Hunter College is excited to announce a new structure for its Office of the Arts, retooling its leadership to enhance students’ engagement with community arts organizations and strengthen pathways to careers in creative industries.
Gregory Mosher will serve as Executive Director of the Office of the Arts, where he will work closely with Provost Manoj Pardasani to oversee programs and projects fostering community partnerships, internships, and career placements. Mosher will also serve as Special Adviser for the Arts to President Nancy Cantor, consulting with the President’s Office on strategic direction and fundraising.
The newly structured Office of the Arts will focus on:
- Connecting Campus and Culture: By forging stronger connections between Hunter College and New York City artistic institutions, all Hunter students will gain access to free or affordable tickets to performances, museums, arts events, and behind-the-scenes experiences.
- Enlivening the Arts on Campus: The office will support and promote departmental and student-driven arts projects, emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaborations that enhance campus cultural life.
- Enhancing Classroom Pedagogy: Distinguished visiting artists and arts professionals will engage with students through campus workshops and residencies, providing valuable mentorship and insight into building successful arts careers and sharing their networks and experiences with students.
- Creating Career Opportunities: The office will develop preparatory workshops and offer paid internships and fellowships equipping students with the skills and experiences needed for careers in the arts. Such opportunities will allow students to gain real-world experience without sacrificing critical income.
- Supervise the Humanities 201: Explorations in the Arts course and the Arts Management and Leadership Certificate program.
- Create a Hub for Student Art Activities in the Baker Theatre Building: The Office of the Arts will be centered in Room 307 of the Baker Theatre Building, where film screenings, interdisciplinary arts events, and other creative programming will take place.
The office will explore new ventures, including international travel opportunities, a Hunter-hosted conference on working people in the arts, and year-long post-graduate fellowships to help recent graduates maintain their artistic practices.
The launch of the restructured Office of the Arts has been funded by a $600,000 gift from Dame Susie Sainsbury.
“Hunter’s thriving arts ecosystem of outstanding academic programs housed in the context of a school of arts and sciences long has been a distinctive strength,” said Cantor. “This new structure will help us extend the impact of that ecosystem by forging new connections across campus and across our city, which is one of the world’s great capitals of the arts. We could not be more grateful for the visionary support of Susie Sainsbury, whose lifelong work at the intersection of the arts and education reflects the spirit of creative, cross-sector engagement we continue to grow here at Hunter.”
“I share President Cantor’s vision that every aspect of American society is enriched by the diverse voices of public-school students. The arts are most valuable to a culture when they reflect the widest possible range of human experience,” said Mosher. “This office’s effort to support the astonishing diversity of Hunter’s young artists is not just an urgent matter of basic societal fairness. It is that without these diverse voices, we cannot have a full expression — a full understanding — of what it is like to live in America in the 21st century. We aim to build bridges over which students can assume their place in American culture, and we are confident their voices will be welcomed. I look forward to working with President Cantor and Provost Pardasani as we move forward.”
“Hunter College is host to nationally renowned programs in the arts and performing arts,” said Pardasani. “Our students are trained by faculty who are highly regarded figures in their fields. The Office of the Arts will provide a forum for our students to network with professionals, learn from leading luminaries, secure impactful internships and find meaningful employment. Leveraging the resources New York City has to offer, the OAA will expand opportunities for our students and alumni.”
Meet the Team
The restructured Office of the Arts is led by a talented and experienced team of professionals:
- Gregory Mosher – Special adviser to the president and executive director of the Office of the Arts is a two-time Tony Award winning producer and director. He was chair of Hunter’s Theater Department from 2017 to 2022 and is now the Patty and Jay Baker Professor of Theatre.
- Jenny Rroji – A professional concert pianist and teacher and the co-founder of the Roadmaps Festival and Ossia Symphony Orchestra she has extensive experience in arts administration and non-profit arts management.
- Chad Kaydo – Playwright and Hunter College Master of Fine Arts graduate, who is developing work with prominent New York City theater organizations.
- Monika Orzelowski – Recent Hunter graduate and freelance company manager at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
- Dara Meyers-Kingsley – Founder of the Office of the Arts and as director of the Muse Scholar Program, will focus on the visual arts.
- Noël Masal – 2024 Hunter graduate, visual artist, actor, and musician, deeply engaged in New York City’s arts community will work with the Office of the Arts focusing on visual arts, and assist the director of the Muse Scholars as well as the director of the arts management and leadership certificate.
Our dedicated team is committed to advancing the mission of the Office of the Arts, providing students with unparalleled access to the arts, and fostering connections that will lead to fulfilling careers in the arts and creative industries.
For more information on events and opportunities, please visit the Office of the Arts website at https://ooa.hunter.cuny.edu/ or follow us on Instagram @artsathunter.
