MEDIA CENTER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration / Staff / Administrative Coordinator / Arts Administration
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
Alexandra Burns graduated from the Department of Arts Administration with a BA in Arts Administration in May 2018. During her time as an undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky, Alexandra was the senior peer mentor for the Creative Arts Living & Learning Program and a desk clerk for the Office of Residence Life.
In April 2018, Alexandra received the Maurice A. Clay Award after being nominated by Dean Mark Shanda for her dedication to the College of Fine Arts not only as a student, but as a leader also. This award was presented after Alexandra organized a memorial event with GreenHouse17, a local intimate partner violence shelter, to celebrate the life of a second year Creative Arts Living Learning Program student who suddenly passed away in the Fall 2017 semester. Over $500 and approximately 525 non perishable food items were donated to GreenHouse17 in honor of Hailee Jean Conrad.
In April of 2017, Alexandra received the Rosemary Pond Leadership Award presented by the Office of Residence Life. She was the only undergraduate student to receive the award that year. The Rosemary Pond Leadership Award was given to Alexandra for her fierce dedication to the Creative Arts Living Learning Program after one of the co-directors stepped down.
Alexandra was also recognized as Desk Clerk of the Year for the 2014 - 2015 and 2016 - 2017 academic years.
Currently, Alexandra owns a local business, With Love Candle Co., which has a strong emphasis on philanthropy. In one year, they have raised over $2,000 for organizations like UK Children's Hospital, Mandee's Lunchbox, The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, and the Imperial Court of Kentucky.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Graduate Studies / Director of Graduate Studies and Graduate Advisor, Director of Curatorial Studies / Art History and Visual Studies, Curatorial Studies
Job Titles:
- Artist, Educator
- Assistant Dean, Part Time Instructor, Student Affairs
- Department
David Kaiser is an Artist, Educator, and Museum Professional. David holds an MFA and BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago specializing in painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture.
David has taught at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Robert Morris University, and Eastern Kentucky University. As an educator David is deeply interested in student success and helping students develop in a holistic and meaningful way. David's passion for education comes from the act of serving others and intellectual curiosity. David has advised students as both faculty and as a full time academic advisor.
David uses the term "Organic Ideation" to describe his approach to creating artworks. His artistic practice is grounded in painting and drawing. He often manipulates the natural behavior of paint and other materials to seek phenomena and concepts, which transcend the material itself.
David has been employed by both museums and private fine art service companies in Chicago and Washington D.C. which gave him the opportunity to work with curators, museum professionals, artists, architects, and some of the finest collections and exhibitions in the world.
David is a versatile and creative leader who fuses a background in art and academia with an extensive expertise in professional museum services. David and his family live and work in the Hollywood neighborhood in Lexington.
Job Titles:
- Department / Music
- Music / Associate Professor
Dennis Bender has performed in opera and concert in the United States, Canada, and Europe in productions with Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Company of Boston, the Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, the Louisville Symphony and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. He has sung at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy, and in a series of concerts in the Netherlands.
Bender's students have appeared on international opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Deutsch Oper Berlin. Nationally they have sung with Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass, Opera Saint Louis, Minnesota Opera, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Kansas City Lyric Opera. In concert that have sung at Les Ateliers de la Main d'Or, Paris, Carnegie Hall, Malmö Symphony, Sweden, and in America at Tanglewood and with regional orchestras. In Music Theater they have sung on Broadway and National tours.
His students have been winners of vocal competitions, including District and Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the Innsbruck Cesti Competition, the Classical Singer Vocal competition, the Orpheus Vocal Competition, and NATS Chapter and Regional Auditions.
Bender is particularly interested in Russian art song, specializing in the solo vocal music of Dmitri Shostakovich, and teaching Russian Lyric Diction. His Russian Diction students have performed in roles from Russian opera with Opera Sarasota, Opera Neo in San Diego, and in an upcoming production of Eugene Onegin at Wolf Trap Opera this summer.
Dr. Bender earned the DMA degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has been awarded the Alice Tully Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center and has been a winner of the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera. Prior to joining the voice faculty at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Bender has been an affiliate faculty member of Harvard University, and has taught at the City Music Center of Duquesne University and Tanglewood Music Center.
