Rethinking the President’s Committee for Arts and Humanities: Opportunities for Policy Innovation Under a New Administration

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Megan Beyer, immediate-past Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH).

George Mason University’s Arts Management Program Presents Rethinking The President’s Committee For Arts And Humanities: Opportunities For Policy Innovation Under A New Administration A Digital Conversation With Megan Beyer, Former Director Of The President’s Committee On The Arts And Humanities on Wednesday, April 7 At 6:30 P.M. Edt (Streaming Free-Of-Charge Through Mason Arts At Home And Arlington Forward).

(FAIRFAX, VA) George Mason University’s Arts Management Program presents Rethinking the President’s Committee for Arts and Humanities: Opportunities for Policy Innovation Under a New Administration, Wednesday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. as part of Mason Arts at Home and presented in coordination with Arlington Forward. Led by Associate Professor Carole Rosenstein, the online discussion will cover Megan Beyer’s experiences as the immediate-past Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH), which included working with First Lady Michelle Obama, managing through crisis during the Trump administration, and advising the Biden transition on the future of federal arts policy.

The live, digital conversation will be held on Zoom Webinar. Attendance is free but registration is required for access. Details and Registration.

The PCAH was established in 1982 under the Reagan Administration, with the intention of advising the White House on cultural issues. Previous committee members included policy experts, actors, artists, and entertainment executives, who focused on arts integration programs, cultural diplomacy, and economic revitalization through the arts. The Committee was abolished by President Trump, opening up a real opportunity to rethink the role of the executive branch of federal government in our nation’s arts and culture.

Beyer is an award-winning journalist, commentator and advocate for the arts, women’s rights, and gender issues. While serving as the Executive Director of the PCAH, she led the first official U.S. Cultural Delegation to Cuba, in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Smithsonian Institution. This trip resulted in multiple collaborations between the two governments and highlighted new opportunities for cross-cultural opportunities between agencies and organizations in the two countries. Beyer served on more than a dozen national, state, and local boards during the last 25 years and is a regular panelist on PBS’ To the Contrary.

Rosenstein is an associate professor of Arts Management in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University. Her research focuses on cultural policy, cultural democracy, diversity and equity, and the social life of the arts and culture. Rosenstein has led commissioned research for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Urban Institute. She is the author of Understanding Cultural Policy (Routledge 2018).

For up-to-date information about this event, visit:
https://cfa.calendar.gmu.edu/rethinking-the-president-39-s-committee-for-arts-and-humanities

About the Arts Management Program
The Arts Management program at George Mason University offers students the opportunity to transition their careers to meet the ever-growing demand for leadership and organizational expertise within arts and cultural organizations, both private and public. Arts managers bridge the worlds of performing and visual arts with applied managerial, financial, and programmatic skills. The Arts Management program offers opportunities for a Master of Arts in Arts Management, a dual Master of Arts in Arts Management and Art History, an accelerated Master of Arts in Arts Management, and an undergraduate Arts Management Minor.

About George Mason University’s Arlington Forward Series
This event is part of George Mason University’s Arlington Forward Series where we explore the many ways innovation and technology impact how we live, work, play and learn. The series celebrates the planned expansion of Mason's Arlington Campus and the construction of the new headquarters of Mason’s Institute for Digital Innovation. During the next five years, the campus will undergo a $250 million transformation. With it will be the creation of the Rosslyn-Ballston Innovation Corridor, an innovation district that will be the first of its kind in Virginia. Learn more about the series and the university's Arlington Campus expansion plans

About the College of Visual and Performing Arts

George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts provides an academic environment in which the arts are explored as individual disciplines and interdisciplinary forms that strengthen one another. The college prepares students for careers as creators, performers, teachers, scholars, arts leaders, and arts entrepreneurs. Understanding that an education in the arts is deepened by regular contact with the work of distinguished visiting artists, the Center for the Arts, the professional presentation and production arm of the college, welcomes a variety of professional and world-renowned artists, musicians and actors to its stage. Students have the opportunity to perform, create, and exhibit their work in a wide variety of public venues, including a 2,000-seat Concert Hall. The college is home to the Riva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, the Schools of Dance, Art and Theater, as well as the Computer Game Design, Arts Management, and Film and Video Studies programs. https://cvpa.gmu.edu

About George Mason University
George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls nearly 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. https://www2.gmu.edu/