Michael Kaiser Announces Resignation from Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Submitted by Steve on February 19, 2013
Kaiser writes for his blog at Huffington Post:
It is official: I am a lame duck. My contract as President of the Kennedy Center expires at the end of next year and the board has just assembled a search committee to look for my successor. I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this amazing institution and have enjoyed (almost) every minute of my tenure. But after 12 years as President, it is time for someone with a new and different vision to run the national cultural center.
(I was meant to depart at the end of 2011 but I needed to stay to ensure that our affiliation with the Washington National Opera went smoothly. It has.)
I hope the Search Committee finds a remarkable person to run the Kennedy Center, someone who can take the institution to new places and can educate and entertain our audience in ways I could not even imagine.
But I would caution the members of this Committee (and any other search committee working in the arts today) not to ignore several key 'truths'.