CalArts President Booed During Commencement Speech
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) President Ravi S. Rajan was loudly booed by students during the school’s commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, as protesters held signs reading “Hold the Admin Accountable” and “Save Our Faculty & Staff.” The protest referenced CalArts’s multi-million-dollar budget deficit and cuts affecting staff and faculty, amid broader dissatisfaction with the administration’s handling of finances. Hyperallergic reported that at the end of 2024 more than 75% of staff announced their intention to form an employee union, citing low pay, heavier workloads, and job insecurity, and that enrollment declined from 1,500 to roughly 1,200 according to a 2025 letter from the Office of the President. Board of trustees chair Charmaine Jefferson joined Rajan onstage and asked students to let him finish, while a CalArts spokesperson said the school “values free expression and critical inquiry.” Faculty have also criticized proposed reductions, including a plan described at a March rally as a $5 million cut to faculty and associated staff positions over two years through layoffs and non-renewals.
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This story was covered in Restitution Returns, Museums Under Legal Fire