The Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) the degree program was launched in 1995 to provide a master’s degree for art educators. When the State of Ohio instituted the requirement that all art educators had to have a Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) degree, art schools scrambled to set up a program for the surge of art teachers suddenly in need of a master’s degree. The MAAE program launched at the Art Academy in 1995 and was directed by April Foster. Designed to accommodate teachers who worked the nine months of the traditional school year, the MAAE course load could be taken during three summers.