SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace awarded Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

SAVANNAH AND ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The Savannah College of Art and Design proudly announces that university founder and president Paula Wallace has been awarded France's Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, this honor — one of the highest civilian orders bestowed by the French Republic — recognizes Wallace's enduring commitment to advancing the arts and cultural life of France and the international creative community.

Wallace was presented with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres insignia in a special ceremony held Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, at the Villa Albertine residence in New York City. Mohamed Bouabdallah, cultural counselor of France in the U.S. and director of Villa Albertine said, "On behalf of the French Republic and French Ministry of Culture, I extend my warmest congratulations to Paula Wallace on her investiture as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Through her visionary leadership and enduring dedication to creative education, historic preservation, and cultural exchange, Paula Wallace has made a lasting contribution to France's cultural landscape. We are proud to recognize her as a distinguished steward of the arts and an essential partner in strengthening the cultural dialogue between France and the United States."

Established by the Ministry of France in 1957, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is France's highest recognition of cultural influence and artistic excellence. This prestigious distinction of knighthood conferred by the French government signifies the recipient's role in fostering artistic distinction and cultural exchange in France and internationally.

A lifelong teacher and champion of professional creative education, Wallace founded SCAD in 1978. The university is now revered worldwide as the preeminent university for art, design, and entrepreneurship, with global locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online through SCADnow, offering 100 elite degree programs across disciplines — from architecture and applied AI to fashion, film, and beyond. SCAD enrolls approximately 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from 100+ countries and enjoys an elite alumni network of more than 65,000 design professionals, who lead some of the world's best brands from Apple to NASA to hundreds of other Fortune 500 brands, and run their own studios, firms, companies, and labels. Wallace's visionary leadership and future-forward commitment to academic and professional innovation have led SCAD to receive some of higher education's top global accolades, including being ranked as the No. 1 design university in the Americas and Europe by the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Design Ranking and No. 1 on Art & Object's Best Art Schools in the U.S.

As a founder and leader of SCAD for nearly 50 years and president for more than 25 years, Wallace realizes her impact abroad most notably at SCAD Lacoste, a medieval village in the heart of France's majestic Luberon Valley, once home to the revolutionary Marquis de Sade and an idyllic destination that has been inspiring creative visionaries for centuries. Wallace has played a transformative role in revitalizing the village of Lacoste since the site was donated to SCAD in 2002. The university, heralded globally for excellence in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, has restored more than 50 historic buildings — ranging from medieval caves to former dwellings and archaeologically significant sites — thoughtfully reimagining them as contemporary academic spaces equipped with advanced libraries, studios, lecture halls, galleries, theaters, and student residences.

SCAD Lacoste has since become the arts and culture epicenter in Provence's Luberon Valley, welcoming more than 30,000 students and visitors annually to experience the location's dynamic art experiences — honoring bastions of French culture such as Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Christian Lacroix — and contributing tens of millions of Euros annually to the local economy. Wallace's heroic efforts to cultivate SCAD Lacoste into an international center of study and center for artistic enlightenment have been supremely rewarded and recognized by the French government. In 2022, Wallace received the Medal of the State of Vaucluse in Provence, and in 2005, was appointed Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, one of the French Republic's oldest and most prestigious honors awarded for distinguished service in education and culture. In 2025, she was a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian award in the U.S., recognizing individuals who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country and fellow citizens.

Wallace led the creation and establishment of four teaching museums on two continents, including SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film (Atlanta), the AIA Award-winning SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah), SCAD FASH Lacoste (France), and Musée SCAD Lacoste (France), the latter of which debuted in 2025 as a living chronicle of the region's history and current manifestation of its vibrant present. Through local artifacts and evocative visual storytelling, the museum honors Lacoste's heritage while illuminating its evolution into a flourishing center for creative study and growth — inviting thousands of students, artists, designers, and visitors to live, learn, and draw inspiration amid the beauty of the Luberon Valley.

Additionally, Wallace has conceived and launched a portfolio of signature university events to enhance SCAD students' careers while engaging global audiences, including the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the SCAD Lacoste Film Festival, SCAD TVfest, SCAD deFINE ART, SCADstyle, and the internationally renowned SCAD FASHION show. SCAD museums have mounted exclusive exhibitions, many the first in the U.S., for legendary French haute couture houses such as Jeanne Lanvin, Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, and Madame Grès, as well as contemporary art exhibitions with Eva Jospin, Raphaël Barontini, and Jean-Michel Othoniel. Through university programming and academic engagement, Wallace has hosted many of France's leading creative voices across fashion, contemporary art, design, film, and television, creating unparalleled opportunities for SCAD students to learn directly from and be inspired by global cultural leaders, including Marylin Fitoussi, Jacques Audiard, and Mohamed Bourouissa.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls approximately 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2025 study found that 99% of recent SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.
 

SCAD Lacoste

SCAD Lacoste is a residential study-abroad location in France, offering immersion in the history and culture of Provence. Course offerings each quarter are varied to apply to all SCAD areas of study and are taught by SCAD professors. Lacoste is a beautifully preserved medieval village and historic destination for artists, known for its extraordinary light and exquisite pastoral setting. SCAD Lacoste structures dating from the ninth to the 19th centuries feature cutting-edge contemporary amenities. 

SCAD Lacoste resources include a library, a gallery, a dining hall, and housing, as well as teaching studios dedicated to painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and digital imaging. Students interact with visiting artists, take field trips to museums and historic sites in the area, and exhibit their work at a local vernissage. Celebrated artists and designers visit with SCAD Lacoste students throughout the year. Notable guests have included legendary French fashion designer Julien Fournié; artist and illustrator Ruben Toledo; Academy Award-winning costumer designer Janty Yates; former Walt Disney Imagineering president Bob Weis; Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi; Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons; Academy Award-nominated director Jean-Pierre Jeunet; interior and furniture designer Ilse Crawford; Golden Globe Award-winning actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson; architect Joey Shimoda; fashion designer Stefano Pilati; and Emmy Award-winning actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge.