Monrovia’s Montecito College of Design Closes without Warning
By Monrovia Weekly
Published: Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Ed Kuckelkorn pictured at the new campus in Monrovia which should have celebrated its one year anniversary this month at that location. The founder of the college has not been seen or heard from since the doors were locked. - Photo by Terry Miller
The empty parking lot at the campus of the Montecito Fine Arts College of Design and a note on the doors leaves a bleak economic picture for students who were enrolled at the school.
The parking lot is completely void of cars at the Montecito Fine Arts College on Huntington Drive in Monrovia. The reason is unclear and no one in the school’s administration seems to be willing to talk about it.
A typed sign on the door of the short-lived Montecito College of Fine Arts and Design in Monrovia reads: All Montecito Classes and Campuses are still closed until further notice. We will not reopen in August as previously thought. Please stand-by until further notice.”
The notice goes on the say (in hurried, handwritten magic marker) that anyone can call (626) 833-7437.
The Monrovia Weekly’s numerous attempts to call this number went un-returned. The founder, Ed Kuckelkorn (as he likes to be called), was not available for comment at press time.
Montecito Fine Arts College of Design was founded in 1977 as an atelier, a studio providing fine art classes to local artists. During the school’s inception, founder Ed Kuckelkorn was focused on teaching painting and design at various colleges and institutions all throughout Southern California, like the Art Center of Pasadena, Brentwood Art Center, and California Design College.
As a result of the success achieved during his professorial role, he decidedly expanded the studio into a school and began offering a broad range of curricula and subsequently changed the name from Montecito Fine Arts Studio to Montecito Fine Arts School. The achieved success of the school, largely due to the fine arts program, inspired the founder to then create and broaden into other professional areas of design, thus resulting in Montecito Fine Arts College of Design.
Montecito Fine Arts originally established itself in Sierra Madre, California, and moved to its Arcadia location over a decade ago. Enjoying the continuing growth of the school and exerting itself as one of the leading art and design schools in the San Gabriel Valley, Montecito Fine Arts expanded its campus and relocated to Monrovia in November 2007.
The Montecito High School of Art, Science and Design closed all facilities indefinitely in the wake of teachers and employees who allegedly complained that they are owed money by the school, according to a local paper.
Monrovia’s Montecito High School campus at 121 E. Huntington Drive opened last year and provided unique arts training.
As an aside, there are “For Sale/Lease” signs posted on Huntington and Myrtle announcing availability of huge space in the same complex that currently also house Mt. Sierra College. Rumors of the pending closure of that college could not be confirmed.
The Montectio School of Design web site is partially functioning, however when many links are clicked one gets a “forbidden” or other error messages.
Ironically, Montecito College of Design was named Small Business of the Year by Senator Bob Huff:
The following is a snippet from Huff’s website:
Montecito Fine Arts College of Design in Arcadia named Small Business of the Year
I am pleased to announce that I have selected Montecito Fine Arts College of Design in Arcadia as my Small Business of the Year. I had the privilege of touring the facility last fall and I was very impressed with the school and their involvement in the community.
The Montecito Fine Arts College of Design along with the Montecito School Children’s Center, offers a wide range of arts and graphics education for children ages 4 to 12 as well as teens and adults alike. The Children’s Center in particular allows children to explore and develop their creative abilities, offering many opportunities to expand and grow into the curriculum at the College of Design.
With President Ed Kuckelkorn at the helm of the Montecito Fine Arts divisions, it is no surprise that the business has blossomed into the success it is today.
When I visited the school, I saw first hand the commitment of President Kuckelkorn and his entire staff and faculty in making the Montecito Fine Arts School Children’s Center a place where children can truly grow.The three schools have 1,000 students enrolled and employ over 100 staff and faculty with locations in Arcadia, Brea and Monrovia. President Ed Kuckelkorn is involved in the Brea and Monrovia Chambers of Commerce, works closely with the Chinese American Business Alliance, and generously gave out $750,000 in scholarships last year.
The phrase “If a student fails, the teacher will be terminated” is not only their philosophy but policy. It is this dedication to the students and enthusiasm for arts education that makes this business the unequivocal choice as my Small Business of the Year.
Ed Kuckelkorn was honored in Sacramento on May 26th at an awards luncheon sponsored by the California Small Business Association and other business organizations.
Story and Photos by Terry Miller
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