the classroom that can’t be learned or experienced on YouTube or other free platforms?’” 

Sobr and her colleagues strive to impart a bias toward action. “We encourage our students to make moves—show us you mean business, show up with ideas, passion, and initiative, and we will meet you more than halfway to make those ideas happen.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Ringling College of Art and Design’s  Business of Art and Design major and minor, please visit www.ringling.edu/business-of-art-and-design