While the San Francisco Art Institute was in a budget surplus and was expecting more surplus, the SFAI Administration "led" by Chris Bratton laid off 9 tenured faculty members -- our teachers!!  The SFAI Administration claimed "financial exigency" in the layoff notices, a claim that seems bogus now that we know about SFAI's financials and SFAI's boastful announcement of its new "School of Design."  A Grievance Committee unanimously concluded that the layoffs violated the faculty contract in multiple ways and recommended reinstatement of our teachers.  In response, Bratton said he would reinstate the professors if SFAI received over $400,000.  (What a shameful use of intimidation, force, and undue power.)  Well, we learned that the faculty offered on more than one occasion to take salary and benefit cuts.  However, Bratton has not reinstated our teachers yet.  Also, SFAI students continue to give SFAI millions of dollars in tuition (about 80% of SFAI's revenue). 

We continue to demand that the SFAI Administration respect its students and its teachers and that our laid off teachers be reinstated and brought back into our classrooms and our studios.   

The video above Abuse of Power is by Marynell Maloney.