In this episode of Best of Success, RC Group Publisher Jill Bloom speaks with our Legal Insight columnist Trent Cotney of Adams & Reese. Here, he talks about a trip to a premier school that instructs the next wave of classically trained arts in the building trades.

Four Year College for the Creative Mindset

RC Group Publisher Jill Bloom talks with Legal Insight columnist Trent Cotney about his recent visit to the American College of Building Arts, the only U.S. college combining traditional building trades training with a liberal arts curriculum.

Trent experienced some exciting things recently at the American College of Building Arts. Cotney has been associated with the National Slate Association for several years, and the group just had its meetings in Charleston, where it visited a unique school, the American College of Building Arts.

The American College of the Building Arts is the only college in the United States that fully integrates professional training in the traditional building trades with a liberal arts core curriculum.

Students study humanistic traditions like architecture, history and English; practical skills like math, foreign language and science; and creative skills like drawing and drafting. Together, these disciplines develop the creative thinking and problem-solving skills that great artisans need. Students earn a four-year baccalaureate degree in specializations such as architectural carpentry, classical architecture & design, plaster, architectural stone, timber framing and more.

Classes in the traditional liberal arts are integrated with historic preservation, drawing and drafting, architectural history and design, material science, and construction management. In addition to the liberal arts classes that most traditional colleges have, ACBA's students spend two-and-a-half days each week in apprentice labs learning the artistry and hands-on skills in their craft.

“We had the opportunity to view what students are working on—but here’s the interesting thing: they work on a piece, and that was someone’s project throughout the whole school. I had a chance to talk to the kids learning this incredible craftsmanship that will get snatched up not only here in the States but across the pond..

“I imagine there are other schools like this but this is incredible.”

On the group’s second day, I had the opportunity to tour the facility and speak with the professors. These guys are the cream of the crop, Cotney says. Some kids come in not knowing much, but they’re creating something extraordinary in their fourth year. It’s a relatively small school, but the people there are engaged. You can see the excitement on the students’ faces.