Meet the Director
Mark Nerenhausen serves as both founding director and professor of practice of the Janklow Arts Leadership Program. He brings more than two decades of professional arts administration experience to Syracuse University, having most recently served as president and CEO of the $354 million AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. In this capacity, he secured AT&T as a naming sponsor, raised more than $4 million in the first year of operations, created a governing board, and instituted an integrated business information platform. He also brokered strategic partnerships with regional and national organizations, several of which were devoted to minority arts, and initiated the Jazz Roots series. His academic experience includes faculty positions at Florida International University in Miami; Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla.; and Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale. A sought-after keynote speaker and consultant, he serves on the boards of the Bluegreen Corp. in Boca Raton, Fla., and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Business, from which he earned an M.A. in arts administration.
From 1998-2009, Nerenhausen played a similar role at the multi-venue Broward Center, fashioning it into a catalyst for tourism, economic development, education, industry innovations and cross-cultural exchange. Under Nerenhausen’s tenure, the center’s main concert hall consistently ranked in the world’s top 10 venues for ticket sales, according to Pollstar and Venues Today magazines.
Nerenhausen has held other major positions at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului, Hawaii (1993-98); the Oshkosh Grand Opera House in Wisconsin (1990-93); the Bijou Theater Center in Knoxville, Tenn. (1987-89); the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center in Wisconsin (1985-87); and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville (1983-85).