Performing Arts Center Names Arts and Philanthropy Vet Jane Chu New President/CEO

Philanthropic experience and passion for the arts highlight career of the new leader for the landmark regional project

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

July 19, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 19, 2006) — The Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center (MKCPAC) has named Jane Chu, a veteran leader of major philanthropic initiatives, as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.  In this role, Ms. Chu will lead the development, strategy, programming and community initiatives that will bring the $326 million MKCPAC project to life as a regional landmark and world-class cultural and community center.

Ms. Chu brings a decade of philanthropic and community leadership experience to the MKCPAC.  She most recently served as the fund executive for the Kauffman Fund for Kansas From 1997-2002, she served as vice president of community investment at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, where she led the five-year Kansas City Community Arts Initiative to increase participation in the arts across the metropolitan bi-state region. Ms. Chu was also vice president of external relations at Union Station Kansas City from 2002-2004, and vice president and director of development at the Van Cliburn Foundation in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Jane has the unique combination of experience, expertise, passion and creativity required to lead this important, community-defining project,” said Julia Irene Kauffman, Chairman of the Board and President of the MKCPAC, and Chairman/CEO of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation.  “Jane understands our community and our vision for the future.  More than that, she blends the soul of an artist with the practical track record for strategic planning, leading and completing major, complicated philanthropic and community projects.”

Ms. Chu has a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University and is currently a Ph.D. student in philanthropic studies at The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.  She is also an accomplished musician and student of the arts, with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and Bachelor of Music Education from Ouachita Baptist University.  She received a Master of Music degree in piano pedagogy from Southern Methodist University. 

“I am thrilled, honored and humbled that Julia and the MKCPAC board have selected me to help this community realize a dream and create a cultural masterpiece that will stand for generations to come as a symbol of what Kansas City can accomplish,” Ms. Chu said.  “There is real momentum here.  The public Hands-On campaign is taking hold, fundraising and financial support are steadily increasing and the enthusiasm for this project across the region is reaching new heights.  My job is to build upon the tremendous energy and excitement that exists and help lead this project forward so that, in the end, the entire world will look at Kansas City’s performing arts center and recognize that we as a community have accomplished something spectacular.”

The MKCPAC will be home to the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Ballet, and the Lyric Opera, and will also showcase educational, artistic, musical and cultural events from a wide spectrum of performers and styles. It recently announced plans for a fall groundbreaking, launched a new community campaign and unveiled a unique, community-driven grassroots program.  Already nearly 100 people from around the community have volunteered as “Ambassadors,” a group that is leading the public campaign effort to raise awareness, enthusiasm and participation across the region. 

Located at 16th and Broadway, the landmark facility is being designed by a world-renowned team, including architect Moshe Safdie, Yasu Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, and Richard Pilbrow of Theatre Projects Consultants.  The facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

About the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center
The Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center is a project with one overriding goal — to bring artists and audiences together. Ten years of collective research, planning, and design have brought into focus our vision for the mission of the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center. A world-class technical team of architects, acousticians, and other theater designers has been selected, and significant public and private funding has been secured. Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center, Inc. (MKCPAC) was incorporated in October 1999, at which time a separate board of directors was established. In January 2000, MKCPAC received notification from the IRS it was approved as an independent 501(c)(3) public charity.