Job Titles:
- Faculty, Part Time Instructor
Job Titles:
- President - Elect
- Department / Music
- Director of Bands at the University of Kentucky
- Music / Professor, Ensemble Directors, UK Bands / Director of Bands
Dr. John Cody Birdwell is Director of Bands at the University of Kentucky, where his duties include conducting the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, directing graduate programs in wind-band conducting, teaching graduate courses in instrumental conducting, history and literature, and supervising the administration of the University of Kentucky band program in the School of Music. Prior to his appointment at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Birdwell served as Director of Bands at Texas Tech University, Director of Bands at Utah State University, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois, and Director of Bands at Northern Michigan University.
Dr. Birdwell's ensembles have toured extensively throughout the United States, China, and Great Britain, and the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony was recently selected to perform at the 2013 National Convention of the College Band Directors National Association. Ensembles under Dr. Birdwell's direction have also performed at numerous CBDNA national and division Conferences, and have also performed for the Kentucky Music Educator's Association, Texas Music Educators Convention, Texas Bandmaster's Association Convention, and the Utah Music Educators Association. In 2008 the UK Wind Symphony toured the People's Republic of China, and performed to capacity audiences in the cities of Suzhou, Yangzhou, Changzhou, and Beijing.
Birdwell has collaborated with and premiered works by a variety of celebrated artists, conductors, and composers including Arturo Sandoval, Michael Colgrass, Luis Serrano Alarcon, Tim Reynish, Frederick Fennell, Dan Welcher, Donald Grantham, John Mackey, Anthony Barfield, Bob Mintzer, Mike Mower, and Adam Gorb. Several compact discs, including the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble "Distilled in Kentucky - Premieres from the Bluegrass State", and "GO! - The Music of Bob Mintzer", along with the Texas Tech University Symphonic Wind Ensemble "LIVE!" and "Diversions" have received acclaim from composers and conductors throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Dr. Birdwell is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and holds degrees from The University of North Texas and West Texas A&M University.
Dr. Birdwell serves as President-Elect President of the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division, and holds memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, Kentucky Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Phi Beta Mu, Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha. He remains active as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States and abroad.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Department / Music
- Director of the Lexington Singers Children 's Choir
- Music / Associate Unit Head, Professor, Ensemble Directors / Associate Director of School of Music, Associate Director of Choirs
- Voice Technician for the UK Treble Choir
Lori Hetzel is the Associate Director of Choral Activities, Associate Director of the School of Music, and professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Kentucky where she conducts the UK Treble Choir and the ever-popular a cappella group "Paws and Listen".
In addition to her conducting duties, Dr. Hetzel supervises student teachers and teaches undergraduate methods and choral conducting courses where she has pioneered a unique partnership program with area high schools allowing undergraduate students to begin classroom teaching early in their curriculum and gain true "hands on" experience. Hetzel is a contributing author to the new textbook Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success.
Among her many academic accomplishments, she was the recipient of the University of Kentucky "Great Teacher of the Year" award in 2000, a finalist for the Provost Awards for Outstanding Teaching in both 2009 and 2010, and the winner of the Robert K. Baar Choral Award in 2011 - "given to one choral director in the state who exhibits outstanding leadership in choral music and promotes music education in the state of Kentucky." Lori Hetzel received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin/Green Bay, the Master of Music from the University of Missouri/Kansas City and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University.
Outside of the university, Dr. Hetzel serves as Artistic Director of the Lexington Singers Children's Choir and conducts the LSCC Chamber Choir. The Lexington Singers Children's Choir was formed to provide specialized choral opportunities for the children of central Kentucky and now offers four select choirs in which children can participate. The group performs not only in the greater Lexington area but has also presented concerts with the Indianapolis Children's Choir - Kantorie, the Spivey Hall Children's Choir (Atlanta), the Central Illinois Children's Choir, and at the Kennedy Center as part of the "Our Lincoln" concert presented by the Kentucky Arts Council. They are often seen in collaboration with other area musical groups including the Lexington Singers, Lexington Philharmonic, UK Opera Theater and the UK Choirs.
Hetzel is serving her second term as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Women's Choirs, ACDA Southern Division.
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Co - Editor of the Anthology, Arts
- Department Chair
- Editor - in - Chief of the Journal of Arts Management
Dr. Rachel Shane is the Department Chair and an Associate Professor of Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky. She oversees the department's three degree programs, the BA, MA, and PhD in Arts Administration as well as the Graduate Certificate in Fundraising and Development and professional development offerings. She also teaches a variety of courses in the degree programs.
Outside of UK, Dr. Shane is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society (JAMLS); the President of the Board of Director for Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts (STPA); and was a former Board Member for the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE).
