Society for Arts Leadership Educators

Leading in a "Red State" Context: Adaptive Arts Leadership Competencies
Presenter: Joy Young
Now more than ever, there is a need for arts leaders who possess adaptive and practical leadership capacities - navigational capital necessary to flourish- especially those who reside in the southeastern U. S. within a cultural context that includes confederate history, enduring racism, and "red" state politics. In this issue presentation and discussion, we propose presenting issues arts leaders face in this kind of dynamic environment, discussing adaptive leadership practices, then inviting participants to contribute to ideas for developing adaptive arts leadership capacities in current and new arts administrators.

Critical Issues in Arts Leadership: A Practical Perspective
Presenters: Kristin Anne Danko, Morgan Wallace Gilbert
Leading Arts Administration: An Oral History Project presented an opportunity to interview alumni of the University of Kentucky’s Arts Administration programs on their chronological progression into an arts administration leader and impacts made throughout their career that shaped their leadership perspective. The findings of this grounded theory research brought about critical issues related to the power of relationship building, networking, and mentorship as avenues for growth of leaders in arts administration. The chronological nature of the interviews brought about insights from the practitioners into their introduction into the field of arts administration as well as many of their transitions from artist to arts leader. Insights into the theoretical perspectives of art leadership were built through a literature review focused on arts leaders and leadership styles. Through this, we found significant gaps in the literature relating to arts leadership in the United States. This issue presentation and discussion grounds the research in practitioner stories to focus on current leadership practices and trends in the arts, the significance of the research findings in practice, and opportunities for further research.

Empowering Inquiry: Engaging Students in Research Practice
Presenter: Julie Goodman, Brea Heidelberg
Research practice helps students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, time management, and communication skills. This discussion explores how faculty can foster a culture of inquiry, driven by observation and curiosity, that supports students’ intellectual development, academic success, and lifelong learning. The facilitators will share their approaches to developing a culture of inquiry through engaging graduate and undergraduate students in research practice. The challenges and opportunities of this work will be discussed alongside practical strategies for implementation. Examples of student engagement in course activities, assignments, and faculty research projects will be shared, followed by a discussion with attendees about the ways that a culture of inquiry is (or can be) fostered in their respective programs. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences and ideas, building relationships and opportunities for future student and faculty research collaborations among programs.

Bridging the Gap Between Classroom Education and Real-World Application in Arts Administration
Presenter: Jeffrey Rebudal, Anthony Rhine
Jeff Rebudal and Anthony Rhine, both professors at Pace University, recognize the critical challenge of bridging the gap between classroom education and real-world application in arts administration. They emphasize that this goes beyond traditional experiential learning, focusing on helping students grasp the profound impact of their studies on their future careers and the arts sector as a whole.

An Exploration of the Perceived Barriers of Leadership Succession Planning Retention and Transition Among Arts Nonprofit Organizations in South Carolina
Presenter: La Ruchala A. Murphy, Ph.D.
In this session, the speaker will explore the essential aspects of leadership succession, retention, and transition within the arts and culture sector. They will begin with an overview of the topic, emphasizing key insights from a literature review that underscore the importance of thoughtful succession planning. The session will then delve into the methodology employed to identify barriers to effective leadership succession, followed by an analysis of findings and conclusions drawn from the data. The speaker will offer recommendations for future research on this topic, highlighting its potential contributions to strengthening the arts and culture field. The session will conclude with audience feedback, discussion, and questions.

A Palette of Pedagogies: Researching How We Teach Future Arts Leaders
Presenters: Maclain Hardin-Kurza, Audrey Jacobs 
This traditional research presentation will explore a common methdology for investigating pedagogical approaches across three undergraduate arts leadership courses. Through a multiple-case study approach using reflective journals and content analysis within a transformative learning theory framework, presenters will showcase how different instructional strategies inform teaching practices in arts leadership preparation. The presentation will open the door for important conversation on self-study for college-level arts leadership educators while promoting effective and equitable teaching practices.

Controversial & Provocative Art: Their Role in Communities, Classrooms, & Arts Organizations
Presenter: James Marchant
This is a study and research paper that investigates, examines, and analyzes the creation of controversial and provocative art and the role it plays in communities, classrooms, and arts organizations.

Developing Unique Theories for Arts Administration
Presenter: Anthony Rhine
This research collaboration aims to address the critical need for developing theories specific to arts administration, a field that currently relies heavily on theories borrowed from other disciplines. The unique business model of nonprofit arts organizations, which blends charitable missions with commercial ticket sales, necessitates a tailored theoretical framework. Our discussion will focus on:

1. Identifying gaps in existing theories when applied to arts administration
2. Exploring the distinctive challenges faced by arts organizations, such as balancing artistic integrity with financial sustainability
3. Examining how traditional marketing practices fall short in the nonprofit arts sector
4. Investigating the impact of evolving funding models and audience engagement strategies on organizational theory
5. Analyzing the intersection of arts management with other disciplines to create a multifaceted theoretical approach

Participants will be encouraged to share their expertise in various aspects of arts administration, including financial management, audience development, and organizational structure. We will collaboratively map out potential new theories that address the sector's unique characteristics, such as the artist-manager relationship, the role of public funding, and the balance between mission fulfillment and revenue generation.

