The Department of Art and Music Histories in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences has announced the appointment of Mark Nerenhausen (left) as founding director and professor of practice of the new Janklow Arts Leadership Program. Nerenhausen brings more than two decades of professional arts administration experience to SU, having most recently served as president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

The new graduate program—named in honor of alumnus Mort Janklow, a renowned arts patron and literary agent, and his wife, Linda LeRoy—launches in the summer of 2012. For more information, contact Amanda Eubanks Winkler, associate professor and chair of the Department of Art and Music Histories, at 315-443-4584 or awinkler@syr.edu.

“Mark Nerenhausen is renowned for his signature collaborative approach to arts management,” says Arts and Sciences Dean George M. Langford, referencing Nerenhausen’s pioneering work at the AT&T Performing Arts Center and, before that, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Mark understands the role the performing arts play in a community of any size, from education to economic and urban development.”

Nerenhausen is no stranger to program launches. In 2009, he opened the $354 million AT&T Performing Arts Center, a five-venue complex for music, opera, theater and dance. As head of facilities, programming and organization, Nerenhausen secured AT&T as a naming sponsor, raised more than $4 million in the first year of operations, created a governing board and instituted an integrated business information platform. He also brokered strategic partnerships with regional and national organizations, several of which were devoted to minority arts, and initiated the Jazz Roots series.

From 1998-2009, Nerenhausen played a similar role at the multi-venue Broward Center, fashioning it into a catalyst for tourism, economic development, education, industry innovations and cross-cultural exchange. Under Nerenhausen’s tenure, the center’s main concert hall consistently ranked in the world’s top 10 venues for ticket sales, according to Pollstar and Venues Today magazines.

Nerenhausen has also held major positions at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului, Hawaii (1993-98); the Oshkosh Grand Opera House in Wisconsin (1990-93); the Bijou Theater Center in Knoxville, Tenn. (1987-89); the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center in Wisconsin (1985-87); and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville (1983-85).

His academic experience includes faculty positions at Florida International University in Miami; Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla.; and Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale. A sought-after keynote speaker and consultant, he serves on the boards of the Bluegreen Corp. in Boca Raton, Fla., and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Business, from which he earned an M.A. in arts administration.

“This is a new and exciting chapter in the life of the college,” says Winkler, who led the job search. “Mark brings tremendous vision to both the Janklow Arts Leadership Program and the campus community. He has a proven track record in marketing and public relations—skills that are vital in this economic climate—and knows how to effectively engage with smaller, emerging ethnic arts organizations. He is a welcome addition, on many fronts.”

The Janklow Arts Leadership Program is the nation’s first comprehensive 15-month, 39-credit-hour master’s program for recent college graduates. Developed in response to the nation’s arts management crisis, the curriculum encompasses coursework in entrepreneurship and leadership; marketing and public relations; financial accounting and budgetary planning; operations; strategic planning and analysis; financial and audience development; education and outreach; and legal, ethical and public policy in the arts.

Cross-disciplinary in nature, the Janklow Arts Leadership Program is administered by The College of Arts and Sciences, and closely involves the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.