End of the ADA
The ADA thrived in in the first few years, especially after finding a home in Varner Hall and the Studio Theatre. After Fernald left in 1970 Jerry L. Dahlmann became Administrative Director and Kilburn became Acting Artistic Director for both the Meadow Brook Theatre and the Academy. In 1972 he took the position of Associate Dean of the School of Performing Arts, and soon after that Alfred Ruscio became artistic director of the ADA.
However the ADA faced serious challenges. In the final years, lack of fund for invited faculty and AAUP contract guidelines led to reliance on full time faculty rather professionals on temporary basis. The Meadow Brook Theatre no longer had a resident company, which also limited the availability of professionals who could be part-time instructors.
To properly train actors requires a number of professionals working with small groups of students, and even one-on-one. Such high quality training was very expensive.
The program also struggled to recruit new talented students, in part because it did not offer sufficient financial aid but also because the ADA diploma became less attractive compared to theatre degree programs.
After a thorough review in 1976 the decision was made to discontinue the program.