Examining the Role of Student Loan Debt, Race, and Ethnicity in the Careers Choices of Arts Graduates
Presenters: Antonio C. Cuyler, Richard J. Paulsen
Recent research by Albana (2022) and Paulsen (2024) has found that student debt negatively impacts the likelihood that college graduates with degrees in the arts pursue work in the creative sector. As systemic racism has led to significantly lower wealth levels for global majority populations in the United States, we hypothesize that global majority arts graduates accumulate more student debt, and that this debt inhibits their transitions into working in the creative sector following graduation. We use National Survey of College Graduates data to estimate regressions to test these hypotheses. Relative to White arts graduates, we find that Black arts graduates are nearly 20% more likely to have taken out student loans to fund their degrees. Among those that borrowed, Black graduates borrowed on average about $5,000 more. Black arts graduates are over 12% less likely to work in jobs closely related to their degrees relative to White graduates. Student loan debt explains nearly 15% of this gap in differences.

Diminishing the Starving Artist Trope
Presenters: Bex Ferrell, Heather McDonald
The stereotype of the "starving artist" has long pervaded the arts, discouraging many talented individuals from fully pursuing their creative passions. However, the modern arts landscape offers more opportunities than ever before through the gig economy, freelance work, and digital platforms. To ensure that our students are prepared to navigate this evolving field, our curriculum must expand beyond traditional artistic instruction to include essential professional skills, including entrepreneurial strategies, self-promotion, digital marketing, and financial planning within arts programs. Additionally, critical legal aspects such as contract negotiations, intellectual property rights, unionization, and advocating for fair compensation should be integrated into arts programs. These components are essential in safeguarding artists' rights and helping them achieve long-term success.
 
This presentation explores practical ways to equip our students with the tools and knowledge necessary to build a sustainable and fulfilling career in the arts. Emphasizing the bridge between creative expression and practical career management, we will discuss how to better prepare the next generation of artists for both the creative and business aspects of the industry. A robust group discussion will follow to explore these ideas and share insights on fostering a comprehensive approach to arts education.

Harmonising Art and Business: The Janis Ian Archives as an Educational Tool for Arts Leadership
Presenter: Peter Morphew
This presentation explores the innovative approach to fundraising, curating, and facilitating access to the Janis Ian Archives at Berea College, Kentucky.

Opened in October 2024, the archive exists within a duality of identities, providing researchers unparalleled access to original primary / secondary sources, enhancing Berea College's international reputation and serving as a fundraising mechanism not only supporting the preservation of records but additionally support student educational experiences.
As a unique resource in music history, spanning sociological, political, and entrepreneurial research genres, two-time Grammy winner Janis Ian has granted unprecedented access into her personal life, business ownership, and creativity.
The audience will gain insights into the archivists’ strategies that maintain our intellectual control over the preserved knowledge. Through collection management / cataloguing strategies, specially the creation of organizational hierarchies that create conducive conditions of access within an educational working college; to confidential, sensitive information pertaining to licensing, copyright negotiations, and financial asset management in addition to Ian’s songwriting materials. We'll demonstrate how such archival resources can serve as powerful educational tools for arts leadership and administrative education.

This presentation offers a unique reflective perspective from the project archivist on working with a significant body of records to date. Exploring the intersection of art, business, and education within Berea College's distinctive working model. Educators will discover the importance to proactively preserve their community arts heritage, organizational knowledge and leverage such resources for the development of the next generations practical arts administration and leadership skills.

Cultivating Leadership through Holistic Development in Arts Administration Education
Presenter: Rachel Parker
This presentation explores how a Holistic Development approach in arts administration education can cultivate empathetic and emotionally intelligent leaders by integrating emotional and social learning with essential technical skills. By incorporating practices seemingly unrelated to arts administration, educators can equip future arts leaders to navigate challenges effectively and make meaningful impacts within their organizations and communities.

