ACAD rebranded as Alberta University of the Arts to recognize university designation

The Alberta University of the Arts name and logo were unveiled at a ceremony on Thursday, January 17, 2019

Following it’s official designation as a university in 2018, the post-secondary institution that had been known as the Alberta College of Art and Design has adopted a new name.

On Thursday, the school revealed it would now be known as the Alberta University of the Arts, with a  shortened form of AUArts.

Marlin Schmidt, Alberta’s Minister of Advanced Education, says the redesignation will pay dividends for students following their time at AUArts.

“To be able to graduate from a university and to be able to have that mobility to other institutes of higher learning across the country and around the world,” said Schmidt. “It’s also important for the recognition of the value that we put on arts education.”

The announcement coincided with Alberta’s month of the artist, a recently created celebration of the social and economic value artists bring to the province.