Modern Los Angeles residents are very familiar with the Brooks Institute, a for-profit higher education institution specializing in visual arts in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. I-los-angeles will tell you more about the history of the establishment and its closure.
How and when was the Brooks Institute of Photography founded?
In 1949, Ernest Brooks Sr., a World War II veteran, arrived in the small seaside town of Santa Barbara (California). He rented a small office that was located above a bakery and began to recruit students for training.
There were just 30 of them at the start, all of whom were veterans who had recently come home. Over time, the training office soon expanded into a campus building. Think of a stunning estate in the Montecito hills. The school campus, as well as Ernest’s family home, were both located at David Grey’s former estate mansion known as “Graholm.”
Famous School of Photography
Over the years, the Brooks Institute has gained worldwide fame and recognition, as one of the pioneers of underwater photography. The training courses were in such high demand that the campus had to be expanded.
Ernest Brooks Jr. went on in his father’s footsteps and after his father retired he served as chairman of the management board from 1970 to 1990 (until his passing).
Interesting facts. Did you know about this?
- In 1985, the well-known Brooks Institute lost its position on the Accrediting Commission for Schools due to financial reporting violations. The institution was then moved to ACICS, however, due to many violations, the national accreditation body was under investigation.
- In 1994, John M. Larson founded the Career Education Corporation by acquiring well-known private colleges. As a result, he was able to maximize their profitability; for example, revenue for the first fiscal year was $7.5 million.
- In 1999, CEC acquired the Brooks Institute for 6.6 million dollars, and Ernie Brooks Jr. was replaced by John Kalman, who directed marketing development initiatives and engaged in recruitment. It is remarkable that the new administration fired respected professors and replaced them with newly graduated college students who had no prior teaching experience.
- In 2002, Brooks began to expand, as a result of a new aggressive marketing campaign aimed at increasing the number of students. Many were tempted by the promise of guaranteed after-graduation employment offered by the university’s Career Services Department. Therefore, the institution signed a 15-year lease agreement for a building in Ventura (73 thousand square meters).
- The new campus had 30,000 sound stages, where parts of such famous films like “Titanic,” “Cast Away” and many others were shot.
A difficult period for the Brooks Institute
In 2003, accusations and lawsuits were filed against the educational institution, which, according to witnesses, “falsified student records for accreditation.” Charges were made by former institution personnel or individuals who lost their jobs for refusing to tamper with the results.
They also deceived the students themselves by promising them financial aid, grants, and loans, but when they arrived at the institution, they discovered that everything they had been told was a lie. The crisis persisted in 2004, and on January 31st, 2005, a television documentary series called “60 Minutes” with the title “For-Profit Colleges – An Expensive Lesson” was released. It served as a revelation that confirmed complaints and accusations made in past years.
The final report established that the institution was intentionally misleading its students. One New York Times article stated:
«A school that skipped ethics classes»
In September 2006, John M. Larson resigned, and Gary McCullough became the new CEO. The Brooks Institute officially closed its doors on October 31, 2016, on the eve of its 70th anniversary.
The Ernest Brooks Foundation
It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2018 and has a noteworthy historical background. Employees of the Foundation were able to form alliances with the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as the Brooks Institute Alumni Association; however, the institution itself remains closed.