JIM HOPFENSPERGER FELLOWSHIP FOR EMERGING ARTS ADMINISTRATORS
The National Council of Arts Administrators provides several professional development opportunities, most notably the Emerging Arts Administrators Fellowship, which supports early-career leaders in the field.
Fellows receive:
- A one-year NCAA membership
- Full registration waiver for the annual conference
- A personalized mentorship pairing with an experienced NCAA member
What distinguishes this program is its emphasis on mentorship. Fellows are intentionally matched with mentors based on shared interests and career goals. This supportive relationship helps build confidence, expand networks, and offer strategic guidance for navigating arts leadership.
Fellow Testimonials:
“The fellowship paired me with a mentor whose experiences closely aligned with my goals. Regular meetings and candid conversations helped me grow professionally. The trust, collegiality, and support from the NCAA community were invaluable. I left the conference with new tools for strategic leadership and healthier work-life boundaries.”
“Being an NCAA fellow was an honor. The mentorship and broader support from the NCAA community were truly impactful. The program helped me build meaningful relationships and better understand arts institutions' operations. From informal chats to conference sessions, every experience offered insight I could apply as an arts administrator.”
"I'm grateful for my one-year Emerging Arts Administrator Fellowship. In addition to my mentor's generosity with her time during our regular one-on-one meetings and candid conversations, everyone on the board and in membership was happy to provide advice, support, and recommendations. It feels as though the committee took the time to pair us with mentors whose career paths and other experiences mirrored, to an extent, the trajectories and goals of each fellow. The specificity of this attention has been critical to my own professional development and career advancement. NCAA sets a clear and collegial expectation that all conversations are held in strict confidence, facilitating a climate of trust and goodwill that builds invaluable friendships, fellowship, and connections between and beyond institutions. The discussions over meals and on the bus are as essential as the conference sessions and workshops. Everything I learned directly applied to improving how I serve my colleagues with informed, strategic leadership and healthy work-life boundaries."
"The NCAA fellowship was incredibly timely for a recent promotion to Assistant Dean of Research and Assessment at my university. I was fortunate to be paired with Colin Blake and have appreciated his genuine willingness and transparency. During our online meetings, we discussed various topics, including finances, personnel issues, and research; the most helpful area was his guidance during a recent search. After his session on diversifying faculty searches, I was able to follow up with him on specific questions I had while chairing a committee, and his insights and suggestions were invaluable. This program is of such value, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been selected and supported to participate in the mentoring as well as the conference."
I'm grateful for my one-year Emerging Arts Administrator Fellowship. In addition to my mentor Elissa Armstrong's generosity with her time during our regular one-on-one meetings and candid conversations, everyone on the board and in membership was happy to provide advice, support, and recommendations. It feels as though the committee took the time to pair us with mentors whose career paths and other experiences mirrored, to an extent, the trajectories and goals of each fellow. The specificity of this attention has been critical to my own professional development and career advancement. NCAA sets a clear and collegial expectation that all conversations are held in strict confidence, facilitating a climate of trust and good will that builds invaluable friendships, fellowship, and connections between and beyond institutions. The conversations that happen over meals and on the bus are as essential as the conference sessions and workshops. Everything I learned was directly applicable to improving how I serve my colleagues with informed, strategic leadership, and healthy work-life boundaries.
It was an honor to be a fellow for the National Council of Arts Administrators. I benefited greatly from the program and the NCAA community.The mentorship I received from my mentor Jeff Schwartz was especially enriching and helpful, but I also received a great deal of attention and care from so many of the board members and beyond connected to the NCAA. The multi-tiered mentorship program provides sound support and wisdom in the path of an arts administrator in the making (hence "fellowship for emerging admin") and is truly invaluable. It all made sense to me by the time I got to reading "Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership" by Richard Farson. By deepening relations outside of one's own college, it only helped enlighten why some things are the way they are within and made way for greater context, clarity, and understanding of the ways in which art institutions exist and thrive + how communities come together to forge the workings of the future. The best thing about the program was being able to establish meaningful relationships with incredible national and international art admin leaders in higher ed. I learned so much by being affiliated and just being around – everything from side conversations to formal conference debates, chit chats while running late and sharing rides – gave me ample takeaways that I was able to directly apply to the day-to-day at my own college.
The NCAA fellowship was incredibly timely in relation to a recent promotion to Assistant Dean of Research and Assessment at my university. I was fortunate to be paired with Colin Blake and have appreciated his genuine willingness and transparency. While during our online meetings we discussed a variety of topics, including finances, personnel issues, research, the area that was most helpful was his guidance during a recent search. After his session on diversifying faculty searches, I was able to follow up with him on specific questions I had while Chairing a committee and his insights and suggestions were invaluable. This program is of such value and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been selected and supported to participate in the mentoring as well as the conference.
The Tucson conference was my first NCAA conference, this conference introduced me to a small group of dedicated individuals committed to the arts and its administration. I learned about their journeys from faculty members to art administrators, the journeys were diverse and full with challenges and successes, but mostly satisfying. While in Tucson I was lucky to have met wonderfully knowledgeable people and new mentors. They were all very helpful, candid, and willing to lending a helping hand with every aspect of their experience with the administration of the arts and academic departments. Soon after I attended the NCAA conference Memphis College of Art, my current employer, announced that they would be closing its doors soon. The announcement was somewhat expected, but nevertheless I was dumbfounded by the news and suddenly, just like that, I found myself on the job market once more. I am confident that the knowledge and experiences I acquired during this conference will make me a stronger candidate and I’m looking forward to new opportunities where I can apply everything I learned at the 2017 NCAA conference.
For me, the best part of being an NCAA Fellow at the conference was the many conversations had within the context of a breathtaking Tucson resort. Many thanks to my mentor, Professor Nan Elizabeth Goggin, who shared her wisdom on the dos and don’ts of administrative work. I am also indebted to the other arts administrators to whom she introduced me. They, too, were generous in giving advice and sharing their administrative experiences. I gleaned real strategies that I am implementing now in my role as Graduate Program Director. It is reassuring to know that I am a part of a broad but tightly knit community of art administrators from all levels and domains of academia.