Claremont Gradaute University Arts Management Program Expands With New Leadership

Revamped program is the only of its kind in California, and it aims to keep Los Angeles' creative talent in the arts and nonprofits local. A recent study indicates that the arts and culture are the second-largest generator for the LA economy.

As head of a municipal agency that funds 300 arts organizations each year, Zucker has long been concerned with the quality of leaders in the field. In 2000 she spurred the County to begin funding the largest arts internship program in the country in conjunction with the Getty Foundation. Close to 300 undergraduates are paid to work in Los

Angeles area nonprofit arts organizations each summer. “Two-thirds of our interns want to pursue careers in arts management and they think they have to leave the region to pursue their Masters. And often, they don’t come back,” said Zucker. “Now there’s a great way to keep them home.” Zucker also began the Arts Leadership Initiative which addresses the needs of mid-career administrators.

CGU’s Arts Management program is the only one of its kind in the state of California. A partnership of the School of Arts and Humanities and the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, the Arts Management program blends the curricula of both: study in the arts and humanities with contemporary management skills. The course of study allows graduates to get a leg up in a changing non-profit world which demands backgrounds in both business and the arts.

“The program is for anyone who has ever dreamed of turning their interest in the arts into a career,” Zucker said. “The profession has changed since I first started. Learning on the job now doesn’t take the place of up-to-date professional management education.” The Arts Management program will offer a new executive track for mid and senior-level arts administrators already working in the field.