With an enduring passion for the arts, Mark Nerenhausen will lead the new Janklow Arts Leadership Program designed to cultivate future leaders in the arts world. The Syracuse University professor and former president and CEO of arts centers nationwide will spearhead the 15-month master’s program, founded by literary agent and 1950 SU alumnus Mort Janklow. Nerenhausen will attend the program’s launch Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, featuring a panel discussion with journalist and TV personality Barbara Walters as the moderator.

In addition to attending classes through this interdisciplinary program, the selected applicants will meet leaders in the arts world and take seminars in New York City and London. ‘We want students to see how the arts function in different cities and cultural capitals, to meet the people that are leading organizations and understand what arts leadership looks like from their perspectives,’ Nerenhausen said. He spoke to The Daily Orange about his hopes for the program and the effect of cultural leadership in connecting communities — and even revealed his ideal applicants. 

The Daily Orange: What makes the Janklow Arts Leadership Program different from other arts management programs?

Nerenhausen: It’s not the usual: two semesters, summer break and then two more semesters. We know that people who go into these professional fields do so because the point is to get out and work. So we are one of the very few that are like this. This is a program that is seeking to put an emphasis on what cultural leadership means in terms of not just running arts organizations, but what it means for culture to be an important and relevant part of our communities.

Can you give some examples of cultural leaders?

Cirque du Soleil, for example, has three shows running in Las Vegas. That’s cultural leadership. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. That’s a part of the world of cultural leadership. And then you look at community theaters or high school drama teacher in a small town — that’s also cultural leadership.

What are you looking for in an applicant?

Someone who is energetic, entrepreneurialand enthusiastic. They need to care about this field, be excited about this field and want to make something happen, want to make a difference. I want people who also are thoughtful, strategic and understand that good intentions are not just enough to make things happen, but that they need to have solid business skills and solid management skills. And finally, people with a broad perspective that speaks to the idea that the arts and culture are about more than just what goes up onstage, the idea that as a leader, I have to care about our community as a whole and not just my little organization.

Besides the chance to learn from you and other faculty with expertise in the arts, what are other bonuses to the program?

When the students are finished with their coursework, we’ll be placing them with internships where they can really learn more about specific organizations that interest them but also exercise some of the skills they’ve learned. We’re also creating partnerships with some of the leading cultural organizations in the country.

What’s something you want participants to take away from this program?

What I hope is that graduates from this program will certainly have the opportunity to work with arts organizations of all kinds, but also gain this larger perspective of how the arts are important — not just in terms of selling tickets for concerts or getting people in the galleries, but how they touch the lives of people in our communities beyond the concert walls, beyond the galleries.  

kkim40@syr.edu

Published on January 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm