MichiganRadio

Kennedy Center Gets $22.5M from DeVos Family ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Betsy DeVos sits on the board of the Kennedy Center, and all last year she watched as the organization's president traveled around the country, giving talks about the importance of well-trained, effective arts leaders.

So the DeVos family decided to respond to the call with a $22.5 million endowment to the Kennedy Center to fund an arts management program. It will include fellowships at the Kennedy Center and 2-year training programs for arts leaders across the country.

DeVos says millions of dollars are spent training artists, but so little is invested in training those who manage them:

"So we see this as a great opportunity to really leverage the creative talents of all of these artists in a whole new way by having effectively trained managers of arts organizations."

DeVos says one of the first training programs will soon be up and running in Grand Rapids.

More information about the fellowship program at the Kennedy Center can be found here: http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/artsmanagement/fellowships/home.html

Contact Jennifer Guerra at guerraj@umich.edu
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