Description

The Center for Arts and Letters, founded 1989, is the umbrella organization for the public arts and humanities cultural events at Rockhurst University, including lectures, music performances, poetry readings, film screenings, study trips, and fine art exhibitions. The center is funded primarily by restricted endowed funds that were established to ensure that Rockhurst continues to provide cultural programming for our students’ co-curricular benefit and for community engagement. The Center for Arts and Letters oversees the operations and direction of the Greenlease Gallery, which features a permanent collection of approximately 27 objects from the 15^th-18^th centuries (the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art) and hosts temporary rotating exhibitions (approximately one exhibition a semester).

The director of the Center for Arts and Letters also serves as the director of the Greenlease Gallery and the Panacea Project Space the area that features temporary exhibitions. The purpose of the campus art gallery is to provide free access to original art and ideas that connects students, staff, faculty and greater Kansas City to an array of interdisciplinary topics and imagery to inspire cura personaliscare for ourselves and others. The gallery director role includes oversight of the gallery’s physical environment; stewardship and care of the gallery’s permanent collectionwhich includes maintaining a collections database, conducting condition reports, and ensuring the gallery stores and exhibits the collection with professional standards; and curatorial oversight of temporary exhibitions to ensure they reflect the University’s mission and gallery’s mission, and related logistics for receiving, shipping, installing and ensuring temporary fine art exhibitions. In addition, the gallery director assists with stewarding campus fine art acquisitions and maintaining fine art exhibited in other buildings and owned by the University.

Position Responsibilities

Marketing, audience and partnership development

• Develop strategies for reaching targeted audiences, including students, and new audiences
• Build opportunities to create a diverse audience for visiting the Greenlease Gallery and Panacea Project space
• Develop partnerships on and off-campus for programming and exhibitions
• Raise the prominence of Rockhurst as a cultural center in greater Kansas City and on campus
• Develop and oversee marketing, advertising and promotional strategies annually to support efforts tied to CAL and Greenlease Gallery
• Grow and manage mailing lists in partnership with Advancement Services

• Work in partnership with Rockhurst University Relations and Rockhurst Marketing team to promote programs and create marketing materials

Program Development and Execution

• Be present at each of the Arts and Letters events to manage the logistical needs, greet guests, make announcements if necessary, and cultivate good will with the audience.
• Collaborate and help design unique and successful arts and humanities cultural experiences on campus with faculty partners and others
• Support the execution and ensure logistics for each program are in placereserve space in advance, reserve needed equipment, ensure space is set up, program is properly marketed, staffed, and audience needs are met (reserved parking, ADA assistance, projections, sound, etc.)

Fundraising and budget management

• Assist in development of annual program area budgets
• Prevent budgetary deficit and ensure expenditures for each program area are processed, properly coded, and payments are made on time
• Track expenditures to ensure proper stewardship of endowed funds
• Secure additional funding with expectation of successful outcomes through portfolio management and event fundraising in collaboration with the Office of Advancement
• Coordinate the annual grant opportunities in partnership with Corporate and Foundations Relations in the Office of Advancement
• Seek strategic underwriting from outside partnerships to support program or exhibition series
• Seek and write new grants in partnership with Corporate and Foundation Relations in the Office of Advancement for CAL program series and gallery exhibition projects or needs
• Manage and write grant reports as follow up to secured funding
• Ensure funders are recognized in print, on the web, or in public as needed

Management and Supervision

• Work with the faculty program partners to develop an annual holistic approach for cultural programming to consider University needs, partnerships across campus, external funding, and ensuring pacing and marketing for program date.
• Recruit, hire, train and supervise part time student workers to assist with Greenlease Gallery staffing and for Center for Arts and Letters events.
• Manage all aspects of temporary fine art exhibition projects start to finish.

Committee Involvement

• Serve on appropriate University committees, such as leading the Center’s program partners committee and the Art on Campus committee

Assessment

• Conduct and analyze appropriate types of assessments (audience satisfaction, faculty and student participants interest range, etc.) that can be used for assessment of outcomes, feasibility, etc.
• Provide annual statistics to faculty partners and University leadership to assess the academic year’s endeavors and plan for the future.
• Track and record grant funded project data to ensure outcomes are met

Position Details

• This is a full-time position.
• Candidate must be able to work the evening and weekend times as the administrator of the programs and events of the Center of Arts and Letters and Greenlease Gallery.
• Flexible time could be considered in accordance with current university policies.
• Reports to the associate vice president of University Relations

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university, master’s degree preferred.
• An interest in and appreciation for the arts.
• Minimum of seven-10 years of previous work experience in the field.
• Minimum of five years of previous management/leadership experience.
• Familiarity with museum collections management, exhibition display, and/or curating displays, art handling and art installation know-how. Background in art history is useful.
• Proven success in grant writing and/or major donor solicitation
• Proficiency in oral and written communication
• Experience in marketing and promotions of events or programs
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work well with others, and to also function autonomously.
• High degree of organization and initiative.
• Project management experience helpful.

Full time Rockhurst employees enjoy an excellent benefits package including:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Short- and long-term disability
• Life insurance
• Long Term Care insurance
• 125 Tax Savings Plan
• Tax deferred retirement plan.
• Tuition Remission for undergraduate and graduate classes for employees
• Tuition Remission for undergraduate classes for spouses and dependent children
• Vacation and sick time along with 15 paid holidays.

Applicants who would enhance the diversity of the University, such as individuals from historically underrepresented groups, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Rockhurst University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and uses E-Verify. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Rockhurst University is committed to creating a diverse working environment. The University recruits and employs successful candidates without regard to race, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and/or disability in employment, educational programs, or activities that it operates.

Qualifications