Arts Administration Program: Three Year joint degree - MBA and MFA Colleges of Fine and Performing Arts and Business and Economics

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1 Western Washington University Biennial Operating Budget Request Decision Package Summaries Division: Academic Affairs Planning Unit: College of Fine and Performing Arts Date Submitted: April 28, 2010 Title ) Arts Administration Graduate Program $ 243,440 $ 311,440 $ 554,880 Arts Administration Program: Three Year joint degree MBA and MFA Colleges of Fine and Performing Arts and Business and Economics The demand for Arts Administrators will surpass one million open positions in the next ten years (Ben Cameron International Council of Fine Arts Deans keynote address Portland, Oregon, October, 2008). High Demand Field: 1 Million positions in the next decade Low Production: Only 30 Programs nationally graduating 600 students a year Internships: Graduate Assistantships assigned to regional professional venues Experiential Learning: These Internships develop real world experience Applicable to online delivery for future development. Excellent career opportunities No equivalent degree currently offered in the State of Washington The curriculum for this new Masters degree is currently under development and joins colleges at Western in the design and delivery of this high demand degree. No longer can graduates entering the market with a Bachelors degree be comparative in leadership positions running professional theaters, operas, dance companies, museums, orchestras, theme parks or other entertainment venues. The economic and artistic skills needed to succeed in these positions come from educational experiences developed through integrated Business and Arts disciplines.

2 Show Business is big business. In the last five years, the entertainment field has been the faster growing employer nationally in any work force or discipline. Many of these are skilled positions for graduates who have strong technology skills and are capable or negotiating the complex legal, social, financial and political world or arts administration. Skills such as donor development, grant writing, campaign development, strategic planning, marketing and finance are essential to complement season development, publicity and design, artist contracts, volunteer coordination, box office management and community engagement. The program requires two new faculty lines, a staff position and 8 new graduate assistantships a year totaling 24 in three years. Stipends would be $8500 a year plus full tuition waiver (see attached budget sheet). Within ten years this amount would reduce by at least $100k a year as the degree transitioned to more online self support course delivery without assistantships attached. Western s 2006 Strategic Plan: The initiative is consistent with these specific points in the Strategic Plan Mission: Western instills in graduates a lifelong passion for learning and fosters individual curiosity, intellectual rigor, critical thinking, and creativity. Western promotes scholarly and creative work of significance and applies that scholarship in regional, national, and global communities. Western creates opportunities for students to display leadership, civic engagement, social responsibility, and effective citizenship. Western brings together an increasingly diverse and talented student body, faculty, and staff to form a learning community that, along with community partners, involves its members in active learning, scholarly discourse, and reflection. The initiative is reflected in Western Values: Engagement: Western expects students to be actively involved in their own learning and all community members to be actively involved in collaborative scholarship, creative activities and in service to the broader community. Community Service: Western expects all members of the University to serve and enrich the intellectual vitality of the campus and the broader community. We expect individual members to be committed to improving the Western Experience for all. The initiative addresses these aspects of the Action Plan: Recruit and retain high quality students. Build collaborative relationships with offcampus communities.

3 Increase and diversify funding. The initiative also address the following aspects of the Plan s Strategic Objectives: To demonstrate engaged excellence: In interactive learning and the active participation of students in scholarly and creative activities. In supporting teacherscholars who integrate the highest quality teaching, scholarship, and creative activities. In civic engagement by developing leadership, effective citizenship, and social responsibility in all members of the campus community. HECB 2008 Strategic Master Plan: Fill unmet needs in highdemand fields: A 2006 HECB report found shortages of people with baccalaureate and graduate degrees in engineering, computer science, the medical professions, editing, writing and performing occupations, human and protective service occupations, research, scientific, and technical occupations. Midlevel postsecondary education degree. Find new ways to finance workrelated education and training Partnering with local and regional arts organizations. As noted in the opening statement, arts administration is a high demand field that in the next ten years will have tens of thousands of positions nationally that will not have qualified applicants to fill them. These will be high paying, long term positions with high profile organizations in communities of virtually every size all across the nation. Relationship to Planning Unit SWOT: The proposed initiative addresses the Goals of the College, which are at the heart of the College SWOT Analysis. These include: To promote civic engagement through the Arts. To provide engaged learning in the Arts. To support liberal education and professional development associated with the Arts. To foster excellence, diversity, and opportunity in and through the Arts. The strengths of the College compliment this new program through a strong regional, and growing national, reputation with students working at every level in the academic and professional world. Western is the only public university in Washington with the undergraduate preprofessional degree in all four arts areas along with an established MBA program in Business. The location of Bellingham between

4 Seattle and Vancouver provides ample opportunities for partnerships with every type of arts organization. In Bellingham alone there are over 2000 nonforprofit organizations, the majority of which are arts related. In the last census Bellingham was rated as having the second highest number of working artists per capita of any city in the country, behind Santé Fe. This makes Western the best place nationally to offer this graduate program while connecting with service learning and community engagement projects, internships and other work opportunities. A challenge identified in the SCOT analysis was the High Demand Fields focus of the state and external funding agencies, yet the entertainment industry is a high demand field and has been the fastest growing field nationally for the past seven years. Arts Administration in particular is at the center of this growth and yields the highest paying jobs. Relation to Institutional SWOT: The proposed plan addresses several of the Initiatives provided in President Shepard s Preparing the Future presentation. Strengths of Western identified in the President s analysis are central to this proposal: The initiative is innovative and interdisciplinary in nature combining programs from two separate college. Graduates from the arts and business are already working around the world. Partnerships have been forged with local and regional arts organizations such as the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Challenges identified on the SCOT analysis addressed by this initiative: This is a high profile field that has many opportunities for women and minorities. This is an example of shared resources, talent and expertise on campus and among our community. This enhances the role of graduate education on campus as specified in the Graduate White Paper. This initiative focuses on developing leadership skills in our graduates that are directly applicable to administrative positions in any arts field. This is an opportunity to utilize specific strengths at Western in a unique dual program that will attract students from around the country enhancing our out of state and even international populations on campus.

5 DECISION PACKAGE (NEW INITIATIVE) NAME: Planning Unit: Division: RESOURCES Fund 001, General Fund State $ 217,940 $ 243,440 Other (except tuition revenue) $ 25,500 $ 68,000 Total Resources $ 243,440 $ 311,440 $ 554,880 USES (EXPENDITURES) Faculty Tenure/TenureTrack $ 104,000 $ 104,000 $ 208,000 Faculty Non TenureTrack $ $ $ Graduate Teaching/Research Assistants $ 68,000 $ 136,000 $ 204,000 Exempt Professional $ $ $ Classified $ 32,000 $ 32,000 $ 64,000 Hourly $ $ $ Salaries and Wages $ 204,000 $ 272,000 $ 476,000 Employee Benefits (29% of salaries) $ 39,440 $ 39,440 $ 78,880 Goods and Services $ $ $ Equipment $ $ $ Total Expenditures $ 243,440 $ 311,440 $ 554,880 STAFFING FTE Faculty Tenure/TenureTrack Faculty NTT Graduate Teaching Assistants Exempt Professional Classified Hourly Total FTE