Artists’ and Creative Workers’ Challenges and Resilience from 2020 - 2023
Presenter: Rachel Skaggs
We are now more than four years out from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and emerging evidence shows a somewhat more positive set of outcomes for people working in the arts and creative industries compared to initial catastrophic impacts (Skaggs, Novak-Leonard, and Barbee 2024). This presentation draws from 94 interviews with U.S. artists and creative workers, answering the following questions: In what ways do artists and creative workers see themselves as having been resilient since the onset of the pandemic? If they do not see themselves as resilient, what has hindered their resilience? Findings indicate that the impact of the pandemic on these artists and creative workers were incredibly varied, with many experiencing challenges or setbacks and many reporting significant positive outcomes in their professional and lives. The challenges faced by interviewees were most frequently in maintaining their career path in the arts, insufficient work or pay, lack of social connectedness with professional community, and challenges with physical or mental health that impacted their work. Most artists and creative workers reported that they had been resilient since the pandemic began, citing examples of how they adapted and innovated in response to pandemic-era changes, especially in their approaches to digital ways of engaging in their creative work. For those who reported that they had not been resilient, the uncertainty, instability, and isolation that they have felt in their professional lives wore them down and kept them from feelings of resilience.

Exploring Innovative Evaluation Tools for Community Arts Programs
Presenter: Winter Phong
This presentation outlines a research initiative focused on developing innovative evaluation tools for community arts programs, amplifying marginalized voices. It reviews literature at the intersection of disability studies, community engagement, and arts management, preparing foundational work for a proposed Fulbright project aimed at enhancing inclusivity and participant engagement.

Student Perceptions of Faculty Generative AI Usage
Presenter: Alicia Jay
This research presents findings about student perceptions of faculty generative AI usage in coursework and assignments.

What Graduate Projects in Arts Management Are Effective? Lessons from Multiple Attempts in China
Presenter: Ruby Yu
As Arts Management emerges as a new interdisciplinary field, it necessitates both theoretical construction and critical reflection, as well as the production and guidance of applied insights. With the increasing number of Master’s programs in Arts Management, it's worth considering what kind of graduation projects students should undertake to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they've acquired. This question is crucial for educators in Arts Management as it reflects our educational purpose and goal.

The conventional route of a research thesis and defense is common, but a survey of Chinese arts organization entrepreneurs reveals that the industry seldom reviews academic work, especially student-produced theses. When academic research fails to drive industry development, should we explore alternative graduation projects that showcase students' skills, ensuring their voices are heard and their findings seen? Should there be a complete shift to an applied route, encouraging students to undertake art projects as their capstone, whether as exhibitions or performances and use these as a stepping stone to their industrial careers? Or might there be a more effective combination of approaches.

This study addresses these research problems and questions, using several Chinese graduate programs in Arts Administration as examples to discuss their capstone projects. Employing case studies with interviews and surveys, it illustrates China's situation, raising the issue and critically discussing the potential for optimized capstone projects in future graduate Arts Administration programs.

Transforming Arts Leadership Education through Oral History and Inclusive Curriculum Development
Presenter: Jaleesa Wells, Kristin Anne Danko, Morgan Wallace Gilbert, Kate Holland
This research collaboration summit explores the andragogical use of oral history as a transformative tool and method in arts leadership education and focuses on the evolution of my PhD-level course Sustaining Leadership in the Arts, which is a core course in the PhD in Arts Administration curriculum at the University of Kentucky. The aim of the course is to revolutionize how students learn about and engage with leadership concepts through hands-on, real-world research experiences.

This research collaboration summit brings together current students, alumni, and prospective students, as well as educators and researchers who conduct oral history projects in the field, to investigate how oral history methods can uncover new dimensions of arts leadership, including intersectional, relational, and contextualized approaches. By evolving from traditional academic outputs to immersive research experiences, the curricular approach is reshaping students' understanding of leadership complexities and enhancing their qualitative research skills.

During the research collaboration summit, we will examine the impact of the co-creative and andragogical curricular approach, where students actively participate in curriculum development, fostering a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. This collaborative process not only enriches the educational experience but also prepares students for the dynamic realities of arts leadership.

Our research will explore how this methodology can be adapted to create open andragogy courses across various arts administration contexts. By combining oral history with arts leadership education, the curriculum aims to develop more effective, inclusive, and innovative arts leadership learning and teaching. The research collaboration summit discussion will help to inform future curriculum design, provide insights into evolving leadership practices, and offer a model for integrating hands-on research experiences into graduate-level arts administration and leadership education.

Building Emotional Intelligence in Arts Administration: A Pedagogical Approach
Presenters: Rachel Shane, Katie Mullen
This presentation explores the importance of integrating emotional intelligence (EI) instruction into undergraduate arts administration education. Recognized as an essential skill set for effective leadership and organizational management, emotional intelligence is particularly critical in the arts sector, where professionals navigate complex interpersonal relationships, manage diverse teams, and make thoughtful decisions under pressure.

The session will introduce the core components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, empathy, teamwork, relationship management, and decision-making—emphasizing their relevance to arts administrators. Drawing on classical theories of emotional development and contemporary pedagogical approaches, the presentation will outline effective strategies for teaching these competencies in arts administration programs.

