Roxanna Conner, director of the NIU Theatre and Dance, and Paul Kassel, former dean of the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts and professor in the School of Theatre and Dance have authored chapters in the book Creative Practitioners as Leaders: Reflections on the Art of Academic Leadership.
Conner and Kassel will be part of a panel discussion webinar for The Alliance for the Arts in Research University, December 7, 2026 from 11 a.m. to noon CST. The webinar is a joint partnership with the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD).
The book will be available October 14.
This is an edited collection of essays and interviews that interrogates and discusses how theatre arts practitioners (dramaturgs, directors, voice and speech, etc.) who take on academic leadership positions (chairs, deans, and provosts) use the tools and skills of their embodied artistic practice within their leadership roles. This collection will be a tool for theatre practitioners who are interested in academic leadership roles as well as a resource for those from other disciplines who may want to think about acquiring and implementing skills from the performing arts in their leadership.
