The OK Arts Council has a new leader

Posted by brandy

on February 22, 2008M at 2:45 pm

From Friday’s Oklahoman.

New agency chief hopes to promote arts
Longtime deputy asked to lead council.

The nationwide search for the new executive director of the Oklahoma Arts Council led right back to Oklahoma. Suzanne Tate, who has been interim executive director since fall, was this week named executive director of the state arts agency.

Tate succeeds Betty Price, who retired in October after 24 years as executive director. Price said Thursday she is delighted the council chose Tate to follow in her footsteps.

“I just think that she is going to make an excellent executive director for the agency. She is well-founded in the work of the agency and has vision and the energy that is required to run the state arts agency,” Price said.

Before becoming interim executive director, Tate worked since 1992 as deputy director, overseeing programs and budgets and managing day-to-day operations.

Vote was unanimous

Jim Tolbert, chairman of the Oklahoma Arts Council, said the agency conducted a nationwide search that yielded several strong candidates. About 50 people applied, including Tate, and four candidates were interviewed.

Tate was the unanimous choice of the six-person search committee and the 16-person council, Tolbert said.

“I think Suzanne is equipped because of her experience, her passion for our programs and her knowledge of Oklahoma. And I’m very excited about what she can accomplish,” he said.

Tate said in the news release that one of her goals is to highlight the benefits of the arts to the state.

“We have an opportunity to incorporate the power of the arts and culture as tools that unite communities, create economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in Oklahoma. I’m looking forward to promoting partnerships among state agencies, communities and the business sector to advance the arts for all Oklahomans,” she said.

An Oklahoma native, Tate brings more than 25 years of experience in accounting, auditing and arts administration, according to an arts council news release. She has served on the planning and budget and policy committees for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and reviewed grants for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Playing a regional role

Tate graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she studied accounting and art. She also studied at Bellas Artes Art Institute, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

As executive director, Tate will serve on the board of directors of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a nonprofit group promoting cultural activity in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma.

-BAM

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Arts