Who is eligible to apply to the Center for Curatorial Leadership?
Candidates for the Center for Curatorial Leadership must be curators. American citizens who are currently employed at art museums where they are charged with the care, display, and interpretation of objects as well as the organization of temporary exhibitions.
The CCL welcomes candidates from all ranks of the curatorial profession.
What kind of experience should a candidate have had in order to apply for the CCL fellowship?
With a demonstrated commitment to the full range of curatorial endeavor, the ideal candidate will have participated in the management, care, and scholarly study of collections as well as the development and realization of exhibitions along with their accompanying publications and programs.
Experience with the supervision of both personnel and finances as well as exposure to fundraising initiatives and strategic planning are essential for an engagement with the broad directorial duties addressed in the CCL curriculum.
Do I need to be nominated by my institution?
The CCL encourages both institutional and self-nominations for this program.
What materials must I submit to apply?
Please find our application by going to the Application tab on this site. A new application for the 2009 will be uploaded to the site by May 1, 2008.
When is the application due?
July 18, 2008.
How will the participants be selected?
A committee of current and former art museum directors will review the applications and select the fellows in concert with the CCL director.
When will I know if I have been selected for the program?
Applicants will be notified by October 1, 2008.
How many participants will be included in each class?
We anticipate that each CCL class will have approximately ten fellows. Effective leadership instruction, which relies on interactive activities and team assignments, typically includes ten participants.
How much will the program cost me and/or my institution?
The CCL will absorb the cost of tuition, travel, and accommodation for the fellows.
How long is the program?
The program term is six months, running roughly from January-June of a calendar year. CCL fellows must commit to four weeks away from their home institutions. These four weeks will be dispersed across the six-month term as follows:
- A two-week intensive program in New York in January.
- A one-week residency at a museum different from the CCL fellow's home institution - dates to be determined by mutual agreement by the CCL fellow and the host director, but likely to be in March/April.
- A final week residency in June.
- A mentorship will also span the six month program.
- Team projects that address broad issues in the museum field will be determined by the fellows in January, to be presented in June as “white papers” .
Museum directors and senior administrators will provide hands-on instruction. These professionals will assign and supervise projects in museum-specific subjects such as marketing, finance and budgeting, fundraising, and Board development.
Professors from business schools and other academic programs will teach subjects such as, decision making, managing change, strategy, negotiation and conflict resolution, finance, managerial accounting, endowment management and governance.
In addition to the "classroom" curriculum, several influential museum Board members and directors have generously offered to host luncheons and dinners. Such events will provide CCL fellows with an unparalleled opportunity to engage more informally with leaders in the museum world.
Are you affiliated with a university or museum? What kind of qualification will I receive?
The CCL is a certificate program which provides the opportunity to study the essentials of museum management. The program includes a combined curriculum blending both academic and museum professionals as instructors. During the first two-weeks of the program, faculty from the Columbia University Business School will lead the academic modules for the program. In June, various museums and universities will again participate in the program instruction.
How will I be paired with a mentor?
The selection of mentors for CCL fellows will occur during the two-week intensive program in January in New York, when the individual needs of each fellow will be assessed. Each fellow will be matched with a director or senior museum administrator whose interests and talents complement his or her own. Indeed, the CCL begins to make inquiries about the mentorships based on the suggestions of the fellows.
The mentorship will consist of a series of conversations over the six-month course of the program. Likely to be conducted as phone conversations, the mentorship will include guidelines for the fellow as well as the mentor.
When will I do my residency and where?
Residencies will take place at a museum different from the curator's own institution, at a time that is mutually agreed upon by the CCL fellow and his or her host. These will likely take place in March or April.
How is this program different from that of the Getty's Management Leadership Institute?
The CCL focuses more specifically on the development of curators to become leaders in art museums. The program for the CCL is spread out over six months, and includes a residency and a mentorship, as well as coursework. The academic parts of the program will inevitably contain some of the same type of leadership instruction as the Getty.
Is this program open to other museum professionals (e.g., educators, development officers, etc.)?
This program was initiated by curators to address their specific concerns about career advancement in the field.
Will my interest and participation in the CCL be understood as a negative signal to my home institution that I wish to leave?
The CCL has received enthusiastic support from directors who universally recognize that this program will offer an unprecedented insight into the very questions that they must address every day.
While the curriculum ultimately aims to train curators to assume the responsibilities of directors, completion of the program will also provide participants with the tools and skills they need to assume greater responsibilities within their home institutions. Indeed, museum directors and administrators understand that this initiative signals a willingness by curators to embrace the administrative responsibilities of the museum at large.
