Arts and Community Leader Named Diamond Family Director of the Arts
A leader in arts programming and community engagement at the Juilliard School in New York, Teresa D. McKinney, has been chosen after a national search to lead the development of an integrated arts experience between Colby and Waterville as the founding Diamond Family Director of the Arts.
McKinney comes to Colby with an extensive record of creating and managing complex arts programs, supporting student development, and connecting educational institutions and community organizations to deliver exceptional arts programming to diverse communities.
At Julliard, one of the world’s foremost performing arts schools, McKinney built programs that brought students in dance, drama, and music to schools and healthcare facilities across the city to provide culturally relevant teaching and high-level performances.
“I look forward to working with the amazing team at Colby to amplify the talents of faculty and students, on campus and in Waterville,” she said. “I’m excited to make our community a vibrant and renowned destination for arts and culture.”
The Diamond Family Director of the Arts is a new position essential in building a culture of creativity and innovation across disciplines and enhancing the arts curriculum at Colby. It was made possible by the support of the Diamond family—Trustee Robert E. Diamond ’73, P’12, Jennifer Diamond P’12, and Charles Diamond ’12.
The director will connect and integrate the work of Colby’s academic departments, as well as the Lunder Institute for American Art, the Colby College Museum of Art, the Center for the Arts and Humanities, the planned Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville.
The new Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts at Colby, to be constructed at the southern entrance of campus, will be a defining element of the College’s arts ecosystem and will provide new spaces for concerts, dance, and theatrical performances, further connecting Colby’s arts offerings throughout campus and to the broader Waterville community.
With the Colby Museum and the Lunder Institute, exceptional programs in art, music, theater and dance, and cinema studies, and the future development of Schupf Arts downtown already in place, the city and the College are quickly becoming arts destinations.
McKinney, who was raised in Santa Barbara, Calif., has a bachelor’s degree in flute performance at Hampton University and a master’s in arts administration from Florida State University College of Music. Prior to joining Julliard in 2011, she served as director of education at New York City Opera.
The search committee for this position included Sam Barry ’20, Sunny Dangui ’20, Vice President of Planning Brian Clark, Carolyn Muzzy Director of the Colby College Museum of Art and Chief Curator Sharon Corwin, Director of the Lunder Institute for American Art Lee Glazer, Director of Libraries Lareese Hall, Associate Professor of Theater and Dance Jim Thurston, and Associate Professor of Music Natasha Zelensky.
McKinney starts at Colby April 1.
