Arts and Cultural Leadership Studies at the University of Oregon

Effective fall 2017, the University of Oregon’s academic field of Arts and Cultural Leadership is housed within the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM). Within PPPM, this robust field of interest is most closely aligned with academic programs in Nonprofit Management.

Current undergraduate majors and minors as well as graduate students in Arts Management programs of study are supported through completion of their degree programs, but no additional students are being admitted to these degree programs.

Undergraduate and graduate students interested in studying Arts Management will continue to have the opportunity to do so within coursework offered in the PPPM Arts and Cultural Leadership field of interest. In addition, we launched a formal, transcripted Graduate Certificate in Arts Management, in January 2019. This Certificate program has been paused due to other departmental initiatives and it is no longer admitting students as of January 2023.

History of UO Arts and Cultural Leadership

Arts and Cultural Leadership is rooted in a long history at the University of Oregon. The program originally began in the 1950s as the Department of Arts Education, primarily a graduate program offering master’s and doctoral degrees. Although oriented toward education, the department had a strong focus on community arts and cultural services. This can be attributed to the direction of several well-known faculty members, including June King McFee and Vincent Lanier, who focused heavily on topics of cultural pluralism and the role of the arts in society.

In 1991, dedicated faculty including Doug Blandy, Rogena Degge, Linda Ettinger, Beverly Jones, and Jane Maitland-Gholson, began transitioning the Department of Arts Education to a new academic unit, the Arts and Administration Program (AAD). By the fall of 1993, a new graduate program in Arts Management welcomed its first students. During this same time, Doug Blandy and Patricia Lambert reinvigorated the UO Institute for Community Arts Studies (ICAS), a research institute that was relaunched and renamed the Center for Community Arts and Cultural Policy (CCACP) in 2005. In 1997, CultureWork: A Periodic Broadside for Arts and Culture Workers was launched as a quarterly publication.

The late 1990s through 2016 were a time of much growth within the program. During this time, the program expanded considerably to grow areas of study in community arts management, performing arts management, museum studies, media management, and arts in healthcare management. As diverse graduate program offerings appealed to students across the UO campus, enrollment in the undergraduate minor grew dramatically, and strong student interest led to the initiation of an undergraduate major in Arts Management. A commitment to innovative instruction positioned the AAD program’s faculty at the forefront of online education provided at the UO. At the program’s peak, a strong team of 18 tenure-related and non-tenure-related faculty members oversaw a robust array of course offerings and academic programs that served roughly 3,000 students annually.

In the 2016-2017 academic year, a new dean in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts (A&AA) led a massive restructuring process. A&AA became the College of Design, now comprised of three Schools. One of these Schools is the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM). The Arts and Administration Program was embedded within PPPM. As part of the realignment, the current undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Arts Management were paused.

The legacy of the UO Department of Art Education and Arts and Administration Program – both renowned as national leaders in education in these distinct academic fields – is still alive and well at the University of Oregon. We encourage prospective students and alumni to learn more about this academic field of interest at the UO on this website, and please feel free to contact the affiliated faculty.