At the core of the Arts Center, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting has trained thousands of actors since its founding in 1949, many of whom went on to make significant careers in theater and film. Its roots, however, go back even further, to Jacob P. Adler, one of the great actors of the American Yiddish theater, and they also include Harold Clurman, Stella's second husband and co-founder of the Group Theater. The spirit that has driven the Adler family for more than 100 years stems from the realization that growth as an actor and growth as a human being are synonymous. The studio's mission is to create an environment for the purpose of cultivating theatre artists and audiences who value humanity, their own and others', as their first and most valuable priority, providing art and education to the wider community.