Nonprofit@UWW

18 Oct

Matthews Presents at Association of Arts Administration Educators

This summer, lecturer Megan Matthews was part of a panel presentation at the Association of Arts Administration Educators on the topic of how universities launch new programs.  The panel, “…By Any Other Name…”, was created in response to recent research about how programs choose their names, what kind of political and administrative realities affect creation of new programs, and how several programs have navigated through the process of starting up.  In choosing names, programs tend to use terms that

  • Describe the program
  • Distinguish the program from competitors
  • Avoid crossing institutional boundaries.

But questions remain – especially about whether and how a name might impact curriculum and outcomes.  For instance,

  • Does an entrepreneurship program aim to produce a different kind of graduate than a management program?
  • Do enterprise alumni have different career goals than administration alumni? 
  • Do graduates of a leadership program hold a unique world view?

Megan shared data from research conducted on a Creative Enterprise program she has helped to develop at UW-W. 

As UW-Whitewater launches the Nonprofit Management minor this fall, we’re sure that it smells pretty sweet – but we’ll continue to monitor evolving understandings of whether a new program by any other name would also be just as rosy.

PHOTO CREDIT : UW-WHITEWATER PHOTO/CRAIG SCHREINER

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