According to SoAT’s announcement, the closure was the result of an inability to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, a separate organization that has stewardship of the Taliesin properties. (The two became independent entities in 2017, after the Higher Learning Com­mis­­sion decreed that the school could no longer be an accredited institution while under the auspices of the foundation.) Just hours after SoAT’s announcement, the foundation released its own statement, which placed the onus of the decision on the school. In an e-mail to RECORD, Jeff Goodman, vice president of communication and partnerships at the foundation, stated that “the school has ­consistently failed to meet projections for enrollment, philanthropy, and earned revenues.” But, also speaking to RECORD, students and recently departed staff describe the school as being as robust as ever, and even growing under the leadership of president Aaron Betsky, who came on as dean in 2015 and helped raise $2 million for its independence. (Betsky had announced his plan to resign at the end of the semester.) Victor Sidy, who was dean from 2005 until 2015, says that the school “was finally on the path of cruising towards altitude.” Alexandra Moquay, who left her post as SoAT’s director of development last month, claims that the foundation’s financial support of the school has been primarily in the form of $1 per year rent for the use of its properties, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding instated when the two organizations separated. But Goodman emphasized the importance of its donation, stating that, without it, “the school would never have been able to operate.”

Several current students have told RECORD that, since the announcement, the foundation has acted aggressively toward them, for instance by incrementally restricting their use of certain spaces, and insinuating that possible legal action could be imposed upon them for speaking out against the closing of the school. Goodman calls these claims “entirely untrue.”

Sidy and others have commented that the school’s closing could have been avoided had the foundation been more committed to its survival. Michael Rust, treasurer of the Talie­sin Fellows, the school’s alumni association, says that his organization was “not even given a chance to try and help.”

Going forward, the foundation has indicated its plans to “advance Wright’s legacy” by hosting K–12 and adult-education programs at the Taliesin campuses, but advocates for the school say that its founder intended to train architects for practice—an endeavor that could not be met by initiatives such as those proposed by the foundation. “It is my opinion that the consequences of the closure are so much greater than the foundation anticipates,” says former student Johnson.

Both organizations say they are exploring options for current students to become accredited at a local university, such as Arizona State University, but, as of press time, details have not been confirmed. A current student told RECORD on behalf of her colleagues, “We’ve dedicated time, money, and hard work at Taliesin. While we are grateful that other universities have reached out to us, it is really not an adequate solution to say we can simply resume our education elsewhere.”