When CalArts approached Lavine, he was a mid-level foundation officer who had taught literature for a spell at the University of Michigan. Steven Lavine in his final days as CalArts' third president - standing before the main building of the campus. In this edited oral history, he reminisces how he battled deficits, rebuilt a shaken campus, opened a downtown performance outpost and contended with the student who showed up at graduation wearing nothing but a snake. Without her, he notes, “I couldn’t have done this.” On several occasions, he refers to “we” rather than “I” - an acknowledgement of the contributions of his wife, artist and writer Janet Sternburg. In the midst of packing, Lavine took time to chat about his years at CalArts. News & World Report.Īt the end of this month, he will hand the reins to his successor, Ravi Rajan, after which he will serve as founding director at the Thomas Mann House, a new center in the writer’s former Pacific Palisades home that will host scholars and journalists. But Lavine piloted the school through those stormy waters, and today CalArts is thriving, with an endowment of $152 million and a ranking that places it among the top 10 fine arts schools in the country, according to U.S. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake rendered the campus uninhabitable. When he took the reins at CalArts in 1988, the school - the experimental arts outpost located on the northern fringes of Los Angeles - was in danger of going bankrupt. Over the course of his long tenure, Lavine has faced triumph and devastation. “After handing out degrees for 28 years,” he says with wistful smile, “I was given an honorary degree as well.” This month, he attended his last CalArts graduation. After 29 years, Steven Lavine, the third president of the California Institute of the Arts, is retiring. Strewn around the room, odds and ends await boxing: a gong and assorted piles of books. The paintings have been removed from the walls and the desktop photos have been wrapped and put away.