April 16, 2012

Arts & Entertainment Enterprise Department Head and Arts Administration Program Director Cecelia Fitzgibbon has been named President of Moore College of Art & Design. We greet the news of this important appointment for Cecelia with pride and pleasure, but we will greatly miss her. Under Cecelia’s leadership, the graduate Arts Administration program built an outstanding national reputation and an excellent on-line version of the Masters program was created, the College’s first on-line degree. Our Music Industry program rose to prominence and the Entertainment & Arts Management program was successfully launched. Cecelia has been a highly accomplished colleague here at Drexel since 1998 and she has touched the lives of hundreds of students. And to many of us, this means not seeing a friend and mentor on a daily basis. We congratulate Cecelia and in the coming weeks we’ll be sending out invitations for a farewell reception. Now the College must address address the succession at both the department and program levels.

We are pleased to announce that Associate Teaching Professor Larry Epstein will serve as Interim Department Head of Art & Entertainment Enterprise. Larry's leadership as Entertainment & Arts Management Program Director has been superb and he is the ideal appointment to lead the department through its transition. He is a passionate teacher and an adept administrator. Prior to his current position, Larry was the College's Assistant Dean, where he led the strategic planning process and developed partnerships with regional entertainment companies.  His career also includes 25 years in financial, technical, and strategic planning roles in broadcasting management, including 14 years with the CBS Broadcast Group in New York and Philadelphia, and 10 years as a senior level executive in companies serving the television industry.  He also serves as faculty advisor to our award-winning, student-run radio station WKDU 91.7 FM, the EAM F.U.N.D and Entertainment University.

Assistant Professor Julie Hawkins will serve as the Program Director for the campus Arts Administration program.  She is an experienced arts leader and advocate. Prior to joining Drexel's Arts Administration program, Julie served as Executive Vice President for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. While there she led the organization’s advocacy, field research, community engagement, and grant making efforts. Her notable advocacy achievements include the creation of arts platforms by Mayoral and Gubernatorial candidates, the restoration of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, and the defeat of a proposed state sales tax on all arts and entertainment admissions. Julie also led the development of Portfolio, a nationally-recognized series of research reports, analyzing information from the Cultural Data Project, that document the breadth, diversity, and well-being of Southeastern Pennsylvania's nonprofit cultural organizations. She is a board member of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, and was named one of the region's Creative Connectors by Leadership Philadelphia in 2011.

Assistant Teaching Professor Brian Moore will serve as the Interim Program Director of Entertainment & Arts Management. Brian works with nonprofit organizations in fund development, strategic planning, and communications and marketing.  At Drexel, he teaches courses in Fund Development, Audience Development, Strategic Management, Promotion & Public Relations, and serves as a senior project advisor for EAM students.  Prior to entering the nonprofit world, Brian worked in the commercial entertainment industry in New York City for Boneau/Bryan-Brown, the leading Broadway PR house, on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Who’s Tommy, and Angels In America, Parts I & II.

The college is fortunate to have such gifted teachers and administrators, all with deep connections to the arts and non-profit sector in our region and beyond, to take on these important leadership roles and we will now begin a national search for a new Department Head. We are committed to making this time of transition not only a period of uninterrupted commitment to our students but also to building on the successes of this department’s exceptional programs.