Stephen Beal Endowed Scholarship

Celebrate Steve's 25-year tenure and dedication to CCA by sharing your memories, stories, photos and words of appreciation on the Steve Beal Celebration submission page.

With generous community support, CCA will create the Stephen Beal Endowed Scholarship to celebrate President Beal’s 25 years of leadership at California College of the Arts. Once established, the scholarship will assist CCA students with financial need working toward their degrees in any program or major offered at the college. 

As President Beal prepares to retire later this year, CCA looks back on his long tenure distinguished by visionary leadership and notable achievement. He led an unprecedented expansion of the college's programs and facilities, the implementation of key academic initiatives, the unification of operations, design and construction of an exciting expanded campus in San Francisco, and the largest fundraising campaign in CCA history – all while ensuring CCA sustained its core mission and values. Thanks to President Beal, CCA honored its rich history even as it evolved to meet the needs of current and future students as a national leader in arts education.

Highlights of his successful tenure at CCA include the creation and implementation of a series of comprehensive strategic and visioning plans; expansion of the San Francisco campus into an energy efficient complex with completion of campus-adjacent residence halls (opened in 2018 and 2021) housing 700 students; groundbreaking on the Studio Gang designed Double Ground facility offering 100,000 sq. ft. of studio, classroom, and community space; nearly doubling student enrollment; and establishment of new academic programs. Since 2008, he and the board of trustees have raised over $140M in funds including $120M for the Maker/Meets/Future Campaign supporting student scholarships and the campus and program expansion in San Francisco. 

He accomplished all this while inspiring and sustaining a steady cohort of talented staff and academic leaders. Throughout, he ensured the CCA community was unwavering in its focus on enhancing the educational experience for our students and supporting faculty excellence. 

This scholarship will ensure generations of talented students will benefit not only from the lasting impact of President Beal’s leadership, but also from this fund in his honor. Please join us in celebrating his meaningful legacy at CCA with a gift to the Stephen Beal Endowed Scholarship.