NEW DEAN HELPS STUDENTS SUCCEED

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Riverside resident Thomas Bustamante has been promoted to Dean of Student Affairs, a new position at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (http://www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire). He previously served as the Director of Student Affairs.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, in San Bernardino, offers degrees in such creative careers as Graphic Design, Interior Design, Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, Interactive Media Design, Media Arts & Animation and Game Art & Design.

“The Art Institute helps students find careers in fields which they are passionate about,” says President Byron Chung. “We want our students to succeed in the classroom as well as in their personal and professional lives.”

As Dean of Student Affairs, Bustamante, with a staff of three, oversees student personal development, behavior and adaptation issues, student leadership, time management, housing, student clubs, campus activities and even carpools.

Bustamante has a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in Urban Planning, with a focus in Social Policy and Community Development, from the University of Southern California, (USC). Bustamante is currently working on a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from USC.

He previously worked for USC in the Greek Life office and with the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. He joined The Art Institute in February 2006.

Bustamante said he is excited to take on the new challenge of being Dean of Student Affairs. “We have more than 700 students here,” he says. “It’s our vision to develop a feeling of community and belonging at The Art Institute. We have students from Barstow to Temecula and beyond, and the Student Affairs task is to bring them all together in a unified, almost family, environment.”

He adds, “Our students are unique; in most respects they’re artists, and in more traditional academic situations they often will be overlooked. Not here.”

For more information about The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire call (909) 915-2100.

It is not too late to start classes at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. The Winter Quarter starts on January 7, 2008. Classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students. For more information of a personal tour call the campus at (909) 915-2100 or go online to www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

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The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with 34 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. For more information, call The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire at (909) 915-2100 or visit www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.