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April 22, 2004

Conferences, conferences, ever more conferences

So I'm off again to another conference, this time of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (yes, Virginia, there is an association for everything). This is a group of full-time degree program directors (of undergraduate and graduate programs) that prepare managers for the arts and cultural field.

Avid readers will recall a point-counterpoint argument I was having with fellow blogger Drew McManus back in November that addressed several of the pressing challenges of this group. Chief among these challenges:

• Clearly stating and agreeing on what 'successful arts administrators' look like, what skillsets and attitudes they have, and how they engage in their work;
• Agreeing on how to train and foster leaders to move toward the ideal we defined in item one above;
• Measuring our outcomes in meaningful ways (again, consistent with item one), so we can adjust our definitions and strategies to get closer to the mark.

These are essential arguments for me and my fellow full-time degree program directors in arts administration, and essentially impossible to resolve. As always, I look forward to the endless urns of bitter coffee, the trays piled with sugared carbohydrates, and the watery cocktails...the trinity of essential elements that make great conferences run.

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