The Bee and the Acorn

In 1977, the world was ready for something new,” writes Savannah College of Art and Design president and founder Paula Wallace. All around us, dreamers were dreaming up new ideas: Star Wars, the Clash, Apple. I was nearing thirty and ... wondered if I could do more.” What happened next would change the face of higher education.
An engaging, moving, and inspiring memoir, The Bee and the Acorn traces the journey of Wallace and her family to the historic Georgia coastal town of Savannah, where they set about creating a new university for the arts. The tiny college would be a radically different kind of institution, buzzing with progressive ideas about what education could be and what it should do for students. Nearly forty years later, SCAD has become one of the largest and most highly regarded arts universities in the world.
Established in 1978, the Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 academic degree programs in 42 majors at locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Hong Kong; Lacoste, France; and online via SCAD eLearning. SCAD enrolls more than 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The school’s innovative curriculum is enhanced by professional-level technology, equipment, and learning resources, as well as opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and collaborative projects with corporate partners. In 2014, the prestigious Red Dot Design Rankings placed SCAD in the top ten universities in the Americas and Europe.
Engaging, moving, and inspiring, The Bee and the Acorn traces the journey of Paula Wallace, founder of the Savannah College of Art and Design, to the historic Georgia coastal town where she, along with her family, set about creating a new college for the arts, a radically different kind of institution, buzzing with progressive ideas about art education. Nearly forty years later, SCAD is one of the largest and most highly regarded arts universities in the world.

Paula Wallace is the president and founder of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Wallace earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University and Master of Education and Education Specialist degrees from Georgia State University; she also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Gonzaga University. She has authored several children’s books and two interior design titles: Perfect Porches and A House in the South. Among her many honors, she has been named one of the world’s 30 Most Admired Educators” by DesignIntelligence and Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young, and was awarded the inaugural Elle Decor Vision Award, and has been appointed a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the French Embassy in the U.S. She currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Wallace enjoys spending time with her husband and her four children.