Particular focus will be given to experiential learning methods, such as practicums and internships, which allow students to practice and refine their emotional intelligence in professional environments. Practical examples of how to structure these experiences will be shared, highlighting methods for fostering students’ reflective practice.

Additionally, the presentation will discuss assessment strategies to measure students' emotional intelligence growth, including self-assessments, peer evaluations, and feedback from internship site supervisors. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for implementing emotional intelligence education in their curricula, ensuring students graduate with the interpersonal skills and leadership capacities needed for success in the arts field.

The Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship: Exploring Auxiliary Pathways to Arts Leadership Training
Presenters: Maclain Hardin-Kurza, Milena Deleva
This issue-based presentation and discussion will examine the Arts Administrators Pipeline Fellowship, a 12-month program that partners early-career arts administrators with California nonprofit arts organizations, as an innovative model for arts administration career development. Through analysis of the program's development, implementation, and evaluation methods, we will explore how auxiliary educational pathways can effectively prepare future arts leaders and invite discussion on creating similar initiatives.

Innovating Arts Leadership Education: Collaborative Solutions for Measuring Public Value with Data-Driven Tools
Presenter: Angela P. Meleca
As the arts and cultural sector evolve, arts leadership education must adapt to equip future leaders with the skills to navigate complex challenges. One of the key issues facing educators is balancing theoretical knowledge with practical, real-world application—particularly the integration of data-driven tools to measure and demonstrate the public value of arts programs. This challenge is becoming increasingly critical, as arts organizations need leaders who can communicate their societal impact beyond traditional metrics like attendance or budget.

This collaborative issue presentation will explore how data analytics can transform arts management curricula, preparing students for leadership roles that require transparency, accountability, and measurable outcomes. Drawing on real-world case studies, the panel will introduce a data-driven pilot project, originally successful in the social services sector and now adapted for arts organizations. Presenters will discuss how these tools have been implemented in educational settings to strengthen students’ leadership skills and how practitioners have applied them to enhance community engagement, secure funding, and advocate for their organizations.

The session will include a guided discussion on the following points:

• The role of data in transforming arts leadership education and professional practice.
• Practical challenges and opportunities of integrating data tools into the curriculum.
• Real-world examples of data application in arts organizations to enhance public trust and secure funding.
• Balancing theory and practice to equip students for real-world leadership in the arts.

Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for integrating data-driven methods into their own curricula and professional contexts.

Cross-Sector Partnerships in Arts Administration: An Exploration
Presenter: Jay Pension

Over the past decade, both scholars and practitioners have increasingly explored cross-sector partnerships between arts-focused and non-arts-focused organizations. This presentation and facilitated discussion will explore how these partnerships shape and influence arts practices in the United States, highlighting both the benefits and challenges they present.

Notable cross-sector partnerships in the arts have included non-arts-focused sectors including healthcare, education, technology, manufacturing, retail, government, environmental organizations, finance, and community-based nonprofits. Such multidisciplinary collaborations between diverse fields often lead to innovative projects that might not emerge when organizations operate within silos. Conversely, the bureaucratic structures of larger organizations can sometimes limit the agility of partnered arts organizations, presenting a key challenge to their effectiveness.

This session will be part presentation and part facilitated discussion through which attendees explore key themes and share insights. This presentation and discussion will explore these questions: How do cross-sector collaborations improve community health outcomes, inspire innovative business and social initiatives, and contribute to a richer, more dynamic cultural landscape? How do cross-sector collaborations hinder arts practices the United States?

Disrupted Leadership, Disrupted Art: Analyzing Organizational Discontinuity in the Arts
Presenter: Stan Renard
This article explores the critical impact of leadership discontinuity on the failure of arts organizations through the lens of Organizational Discontinuity Theory. Leadership discontinuity, characterized by frequent changes in executive roles, disrupts the strategic direction and operational stability of arts organizations. This instability often leads to a breakdown in communication, loss of institutional knowledge, and diminished stakeholder confidence. The study is based on ongoing research of arts organizations followed for the past four years across the United States that have since failed and shuttered, as well as those that have merged with other organizations and reincarnated. It examines several case studies to highlight the correlation between leadership discontinuity and organizational decline, emphasizing the importance of consistent and visionary leadership in maintaining the health and sustainability of arts institutions. The article discusses internal and external factors contributing to the demise of these organizations, including economic pressures, funding challenges, and shifts in audience engagement. Strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of leadership discontinuity are also explored, such as succession planning, fostering a strong organizational culture, and implementing robust governance structures.

Crafting a Disaster-Ready Arts Organization from the Ground Up: Stories from the Gateway Regional Arts Center
Presenters: Leah Hamilton, Jordan Campbell
This discussion will feature the Executive Director of the Gateway Regional Arts Center, Jordan Campbell, and Assistant Professor of Arts Administration, Leah Hamilton, in a timely discussion on bridging normative theories in emergency management to the realities of managing creative spaces.