CCL's Impact on the Field
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Transformative Training
CCL has established a new model for developing leaders in art museums. Between 2008 and 2016, CCL trained 98 curators who are now accelerating change at all levels in their institutions.
Impact on Museum Leadership
In April 2013, CCL launched an impact assessment to better understand the long-range influence of the program on the lives of the fellows. CCL surveyed alumni to learn about their current aspirations, track how the fellowship contributed to their professional trajectories, and gauge how they were applying the lessons of the curriculum to their current roles.
The data received from the first five classes of fellows (totaling 62 graduates) indicated successes in the following areas:
Promotions
- 70 percent of alumni received a promotion; 60 percent of these advancements have been at new institutions, expanding the reach of the CCL network.
- 15 graduates were appointed directors; 11 graduates are now deputy or associate directors.
Responsibility
- Regardless of whether they received a title change, 86 percent of graduates reported that their responsibilities increased since their participation in the program and that they were more involved with strategic planning and fundraising.
Salary
- 26 percent of graduates received a salary increase of more 50 percent; another 20 percent earned increases between 20 and 50 percent.
Network
- At the time of the survey, more than 50 percent of graduates were still in touch with the director who served as their mentor, and 70 percent were in touch with their residency host. Cross-institutional relationships between directors and curators initiated by the CCL mentorship and residency components have developed into an enduring network.
Selected Feedback
“The CCL was nothing less than transformative for me. It was refreshingly re-orienting to have my assumptions about museums and non-profit organizations challenged from a perspective of contemporary management theory; to learn from the varied practices of my colleagues at different institutions; and to hear from a panoply of professionals, from government officials, foundation officers and museum directors to prominent collectors and trustees. I emerged a different person.”
—Gary Tinterow (CCL '08), DIrector, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“The director’s job description is daunting and the necessary skills are many and often at conflict one with the other. CCL helped me strengthen business skills and it provided me with valuable resources, sometimes by simply giving me the vocabulary to call things by their real names. Above all, though, CCL inspired me to envision myself as the director of a museum.”