RICHMOND, KY - When Eastern Kentucky University cuts the ribbon on its brand new Center for the Performing Arts, Katherine Eckstrand will be in charge of what goes on inside. Eckstrand has been recruited from the Ohio Arts Council for the role of Executive Director of EKU's new venue.
"It is an honor to join such a dedicated team of civic and educational leaders who are committed to revitalizing and enriching not only their community but also the greater region and state of Kentucky by creating a first class performing arts facility," Eckstrand said in a statement. "I am impressed by the Board's forward-thinking vision for this Center, by the community's support and enthusiasm for this vision, and by the project's unique Ö partnership. The arts have always been an integral and significant part of the human experience. This Center, by providing quality, varied and diverse arts experiences, will contribute significantly to the community's educational, cultural and economic quality of life."
Now under construction, the 93,000 square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in 2011 and bring to central Kentucky a third "Broadway-capable" venue, competing with the Lexington Opera House and Centre College's Norton Center. The EKU Center will house a 2,000 seat, double balcony proscenium theater featuring a fly system used by technical crews to quickly move set pieces, lights, and microphones on and off stage by 'flying' them in from a large overhead opening known as a flyloft. Both the Lexington Opera House and the Norton Center also feature the systems.
The Center, located adjacent to the University's new Business & Technology Center, will include a configurable "black-box" theater with seating up to 250. The building will feature a lobby large enough to hold events in conjunction with a show in the main theater or as stand alone events, said EKU spokesman Marc Whitt. "The design of the facility lends itself to flexibility - the entire facility can be used for one event, or each area could actually host an event occurring at the same time," he said.
The $30 million performance center is a considerable point of pride to EKU officials - the finest such facility in the state, according to President Doug Whitlock, "and one of the finest in the multi-state region."
The funding strategy was unique because it joined state, county and University resources. A 13-member Board of Directors consisting of representatives of EKU, the City of Richmond, City of Berea and Madison County, was established to oversee design and construction.
In her role with the Ohio Arts Council where she has served since 2005 as Director of Community Development, Eckstrand managed four grant programs, directed staff and constituent professional development, worked with organizations to revitalize their communities through the arts, and oversaw the agency's accessibility and diversity programs. She also administered the Appalachian Arts Program, which involved working with the founder of the national Quilt Barn Trails, and the Ohio River Border Initiative, a partnership with the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Eckstrand's experience also includes 19 years in higher education. From 1986 to 1994, she served as Arts Director and Director of Cultural Programs at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va. Then, for the next 11 years, she was Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center at Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio.
At Clark State, Eckstrand provided leadership in strategic planning, program development, management of a $1.2 million budget, fundraising, grant writing, marketing and facility management. She facilitated the creation of several innovative programs and partnerships, including Arts Alive, a partnership with the Kennedy Center, public schools and Wittenberg University, to provide teacher training in arts integration; and Project Jericho, a partnership with the Clark County Department of Job and Family Services to serve at-risk youth and families. Project Jericho received the 2005 County Leadership in the Arts Award from the National Association of Counties and the 2008 Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Commission on Arts and Humanities.
Eckstrand has been an adjunct faculty member in English, Theatre and Arts Administration at several institutions of higher education. She has also served in leadership roles in local, state, and national organizations in such capacities as board member and officer, grant panelist, conference organizer and host, and consultant in program design and strategic planning. She served as the president of both the Ohio Arts Presenters Network and the West Virginia Arts Presenters, on the board of the West Virginia Arts Advocacy Network and as a member of Ohio Citizens for the Arts. She recently completed a term as chair of the national network of community development directors at state arts agencies.
While in Springfield, she also served as president of the Springfield/Clark County Center City Association, a non-profit dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Springfield, as program co-chair of the Springfield Rotary Club, and on several committees of the Springfield/Clark County Chamber of Commerce. For her community arts work, she received the 2004 Ohio Governor's Award for Arts Administration.
She received her bachelor's degree in Theatre and English from Wilmington College (Ohio), her master's in English from DePaul University and is currently working on her dissertation for a doctoral degree in Arts Policy and Administration from The Ohio State University.
Eckstrand is married to Edward Weisenbach, a retired educator/technology director, who is also a bluegrass musician in the Muleskinner Band and an amateur woodworker.