Carnegie Mellon University

Beginning in November 2018, Jeff was appointed as an adjunct instructor of Arts in Education within the Masters of Arts Management program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

He is currently teaching the Arts in Education course, which is described below:

Arts education is a fundamental human right. Navigating the complex ecosystem of policies and players to foster an environment for this human right to flourish requires a specific set of skills for arts and cultural managers. In this course, students will explore the underpinning philosophical frameworks utilized in the policy, pedagogy, and practice of contemporary arts in education by examining the field’s scholarship, history, and research. Examining the theoretical through the lens of real-life examples, students will grapple with the question: What is my role as an arts manager to create an environment for arts education to thrive serving learners in my community?

Grounded in the practice of professional reflection and culminating with an exploration of educational futures, each class will provide multiple opportunities for students to discuss, interrogate, expand, or develop their own connection to the work. Over the semester, students will develop a concept paper proposing a new or reformed arts education program relevant to their own context.

Through the combination of multimodal (online, in person / discussion, reading, presentation) learning experiences and cumulative assessment, student will develop the capacities to:

• Examine the theoretical and historical underpinnings of contemporary arts in education;

• Explore current themes in policy, pedagogy, and practice of in- and out-of-school arts learning;

• Interrogate relevant models of program design, evaluation, and funding within their own context;

• Connect with established practitioners from the field; and 

• Question contemporary systems, policies, and players to envision the future for arts in education.