UA Presents has tapped an international arts leader and curator to take the top job at the University of Arizonaβs performing arts presenter.
Chad Herzog, co-executive director and director of programming for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut, will become UA Presents executive director on Aug. 12. He will oversee all aspects of the agency, including curating programming and guiding the organizationβs creative vision.
UA Presents has been without an executive director since Chuck Tennes left in 2015. The organization is under the umbrella of the College of Fine Arts.
βWe are delighted to have Chad Herzog join the staff at UA Presents,β Andrew Schulz, vice president for the arts and dean of the College of Fine Arts, said in a written statement. βChad has a vision and a passion for the performing arts and for artists. He has a track record of providing a welcoming environment for innovation and experimentation with artists, which has resulted in higher attendance and engagement for students and the community.β
Herzogβs artistic vision matches that of Schulz, who joined the UA last fall with a mission of integrating arts into teaching and learning. During his 10 years as director of performing arts at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, he developed innovative programming that integrated arts and culture into all aspects of campus life, according to a UA press release. The collegeβs arts presenting arm Juniata Presents increased participation by 250% and student engagement by 700%.
βI am honored and thrilled to be joining the University of Arizona and the great staff at UA Presents, all while returning home to Arizona,β Herzog said in a written statement. Herzog is a native of Phoenix.
βI look forward to expanding on the success of UA Presents,β he said. βI believe in the power of the arts. I believe in supporting and discovering creativity and culture for the 21st century. We can do that through collaboration with the greatest artists and thought leaders from around the world, and with artists and organizations in Tucson and the region. I am eager to work with students, faculty, the UA Presents advisory board, and others both on and off campus to make the University of Arizona a top cultural destination in the Southwest.β
His rΓ©sumΓ© also includes joining the International Festival of Arts and Ideas four years ago. The organization produces more than 300 events per year and attracts artists, thinkers and leaders to New Haven from around the world, including Angelique Kidjo, Rosanne Cash, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the National Theatre of Scotland, Bassem Youssef, Kronos Quartet and Claudia Rankine, among others.
Herzog began his arts career at Juniata College in 1999 as assistant director of development for major gifts, serving as its chief fundraiser and leading a major capital campaign to expand and renovate the performing arts center. He landed the organizationβs top job in 2005 after serving in event management and alumni relations.
Herzog, who has a masterβs of fine arts degree from Goddard College and a bachelorβs in arts administration and communication from Juniata, is a frequent speaker, panelist and invited international delegate to arts and culture forums including the National Endowment for the Arts, Americans for the Artsβ National Arts Marketing Project and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. He also created and developed the community-supported arts program Articulture, served as executive producer on the feature film βSpellβ and was the original producer of βOne Radio Host, Two Dancers: Ira Glass, Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass in Concert.β
Herzog arrives as UA Presents marks its 25th anniversary with its 2019-20 season. It opens Oct. 5 with Motown great Smokey Robinson and includes performances by violin icon Itzhak Perlman, comedian Hasan Minhaj and Broadway Princess Party. Season tickets are on sale now through uapresents.org; single tickets go on sale later in the summer.