Dr. Shane is the co-editor of the anthology, Arts and Cultural Management: Critical Sources to be published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Press. She has numerous published articles including "Resurgence or Deterioration: The State of Cultural Unions in the 21st Century"; "Inciting the Rank and File: The Impact of Actors' Equity and Labor Strikes"; and "Deaccessioning: A Policy Perspective." She has also conducted research and published on pedagogy utilizing technology "Integrating Meaningful Technologies in the Arts Administration Classroom: Creating a Constructivist and Connectivist Learning Environment" and "A Guide to Teaching Music Online." Most recently, she has presented her latest research on "Teaching Soft Skills Through an Emotional Intelligence Curriculum."
Prior to joining the UK faculty, Dr. Shane served as Department Head and Professor of Arts Administration at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where she established the arts administration department and grew it to the fourth-largest graduate program at the college. At SCAD, she led the design and creation of three-degree programs including one of the only completely online graduate programs in arts administration, a Master of Arts degree program on-campus, and an undergraduate minor in Arts and Entertainment Management.
Dr. Shane was the Managing Director of the Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven, Conn. She also served as the Associate Director of Education at the Delaware Theatre Company and as the Theatre for Young Audiences Tour Director and Theatre Summer Camp Director for the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Fla.
Dr. Shane earned a Ph.D. in Cultural Policy and Arts Administration at The Ohio State University. She also earned a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University, a Bachelor of Science in Theatre from Northern Arizona University, and an A.A. degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Job Titles:
- Department / Music
- Music / Associate Dean, Associate Professor / Associate Dean for Assessment and Student Advancement
Job Titles:
- Lecturer
- Department / Music
- Music / Lecturer
Erin Walker Bliss is a Lecturer in World Music at the University of Kentucky. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Northern Illinois University and DePaul University respectively, and she holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Kentucky. Erin is also ABD in a PhD in musicology/ethnomusicology at UK. Erin has taught courses in music appreciation, jazz history, Asian music, and the history of rock at the University of Kentucky and was a temporary instructor at Northern Illinois University in the summer of 2007. As a percussionist with an extensive background in world music, Erin's diverse musical interests have allowed her to travel to Korea, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Thailand, Canada, Croatia, and throughout the United States. She has presented papers at various conferences including SEM, CMS, IASPM, Musica Scotica, and Music in 19 th-Century Britain. She is a founding member of the nief-norf project, a contemporary percussion ensemble. In Lexington, Erin is the director of the Central Music Academy, a non-profit music program that gives free music lessons to financially disadvantaged children.
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
- Instructor in the Graduate Arts Administration Programs at the University of Kentucky
Kuruvilla is an instructor in the graduate arts administration programs at the University of Kentucky and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, teaching ethical and legal issues in the arts and civic engagement. Her work ranges from rights management and collections management to museum education and administration for museums. She is published in museum deaccessioning and the Visual Artists Rights Act and the 2nd edition of her book, A Legal Dictionary for Museum Professionals, is available from Rowman & Littlefield.
Kuruvilla is active in the museum field, participating in panels at conferences of the American Association for State and Local History and the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums, and at the New Jersey History and Historic Preservation Conference and the Collective Liberation virtual convening. She is a member of AASLH Standards & Ethics Committee, assisting in the drafting of "Valuing History Collections" (2020) and "What's Next? A Guide to Museum Transitions and Closures" (2021). She worked with Family Race Exhibit Collective, assisting in their start-up phase to create a non-hierarchical collective of under- and unemployed museum professionals. She is a founding member of Agate Creatives, an Illinois nonprofit which seeks to develop revolutionary experiences in museum spaces that amplify the voices and experiences of marginalized communities.
She has served as the Interim Director of the Meadowlands Museum, Rights Manager at the Newark Museum, in the education department at Save Ellis Island, and as a consultant to Museum Partners Consulting and the Institute of Museum Ethics. She worked as a law clerk to the President of the Chicago History Museum and for the Chicago Public Art Group and as a research assistant to Patty Gerstenblith.
Kuruvilla earned a J.D. and certificate in Intellectual Property: Art and Museum Law from DePaul University. She earned an M.A. with distinction in Museum Professions from Seton Hall University, a Post-Baccalaureate in Italian Renaissance Art History from Studio Arts Center International, and a B.A. in Art History and Psychology from Rutgers University. She clerked for the Honorable La Quietta Hardy-Campbell, Circuit Court of Cook County, the Honorable Arlander Keys, U.S. Federal District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and the Honorable Melvin Gelade, Middlesex Vicinage (NJ) Law Division.
