The California Institute of the Arts unanimously voted in its first Asian American president on Tuesday.
Ravi Rajan, an Indian American musician and the current head of the School of Arts at Purchase College, State University New York, will be CalArts’ fourth president.
Rajan told the Los Angeles Times that he’s excited about taking the reigns of the school because it is a prestigious institute that has historically influenced artistic innovation and culture.
“That’s what’s hugely exciting about this opportunity,” Rajan told the L.A. Times. “And at this moment, it’s more important than ever. Our immediate politics, our understanding of our differences — we’ve gone to a different place. It’s at this open moment where we are going to define a new set of rules, and I think culture-makers need to be there defining the rules.”
Rajan, the son of Indian immigrants, was born in Seattle and raised in Oklahoma — a background he said played a pivotal role in convincing him that the arts are vital in bringing diverse people together.
“Having a home culture be so different from the outside culture, the arts played an important role for me,” Rajan said. “I studied photography and music as a kid — important places for us to share who we are.”
He went on to the University of Oklahoma, where he studied education, and then Yale University, where he earned a degree in music as a trumpet player.
Rajan, who will begin his tenure in June, will replace longtime president Steven Lavine and said that he is looking forward to living in California. “The sunshine, the tacos, the culture,” he said. “And this energy of being able to create something new.”
