Jan 27, 2026
Dear Pratt Community,
I am pleased to welcome you back for what I hope will be an extraordinary spring semester, made even more significant by the investigations you pursue, the work you present, and the collaborations you build with one another.
We start this semester at a very challenging moment. We continue to be concerned for everyone’s safety and well-being in our community and across our country. We are also aware of the many issues that higher education is facing, with consequences that could be profound and enduring.
As our newly minted mission statement says:
“Pratt Institute educates artists and creative professionals who shape the world we live in.”
We are a community of explorers, makers, and thinkers working together to engage the challenges of the moment with rigor and purpose, to define a sustainable and remarkable future. Today, as cultural, environmental, and political conditions grow more complex, our mission is not optional—it is essential. Pratt is our place to respond to and remake the world together. We do so through our values of academic freedom and integrity, the atmosphere of mutual respect and shared humanity we create, the safety and support systems we provide for one another, and our unwavering commitment to the transformative power of higher education and creative exploration.
This semester, in reviews, open studios, and thesis exhibitions, your reimagining and shaping of our world will inspire us, test ideas in unfamiliar contexts, and navigate differences. We will see in this work the evidence of your critical thinking, generosity, and ethical awareness, rooted in local and global sensibilities. I am especially grateful to faculty and staff for your commitment to this institution and your time and effort to transform this moment into lasting opportunity for students, higher education, and society.
Pratt’s new strategic plan, “Setting the Standard ,” was approved by the Board of Trustees in October, and the work continues, now focused on amplifying the growth strategies—academic pathways, financial sustainability, and facilities and technology. This is a moment to think big and imagine new futures. Committees for each of the strategic plan’s growth strategies have been meeting since November to develop specific goals and initiatives. Provost Donna Heiland will lead an academic planning retreat this week to consider the work done to date and to collaborate with schools and departments on the development of shared academic priorities and proposed actions. Vice Presidents Cathy Kenny and Joe Hemway will continue to lead the planning sessions for the financial sustainability and facilities and technology growth strategies.
This spring, our campuses will host a variety of events that in many ways represent the future worlds we are imagining. The Research Open House will be held on April 17 at Pratt’s Research Yard, our hub of innovation, where faculty work with students, community members, and industry partners to develop solutions to our city’s and our world’s greatest issues. There will also be additional opportunities to participate in the nationally recognized program Perspectives, which we launched last fall.
Other events include the exhibition RugLife, opening next week at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Critical Conversations with Liz Collins on February 11, the School of Architecture event series including the annual Syrop Lecture featuring Fonna Forman and Teddy Cruz on February 26, and the upcoming MLK Jr. Legacy Week events. Many more events are posted at Pratt.edu/events.
The vast majority of events are Pratt Shows, celebrating the work of our graduating students, from the weekly exhibitions that open on Mondays beginning in February to the Design and Fashion Shows, InfoShow, film and animation screenings, readings of creative works , and more through May. These thesis presentations, representing years of work by our graduates and their faculty, will evidence the exploration, inquiry, and creative solutions you bring to our world’s greatest challenges.
To culminate this academic year, at Commencement on May 19, the class of 2026 will walk across the Radio City Music Hall stage, with their proud families, faculty, and friends there to support them and celebrate with us.
Finally, I’d like to thank our staff in Facilities Management, Residential Life, Dining Services, and Campus Safety for their tireless care for our campus community during the snowstorm.
I look forward to the ambitious semester ahead.
Wishing you a great semester,
Frances Bronet