Job Titles:
- Professor / Playwriting, Screenwriting, History, Co - Director Filmmaking: Production & Dramatic Writing Undergraduate Certificate, University Research Professor / Theatre
Job Titles:
- Patron Services Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Curator of Collections & Exhibitions
- Department
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
- Instructional Designer for the Arts Administration Department at the University
Joe French is the Instructional Designer for the Arts Administration Department at the University of Kentucky. While collaborating with faculty and administrators within the department, Joe helps to design and develop the instructional materials for online courses by applying quality assurance processes, maintaining courses within the learning management system, and working directly with students to ensure they are prepared for the online learning environment.
Prior to joining the department, Joe worked with faculty members and Program Directors in a variety of disciplines to design interactive courses for online degree programs. He has developed interactive learning objects by using tools such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Connect, Blackboard, and Actionscript 3.0. In 2015, Joe volunteered with Designers for Learning to help design an online instructor-led massive open online course (MOOC) that offered guidance for adult basic educators to meet college and career readiness standards.
As an intern, Joe prepared interactive labs for a Basic Motor Skills course within a Physical Education program. From 2007 to 2009, he was a Graphic Designer for Columbia Southern University. Joe was also a Graphic Artist for Sunbelt Lettering, where he prepared vector art for plotters and the screen-printing process.
Joe earned a Master's in Instructional Design and Development from the University of South Alabama and a Bachelors in Communication Arts with a specialization in Advertising from the University of West Florida. He has completed the workshop named "Applying the QM Rubric" through Quality Matters and has to earned the Peer Reviewer certification.
Job Titles:
- Music / Associate Professor / Director of Music Theory Pedagogy Certificate Program
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Arts Administration Assistant Professor
- Department
Leah Hamilton is an arts executive, educator, and professional musician with experience in strategic planning, fund development, legislative advocacy, facility management, and cultural policy.
Hamilton currently works as an independent arts consultant and researcher. Prior to moving to consulting work in 2016, she served as Instructor and Director of Arts Administration at Drury University in Missouri, U.S.A.
Hamilton gained in-field cultural management experience as the Executive Director of the leading arts agency in Southwest Missouri, U.S.A., the Springfield Regional Arts Council. Under Hamilton's leadership, the Council stabilized its funding and expanded its programming and facilities at The Creamery Arts Center.
Hamilton's Master's thesis at Drexel University, Arts Facility Emergency Preparedness in the State of Missouri, was awarded the Top Thesis Award and Academic Excellence Award by the university in 2016. Her research, curriculum and management models for emergency planning in arts facilities has since been presented at the International Conference on Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, the Congress for European Network for Cultural Policy and Management, and the annual Arts Administration Educators Association conference.
She is a proud member of AAAE (Arts Administration Educators Association), Americans for the Arts, and the Kulturmanagement Network.
In addition to her M.S. degree, Hamilton holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a Bachelor in Music degree from the University of Kansas. Hamilton is a former Ambassadorial Scholar for the International Rotary Foundation, and a founding member of the professional chamber ensemble, Octarium.
Libby Hannon is a North Carolina native with a background in creative writing and an M.A. in English Literature. Although her previous roles in higher education have been related to lecturing and residence life, she is excited to work for CFA in an environment that supports creative processes and student excellence. She adores living in the Lexington area and all the events the city has to offer.
Job Titles:
- Library / Schmidt Vocal Arts Center / Singletary Center for the Arts
- Library / Singletary Center for the Arts
Job Titles:
- Membership & Marketing Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Dean of the College of Fine Arts
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Kentucky
- Department / Music
- Music
Michael Baker is associate professor of music theory at the University of Kentucky, where he teaches courses on harmony, counterpoint, aural skills, the analysis of musical form, and musical interpretation. His research focuses on text-to-music relationships in song and opera, Schenkerian analysis and interpretation, and the music of Benjamin Britten. His publications appear in music analysis journals such as Theory and Practice, Tempo, College Music Symposium, The Musical Times, The Dutch Journal of Music Theory, The Journal of Schenkerian Studies, and Indiana Theory Review, and he has research forthcoming in a volume on semiotic approaches to opera, to be published by Oxford University Press, and a volume on the analysis of music by women composers, also slated for publication through Oxford University Press. He has presented his research several times at the Society for Music Theory, the Semiotic Society of America, the European Music Analysis Conference (EuroMAC), and at various other national and international conferences on music analysis and interpretation.
