By Stuart Emmons

Emmons is a Portland architect who has twice run for Portland City Council.

Oregon College of Art and Craft needs to be saved. It’s not too late. This institution is one of Portland’s gems and a key foundation for the arts in our community. Losing the college would cut to the bone -- it’s impossible to overstate the depth of the damage this action would have on our community.

The Oregon College of Art and Craft’s 16-member board of directors have decided to shut it down forever: To sell the property that was donated by Howard and Jean Vollum specifically for college’s use. To replace the woodshop and kilns with condos. To demolish a place that has been lovingly put together for more than a century and that holds special meaning for so many people.

Many of Portland’s best artisans graduated from the college. The summer “Art Adventures” camp for kids across the city is fantastic. “Journeys in Creativity” was another great program in which Native American youth learned their traditional crafts. Many more could benefit from these programs in the future if we stand up and say ‘no’ to this wrongheaded closure.

The college’s financials aren’t great. That’s not uncommon for small colleges. After decades of profitability, a few bad decisions moved the college into the red for nine years. It’s concerning that the board of directors approved irresponsible budgets for almost a decade and put so much at risk.

But the past is the past and we need to focus on now – on what the future will look like without the college. The dollars needed to save this college are achievable. The alternative is a massive loss to our community, if we turn away and let the Oregon College of Art and Craft close its doors.

For me, the proposed closing is personal. I taught woodworking at the college in my 20s. My craft background has had a huge positive impact on my work as an architect and on how I live. The college’s education is not only about objects, but also about the process; it’s about caring, ethics and beauty.

Every great city has a vibrant arts and craft culture, and schools and colleges are a critical. In Portland, our art and craft worlds have suffered an ongoing erosion. Go to a public school and see how few wood shops are left. The loss of the Museum of Contemporary Craft was a major hit. If we let the college close, the many donors inscribed on the wall in the college’s Vollum building -- and thousands of additional donors -- will completely lose their investment in this nationally recognized school. Tens of thousands of our kids will not be exposed to the making of things. Thousands of future Portland artisans will not be here. Beautifully crafted works made in Portland will not materialize. Portland will lose far more than just a college. We will lose craft. And, we will lose an institution that helps binds us as a community.

I recently talked to an OCAC student in the ceramics studio. A pained expression came over her when I asked her thoughts. She said, “This is devastating.” I couldn’t agree more.

But it does not need to happen. This college can go forward, and can do well. Let’s give it a chance. Let’s reach deep and wide to find the funds to stabilize this college. Let’s find new leadership who can run the college responsibly again. It is imperative that our community rally and save the Oregon College of Art and Craft.