Warrick Carter wears a number of hats. He’s known as “President” or “Doctor” based on his position as the head of Chicago’s burgeoning Columbia College.
However, said Carter in an extended interview, “I always think of myself first as a musician. I was a percussionist in the past, but now, with the influence of jazz that I love, I think of myself as a drummer.”
When he gets the opportunity to play, he prefers the music of the late ‘40s through the ‘70s.
“Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis — those people are the ones who had the greatest influence on my own playing and on my own music,” Carter said.
He also has an additional title of “neighbor.” With his wife, Laurel, he’s now a resident of the Gold Coast and will soon be moving into a new facility, bought by
Columbia, on North LaSalle Street. This is the first time Columbia has ventured north of the river.
“When the college started to search for a new president a couple of years ago, the Board decided that they needed a residence for the President, and that’s what this building will be. There will also be an opportunity for the president to be able to entertain in a variety of configurations,” he said.
One of the things that makes Columbia College unique, Carter noted, has been its reliance on working professionals. The college has 1,252 faculty members, of whom only 270 are full-time.
“Our students get the opportunity of working with those individuals and being instructed by them. This
faculty has its hat on one day in their working field and the next as instructors behind a desk,” Carter said. “Even the full-time faculty are working professionals, and so students come into a learning environment to be instructed by people working in their fields of interest.
“Our challenge is to stay abreast of the developments in media and the arts in terms of where those businesses are going. We expect Columbia to be the leader in what’s
happening. We have some specific needs for the future. We need to build a student center. There’s no single place that is the ‘heart’ of the campus. Our buildings are scattered throughout the south Loop. In fact, Columbia is the largest
landowner in the south Loop, but we have no true sense of campus. We’re looking to build a student center that will serve as a focal point for students.”
What are Columbia’s areas of academic focus?
Carter replies: “We’re the largest film school in the country and probably in the world, and we have continuing needs to expand programs in film studies.
“Our second largest department is in the several elements of our design program. There are about 1500 students in these programs out of a total student body of almost 10,000. But we concentrate on virtually every discipline in the area of the arts.
“We continue to be a Chicago-based institution. But we’ve grown to the point where we are attracting students from all over the country. In fact, about four percent of our students are from outside the country. Our growth over the past decade has been from our ability to attract people from outside commuting distance. As our reputation grows, so does our ability to attract students from all over.”
Another challenge, Carter said, is in the area of dorm facilities. Columbia College can presently house only about 500 students. There’s a joint program between Columbia, DePaul and Roosevelt to build what’s been characterized as a “super-dorm” to house 1,700 students. It’ll be built on State Street between Congress and Harrison and is slated to be finished in the fall of 2004.
“We’ll have 40 percent of the beds in that facility, which will more than double the dorm space we have available,” Carter said.
Asked about Columbia’s ability to compete with larger schools with specialized programs in various arts areas, Carter responded: “We are competing successfully
with other schools that have a more specific academic focus. For example, our film school enrollment is greater than the total enrolled at UCLA, Southern California
and NYU all together. And they consider themselves to be specialists in film studies.
“We’ve been a rather well-kept secret within the City of Chicago and amongst the various philanthropic agencies, but among the students in those areas of the arts that we specialize in, we’re very well known. We’ve tried to keep our tuition low compared with other colleges and universities. There are 19 areas of possible majors for a
Bachelors of Arts and there are BFAs (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in six or seven additional areas. Then, we also
have graduate programs as Master of Arts and Masters of Fine Arts in seven or eight areas.”
Other schools, such as Juilliard, specialize in performing arts only, Carter noted, whereas Columbia is involved in media—music, film, TV, radio, journalism.
“A year ago, we opened a new facility in Los Angeles. Because of the size and needs of our film department we now have what we call ‘A semester in LA.’ A senior film major can spend a semester completing the requirements
there. The facility is located in Studio City on the CBS lot. We’re the only film school to have a permanent facility on a working TV and film lot. About 50 students at a time spend five weeks there, nine to five daily, to complete a full semester’s work.”
On a personal note, Carter has a daughter, Keisha, who last summer married Clarence Thrash. And for fun — you’ll never guess—”I’ve been collecting electric trains since I was four,” Carter said. “They’re ‘027’ and ‘0’ gauge
trains, and right now they’re packed away in boxes. I expect that when we move into the new house,
they’ll get opened and I’ll have a chance to play with them again.
“Music is also a form of fun for me. Music is my vocation, but it’s also my avocation. I play in my basement.”
Carter noted that the planned student center has yet to be named. “There are a number of naming opportunities in the new facility and we’re always involved in fund raising. It’s a worthy cause.”
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