Following a rigorous and transparent recruitment process led by the Faculty Search Committee, which included the Chair of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP), the MPAP Director of Academic Operations, the Performing Arts Administration (PAA) Program Administrator, and the PAA Program Director, the Performing Arts Administration graduate program at NYU Steinhardt has appointed Kirsten T. Munro (Development for the Performing Arts) and Michele Beasley (Law and the Performing Arts) as new adjunct faculty members to teach in Spring 2021.
Due to a larger than usual incoming class, the PAA program was given permission to add an additional section of the Law and Performing Arts course in spring 2021 so students could experience a smaller size class.
Kirsten Munro (Development for the Performing Arts) has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit arts and culture sector. She is currently Director of Development at Baryshnikov Arts Center, where over the last eight years she has increased the organization’s overall funding portfolio. Previously, she held development positions at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Ms. Munro is also Adjunct Faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University and in the Visual Arts Administration graduate program at NYU. She holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from Pomona College. Ms. Munro said,
“I am honored to join the Performing Arts Administration program at NYU Steinhardt. This is a time of enormous change for all of us, and this certainly includes the arts! But there is one constant – non-profit cultural organizations always need to raise funds! With their energy, curiosity, and adaptability, the students in this program represent the future of our sector. They are the leaders who will ensure that the arts sector continues to thrive. I look forward to working with them to examine how and why we fundraise and to explore new approaches to utilizing this fundamental skill. The course will examine the theoretical frameworks and history that underscores fundraising in the United States and build practical skills in conceiving and creating fundraising materials and strategies. Most important, throughout the course we will examine how equality, inclusion, and racial and social justice inform our work as development professionals.”
A former opera singer, Michele Beasley (Law and the Performing Arts, section 002) is an attorney with over two decades of experience in nonprofit and for-profit organizations, working in private practice law firms and in-house legal teams. Previously, Ms. Beasley served on the board and executive committee of the Women’s Refugee Commission, and on the board of Intersection for the Arts, a multi-art performance and community organization in San Francisco. She has taught Legal Issues in Arts Administration for the past five years in the Arts Administration graduate program at Boston University. Ms. Beasley earned a post-graduate diploma in Organizational Leadership at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University, a JD from Georgetown University, and a BA in Music from Smith College. Ms. Beasley said,
"I am excited and honored to have this opportunity at NYU Steinhardt's Performing Arts Administration program. I look forward to working with a new group of students and to seeing the New York arts experience through their eyes. The course I teach at Boston University combines performing and visual arts students, so it will be a rare treat to focus on the specific issues facing performing arts organizations and their management. The current pandemic abruptly and radically changed the landscape for performing arts organizations in particular, and new legal issues immediately surfaced that many companies were not yet prepared to manage. My course will incorporate close study of many of those issues, from contracts to copyright, and try to prepare students for the new world that is and is to come. In addition, I have always taught aspects of law that closely tie to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion themes that have risen to the top over the past year, and we will examine in the course how the law puts these concepts into action in a practical way. I look forward to working closely with the students toward boosting their effectiveness for their organizations and giving them the legal tools to round out their arts administration training."
In making the announcement, the Program Director Dr. Richard Maloney said, “I am very pleased to welcome Ms. Munro and Ms. Beasley to the PAA faculty. Both are talented teachers who possess strong academic and professional backgrounds. I am certain students will enjoy working with them. We look forward to working with Ms. Munro for years to come and are grateful Ms. Beasley agreed to join us for the spring semester.”