07-05-2025
From UArts to Temple: Students graduate with creativity and resilience in Philadelphia
Bittersweet graduation for former University of the Arts students at Temple University
Bittersweet graduation for former University of the Arts students at Temple University
Bittersweet graduation for former University of the Arts students at Temple University
Nearly a year after the University of the Arts in Philadelphia suddenly shut its doors, former students are reaching a milestone they once feared might be out of reach: graduation.
Jilian Sander was among the thousands who walked at Temple University's commencement Wednesday. Just last year, she was preparing to begin her senior year as a 3D animation major at UArts.
"I've just been more appalled as time goes by because we still haven't gotten answers as to how this happened, why this happened," Sander said.
In June 2024, CBS News Philadelphia first met Sander at a rally on the steps of Hamilton Hall.
"We're here to advocate for ourselves and tell everyone that we're worth saving," she said at the time. "I just want to graduate with the people I've worked with for three years."
That fight to keep the school open didn't succeed. UArts filed for bankruptcy last fall, and former leadership has not clarified how the school's finances unraveled so quickly. Students were given just seven days' notice before the closure.
Sander was one of about 350 former and prospective UArts students who transferred to Temple. On Wednesday, she celebrated commencement alongside her new classmates, many of whom found ways to honor their former school with decorated graduation caps and quiet nods to the creative community they came from.
CBS News Philadelphia
"I'm really glad it's done," said Stevie Reynolds, a former UArts student. "It's done now — I feel relieved. I feel ten pounds lighter!"
"I feel great," Sophia Palese said. "It's such a great community — we've become such a nice group."
Someone even came dressed as a UArts mascot — a unicorn — to cheer on students once they walked across the stage. Though these students are moving forward as Temple Owls, they carry with them the bonds and creativity born from the first university that shaped them.
