At a Wednesday morning meeting of the school’s 450 students, staff and teachers, president/CEO Howard Tullman and academic dean Paula Froehle announced that the school is now Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal’s New York-based Tribeca Enterprises has become a 50% partner in the school in a deal that was concluded April 8 after months of discussions.
No changes are expected in management or curriculum. Tribeca’s involvement at this point will be to provide notable guest speakers and singular workshops for which Tribeca Flashpoint has become well-known, Froehle noted.
Tullman said, “It really means amazing opportunities for our students.” While the school has had success in placing graduates in jobs in Chicago’s visual media industry and throughout the country, the Tribeca pipeline also will put them into Tribeca-led activities.
Flashpoint was appealing to Tribeca “as an extraordinary opportunity to complement and expand our educational and digital media ecosystem,” said investor Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises with his wife, Jane Rosenthal.
Who reached out to whom first to make the connection is not known, although there was talk last year about Flashpoint seeking additional investors.
