A 77-year-old Philadelphia art school closed suddenly after several years of expansion under a for-profit company

Hussian College has a long history in Philadelphia, which recently came to an abrupt end when the for-profit company that owns the school announced it was shutting down.

Staff received short notice of the school’s closure. Joshua Figuli, Hussian’s chief executive, reportedly notified employees via email on May 26 that “today ... will be the final day of employment for many of you.” In the email, made public by Republic Report in June, Figuli apologized for sending the notice late in the evening on the Friday before a holiday weekend.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry posted a notification last week that Hussian had eliminated 23 jobs at the Philadelphia campus because of the school’s closure in June. (Federal law requires employers to post a WARN notice at least 60 days before a closing or mass layoff of 50 or more people.)

Beth Shapiro, who was director of the bachelor of fine arts program at Hussian from September 2022 until April, said she learned shortly after she was hired that the school was struggling and needed to improve enrollment numbers.

The college received a systemwide warning in June 2022 by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, related to student achievement concerns.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Hussian’s Philadelphia campus had 71 undergraduate students, but Shapiro said it was less than 60. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, there were over 100 students.

Shapiro said the 23 people from the WARN notice would not have included adjunct professors. Shapiro said another group of employees was laid off earlier this year, and she expressed concerns shortly afterward, and then she was let go, she said.

Figuli’s email told employees that “lingering effects of COVID on the industry and our institution coupled with the exacerbating effects of unfortunate decisions by former management have left Hussian in an untenable circumstance.”

He said the school calendar would be amended to create a summer break and that “a contingent of staff and faculty” would be furloughed for that time, returning on June 12 to help with student transitions. But according to a report by Higher Ed Dive, which covers the higher education industry, classes never actually resumed.

Figuli hadn’t been in his position long. He took over for former CEO Jeremiah Staropoli the same week he announced to staff that the college would be closing. “I wish I was making my first all staff communication to you under different circumstances,” the email to staff and faculty had said.

Joshua Figuli and his father, Hussian chairman David Figuli, are both listed as directors on the website of EdCell Education Group, which lists Hussian College as one of its affiliates. Joshua Figuli did not respond to a request for comment.

The Hussian School of Art was founded in 1946 by Philadelphia Museum of Art lecturer John Hussian.

Hussian sold the school in the 1970s to Ronald Dove and a business partner. Dove also taught at Hussian and served in several administrative roles until he sold the school in 2011. Pennsylvania Department of State business records show that’s when Joshua Figuli became associated with the business.

Hussian’s bachelor of fine arts degree program was approved in 2014 and the school became known as Hussian College in 2015. The Philadelphia campus, which had been in the Bourse Building since 2008, moved to 1500 Spring Garden Street in 2017.

Under the new ownership, the Hussian brand expanded to other states. The Tennessee and Ohio campuses came from a 2018 acquisition of Daymar College. The Los Angeles location had previously been known as Studio School, and became part of Hussian in 2014.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has an information page available online for students affected by the school’s closure, encouraging bachelor of fine arts students to connect with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts or the University of the Arts about completing their academic programs. “The college is in the process of determining a list of partner institutions and is working with a consultant to provide this information to all affected students,” the site says.

“It is heartbreaking for these students who have put all this time and energy in,” said Shapiro.