Michael is also an avid horn player, and performs in several local and civic ensembles in and around Lexington, KY, including regular positions in the Lexington Brass Band and the Capital City Community Band, and has also recently performed as part of the Lexington Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Enigmatique (Louisville), and the Sacred Winds Ensemble. During the summer months he teaches music courses for a study-abroad program for music majors based in Salzburg, Austria. He is currently serving as director of graduate studies for the University of Kentucky School of Music and serves on numerous master's degree and doctoral advisory committees, both within the School of Music and as outside examiner for other colleges.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Arts Administration
- Department
Michael W. Ibrahim is the Chief Program and Impact Officer of TSNE MissionWorks (formerly Third Sector New England), a $70 million nonprofit management and capacity organization that advances social good and helps nonprofit organizations thrive. At TSNE, Michael oversees, evaluates, develops, and expands TSNE's national program offerings and services, including executive search and transition, human resources and organizational development consulting, training and professional development, and a wide variety of nonprofit training programs.
Prior to joining TSNE, Michael was Cultural Investment Portfolio Manager at the Mass Cultural Council. In addition to tens of millions in direct grantmaking, Michael led the Council's Advisory Services and Capacity Building Initiatives for arts, humanities, and science organizations across the Commonwealth. This work included providing direct consulting services, technical assistance, group facilitation, financial health inventorying, capacity mapping, research and evaluation, and cohort development to help organizations build adaptive and innovative models of operation.
Michael launched several capacity building programs at the Mass Cultural Council, including the Capacity Accelerator Network, Capacity Measurement Tool, MCC Small Shop Network, Cultural Data Financial Management Series, the Safe Harbors Program, the Recover, Rebuild, and Renew Series, and produced the Council's arts leadership podcast, Creative Minds Out Loud, among other initiatives. Michael has published works and presented nationally on organizational development, strategic planning, philanthropy, capitalization, evaluation, and EDI strategies with the goal of driving social and cultural impact.
Previously, Michael was the director of development at the All Newton Music School for over a decade, and held management positions at Greater Boston Stage Company, Barrington Stage Company, and the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his work at the University of Kentucky, Michael is on the faculty of Boston University's graduate arts administration program, and is a former faculty member of Emerson College's arts administration program.
Education: Advanced Graduate Study in Education Leadership Management, Northeastern University; MS in Arts Administration, Boston University; Fundraising Management Certificate, Boston University; BA in Arts Administration, University of Kentucky.
Job Titles:
- Visitor Services Manager
- Department
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
- Director of Programming and Marketing for Winchester - Clark County Parks
Michelle Franzetti is currently Director of Programming and Marketing for Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation. With a focus on community development, Michelle has worked with a large variety of community-based organizations including foundations and local government entities.
Michelle is a graduate of the University of Kentucky's Arts Administration Masters Degree were she was appointed as a Teaching Assistant. After graduation, Michelle continued teaching at UK as adjunct faculty.
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
Nancy Denholm was the Director of the Eissey Campus Theatre, a 750 seat community performing arts center, at Palm Beach State College in Florida for 22 years. Nancy has an MFA in Theatre Management from Florida State University and a BS in Business and Marketing from Florida Southern College.
Nancy has over 35 years experience managing performing arts centers throughout Florida. She was the Director of Marketing and Arts Education at Ruth Eckerd Hall, a 2200 seat performing arts center, in Clearwater for 10 years and a founding member of Altered Stages, a small non- profit theatre. She was also the COO for the Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training (BRITT).
She has taught Acting and Theatre Appreciation at Palm Beach State and was a professional actress for many years as a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Currently Nancy is doing consulting work for arts organizations and teaching online.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean, Integrated Business Unit
- Department
Paula Sandford holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky. She has 21 years of experience in higher education budget formulation, development, execution, and management. She has served as the Director of Business Operations and the UK Dental Care Plans Manager for the College of Dentistry for a decade. Paula executed the College's $32 million annual budget and managed a staff of four in a centralized business office. She has maintained positions on the medical campus since 1991.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean
- Associate Dean, Professor
Job Titles:
- Department / Music
- Director of the School of Music
- Music
Job Titles:
- Arts Administration
- Department
- Executive Director of Centre College 's Norton Center for the Arts
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Arts Administration
- Community Member of Starfire
- Department
Currently, Tara is an active community member of Starfire, an organization that works to build better lives for people with disabilities, and she is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in the foster care system in Ohio.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Ticketing Director