International Leader In Art and Design Chosen to Lead LCAD

LAGUNA BEACH — A global search has resulted in Steven Brittan being named the new president of Laguna College of Art + Design.

The school's board of trustees selected him as their 14th president.

Brittan has amassed more than 30 years of leadership and experience in art and design, within several industries, including academia, government and the corporate commercial sector, according to a recent news release.

Some of his focuses have been on sustainable- and human-centered design.

He has been a principal at several national architectural firms, leading the design of the major building and urban development projects. He was also active in the venture capital community, where he took the time to mentor young entrepreneurs and innovators, the release.

Terry Jones, chair of the LCAD board of trustees, discussed Brittan's joining LCAD.

“Steve is an intentional leader with a commitment to positioning education for social good and leveraging the full potential of creative intelligence,” Jones says. “We engaged in an intensive global search for the role, finding several qualified, talented individuals. But Steve stood out among the others for his breadth and depth of experience, as well as his compatibility with LCAD’s institutional values and artistic identity.”

Brittan is expected to join the LCAD community in mid-September.

He attended Studio Arts College International in Italy as a student. He later became a teacher and a board member there and served as president of that organization for the past five years.

He established several interdisciplinary partnerships for study-abroad students with the Italian fashion industry, including one with the Ferragamo Foundation.

He also expanded partnerships with "premier" U.S. art and design institutions, including Parsons New School, USC and LCAD, according to the release.

“I believe in the power of artists and designers to change the world and make a positive contribution to society by tying together threads of innovation in different disciplines,” Brittan said in the release. “Creative problem solving is particularly important in these challenging times with global climate change and the global pandemic. The educational environment must reflect an ecosystem of diversity, equity and inclusion for true creativity, productivity, and positive change to coexist."

Brittan also holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from Harvard University and served as an assistant professor at Harvard, the Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Cape Town.