An Interview with Tom Schutte, Ph.D., President, Pratt Institute
by Howard Pitsch
Q. How have Pratt's attendance figures fared recently, and have tuition rates changed?
Enrollment has hovered at about 4,700 for the past five years. Tuition has gone up about 5.5 to 6 percent each year, a rate similar to other schools. That is what we need to maintain our operations.
Q. Does Pratt now rely more/less on students from overseas?
The Institute has enrolled more international students over the last few years as part of our strategic plan to become more national and international while continuing to build quality.
Q. Has Pratt had to lay off any employees or faculty?
No, and the employment of part-time faculty has not been affected by this economic climate, although these numbers do change with each semester.
Q. In dollar terms, what does Pratt put into the surrounding
community?
Pratt employs approximately 1,400 faculty and staff members, and pays more than $55 million in salaries and benefits that generates more than $12 million in local and state taxes. By conservative estimates, Pratt purchases some $5 million in goods and services from local businesses. They in turn employ more citizens who purchase goods and services from other local businesses.
Q. Any idea of how many of Pratt's total faculty/staff live in Brooklyn?
Of the 600 current full-time faculty, 336 live in Brooklyn and of the 836 part-time faculty this Spring, 333 live in Brooklyn. There is a great Pratt presence in Brooklyn outside of campus.
Q. Are there any near-term expansion plans for Pratt?
After a thorough analysis, Pratt's Trustees and administration is moving forward on a 120,000 square-foot "green" Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) gold-certified academic building at 524 Myrtle Avenue. The total cost is $64 million, to be financed by the sale of New York State Dormitory Authority bonds.
Q. Has the endowment suffered during this recession?
Pratt, like other institutions, is not immune to this economic climate. Our endowment has dropped, but we are ensuring that the Institute prospers in the years ahead, and have introduced belt-tightening measures to help curb costs.
Q. What are your yardsticks or criteria for leadership in the immediate future?
Pratt is committed to making positive social and environmental changes and to educate students, not only as talented artists and designers, but to be great problem solvers. We'll stress more interdisciplinary programs that expand students' ways of thinking. From that, Pratt will attract an increasingly talented international pool of applicants, many of whom will go on to live in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. I see it translating into a strong, talented, and loyal community base.
Q. In your shepherding of MARP (Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Program), which has so well helped transform Myrtle Avenue, are you optimistic that such rejuvenation will continue?
We’ve recently seen new businesses such as Walgreen's, Clinton Hill Animal Clinic, Sandbox Pack & Ship, and Domino's Pizza open along the avenue, with more on the way. MARP, under the leadership of Executive Director Blaise Backer, is raising funds to provide grants to property owners and businesses to help restore historic buildings and build out retail space. MARP also aims to create a new pedestrian plaza for neighborhood residents between Grand and Emerson. All of this, and the addition of 524 Myrtle Avenue, should help create more ties to and growth for the community.
Q. How do you prophesy Pratt's place in the FG/CH district a decade from now?
Pratt will be a preeminent school of art and design that draws the best international student and faculty talent. The Institute will be recognized as a place for positive environmental change, and will serve as a model of sustainability. Positive change at Pratt will translate to the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill community and the economic and cultural fabric of Brooklyn.
Any other thoughts, pro or con, about FG/CH, and how you fit into it? About President Obama's approach to our economy?
Pratt Institute has been a part of the Clinton Hill neighborhood since 1887. We invest in it so that it will continue to flourish. The new building at Myrtle testifies to this. Along with the Prattstore in 2005, it is the second Pratt structure on Myrtle in the past four years. And certainly, Pratt is training all of its students- the next generation of problem solvers- to "think green", a direct link to President Obama's commitment to new jobs, alternative energy and the environment.
--All Hope and Vision interviews are by Howard Pitsch who lives in Fort Greene.