By Nick Roman
By Jacob Nelson
When Megan Cherry was in first grade, she told her parents she wanted to play the violin. A month later, she nagged them about it. Finally, they signed her up for lessons.
“They thought I’d only play for a year and I’d quit,” Cherry said during a recent interview.
Sixteen years later, she’s still playing. (more…)
By Jacob Nelson
Kayla DeSouza’s professional path was set in motion when she interned at a public arts performance high school in Chicago.
The program offered free arts education to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get it, and the experience working there inspired DeSouza to pursue a career in arts nonprofit organizations.
“I was fortunate enough to have a really well rounded education,” said the MSLCE student, pointing to her experience in Chicago Children’s Choir, and her time in private school. “Interning there made me want to give back to kids who aren’t as fortunate.” (more…)
By Jacob Nelson
Chad Hewitt is drawn to theatre more than other art forms for one simple reason: it’s one of the few remaining forms of creative expression that can only be enjoyed in person.
“Theatre is the last artistic platform where you can’t use your phone or computer to experience it. You have to be present for it,” Hewitt, a new MSLCE student, explained. “If you watch a video or photograph of theatre, you’re not experiencing what it was designed for. That specific experience will never happen again.” (more…)
As the fall quarter gets underway, we welcome new faces and embrace new frontiers in the MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program.
Now in its fourth year, MSLCE welcomes its largest incoming class yet. We are honored to welcome 42 new faces to campus this fall and to welcome back students who are continuing their studies. Our continuing students are fresh back from applying learning they gained from their prior coursework to their exciting internships in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. (Check out pages 4 and 5 to read more about internship experiences from MSLCE professionals themselves.)
I am personally excited to join MSLCE as a new face this fall as well. It is an honor to be leading the MSLCE program and a privilege to help develop rising leaders’ prowess to foster and lead creative teams, initiatives and organizations across sectors. The MSLCE program uniquely bolsters students’ business knowledge and strategy savviness, and nurtures their innovative and entrepreneurial professional goals. I am particularly passionate about MSLCE due to its distinctive and integrated approach to leadership across the arts, culture, media, and creative fields, making it a rigorous and versatile degree.
In terms of new frontiers, we celebrate our recent MSLCE graduates and alum as they take on new roles in marketing, development, and finance in theater, museums, television and film…to name just a few! In addition, we are expanding where students will go for the annual MSLCE industry immersion treks, visiting with leaders of creative enterprises in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco this year. Finally, we are taking our curriculum to new frontiers as well, including a new course to deepen learning about the roles of government and philanthropy in creative enterprises.
We look forward to sharing more with you throughout the year.
Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Ph.D.
MSLCE Faculty Director
By Charlie Wein
It’s no question that these days, our lives revolve around our digital devices. Whether it be social interaction through Facebook and Twitter, artistic expression through Instagram and Pinterest, or even in keeping up with current events, we are more likely to access our preferred news outlets by digital means through our phones and tablets. Why? The simplest answer…convenience. Some days, we probably spend more time looking at screens than the world around us, and many industries were forced to shift their business practices to adapt to this digital world. Most notably, the business of advertising. (more…)
By Jacob Nelson
Hailing Xiang’s interest in advertising stems from her desire to help her family. When her father’s company developed a new product, it presented Xiang with a problem: How do you advertise it? (more…)
By Jacob Nelson
On paper, Angelique Power’s career seems like a natural ascension from nonprofit management positions to her current role as President of the Field Foundation. The reality is more complicated.
“I fell into my career, like many of us do,” Power said during a recent interview.
Power, who will be discussing her professional trajectory at the next MSLCE Speaker Series event on Nov. 2, acknowledged that while “there is a presumption that folks know exactly the path they’re going to go on,” her experience has been less pre-determined. (more…)
For our first Faculty Spotlight of the 2017-2018 academic year, we interviewed Northwestern Professor James G. Webster about media audiences. Webster researches audience measurement, the behavior of media audiences, and media industries. In the responses below, he discusses misconceptions about audiences, how to determine “a hit,” and predictions for the future of audience behavior.
By Jacob Nelson
Daniella Smith fell in love with opera when she realized she excelled at singing it.
The new MSLCE student and Seattle native originally began her artistic career in musical theatre, before realizing that her voice was better suited for classical.
“As I watched more opera, I really fell in love with it,” Smith said during a recent interview. She explained, however, that her ambitions have shifted from being on the opera stage to being behind the scenes. “Now, I’m more interested in producing it or being on the other side of it.” (more…)
