This page gives a more detailed description of the Arts Administration courses at Fredonia. Each course listed uses "experiential" or learning-by-doing as the form of instruction. Enrollment in these courses requires permission of the coordinator of the Arts Administration program, or, in the case of AADM 410, the manager of the Campus Ticket Office. Space is limited and is generally reserved for arts administration majors.
Courses that are in the Arts Administration curriculum but not listed on this page are provided by other academic departments on campus. For more information on those courses, please visit the university catalog or the web page for the respective department.
AADM 310 - Fundraising and Grant Writing for Nonprofits
(offered for one semester only - every other year - advance planning will be necessary)
Course Summary: This course will provide an overview of fundraising and grant writing in today’s American society including methods and techniques for annual fund drives; direct mail, internet and phone-a-thon fundraising; special events, major gifts, capital campaigns, endowment campaigns and grant-writing. The history of philanthropy and ethical and legal issues pertaining to the field will be addressed, as will the role of volunteers, board members and professional staff members in an organization’s fundraising efforts.
Course Learning Outcomes: Through participation in this class including attendance at and participation in class meetings, reading of assigned material, and completion of projects, the successful student should:
- Feel good, and not icky, about fundraising.
- Understand why they should feel good about fundraising.
- Understand why people give to non-profit organizations
- Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the basic vocabulary of the profession
- Be able to write a “case statement” for a chosen charity
- Demonstrate the use of industry “best practices” in the creation of a direct-mail appeal
- Be able to outline and describe the fundraising process (planning, research, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship and evaluation)
- Be able to research grant opportunities in a chosen field.
- Be able to explain the “donor pyramid” and the “80/20” rule.
- Demonstrate a knowledge of online and association resources
- Be able to explain the various specialized roles in the fundraising area of small, medium and large organizations
AADM 400 - Arts Administration Practicum (every semester including summer and J-term)
Direct work experience under the supervision of one of the staff members of Rockefeller Arts Center. This class is available for variable credit. The usual number of credits is three. For three credits, students are required to work a total of 135-140 clock hours over the course of a semester -- an average of nine hours per week for 15 weeks. Several placements are typically available each semester.
Fund Raising (Fall semester only): One student each fall semester assists the director of Rockefeller Arts Center with the annual membership/fundraising drive for Friends of Rockefeller Arts Center. Tasks include preparation of bulk mailings and a variety of targeted direct mail appeals; copywriting, editing, and proofreading; data entry of incoming gifts into a consolidated database; and preparing and sending personalized thank you notes to donors.
Concert Planning and Production (Spring Semester): Assist the director of Rockefeller Arts Center with repertoire selection and planning for the annual commencement eve pops concert and/or a Christmas pops concert for the following academic year. Maintain library and database of big band charts owned by Rockefeller Arts Center. Assist with auditions and rehearsals.
Marketing and Public Relations (any semester): Work with Rockefeller Arts Center's public relations assistant with the preparation of press releases, newsletter articles, programs, flyers, posters, postcards, email campaigns, and radio spots.
Front-of-House Management (any semester): After having served successfully for at least one semester as a volunteer usher, students are eligible to apply to the assistant director of Rockefeller Arts Center for consideration to become an assistant house manager. Working directly with other students who serve as house managers, the assistants go through a formal shadowing and training program that prepares them to become a house manager. By working at a variety of the many public events that take place each semester at Rockefeller Arts Center, students learn to attend to audience safety and comfort, and to supervise volunteer ushers in the tasks of ticket taking, showing patrons to their seats, coat check, beverage and merchandise sales, and emergency procedures.
Advanced Ticket Office Operations (any semester): Upon successfully completing AADM 410 (Ticket Office Practicum) students who have shown a high level of competency and maturity as a ticket office clerk may be allowed to continue for one additional semester in the Campus Ticket Office under the ticket office manager. Tasks include more advanced work than is done in AADM 410 and may include scheduling of workers, training, and supervision of other students, preparation of specialized reports, and resolution of customer service issues.
AADM 410 - Ticket Office Practicum (every semester -- including summer)
Direct work experience as a student clerk at the campus ticket office as a front-line clerk in an office that handles campus event ticketing as well as a variety of transportation services. In addition to working assigned hours as shown in the university class schedule at the ticket office in the Williams Center, students are expected to work a number of evening or weekend events at one of the campus venues. Students learn basic customer service skills and how to sell tickets by phone and in person using a sophisticated computerized ticketing system that also serves as a customer relationship management database and fundraising system.
AADM 490 - Arts Administration Internship (any semester, including summer and J-Term)
Internships are similar to the practicum courses described above except that they take place off campus with an arts organization such as a theatre company, symphony orchestra, restored historic theatre, or similar cultural organization. Internships can be in a variety of specializations such as company management, fund raising, marketing, or facility operations. The many summer festivals that take place in upstate New York and neighboring states are excellent opportunities for learning, for resume-building, and for building a professional network. Internships can also be done during the fall or spring semester, in cities large or small.
Click here for General Information about Fredonia Arts Administration Internships.
Click here for Detailed Requirements for a Fredonia Arts Administration Internship.
Here is a select list of arts organizations at which Fredonia students have done internships:
- The Erie Philharmonic, Erie, Pennsylvania
- Shea's Performing Arts Center, Buffalo
- The Gimmerglass Opera Company, Cooperstown, New York
- Cortland Repertory Theatre, Cortland, New York
- Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, Jamestown, New York
- Gallery Valenti, San Jose, Puerto Rico
- Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Beckett, Massachusetts
- Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Fredonia
- Fredonia Opera House, Fredonia
- Syracuse Opera, Syracuse, New York
Internships require a Fredonia Learning Contract to be developed in advance of the internship starting. The learning contract is a four-way an agreement between the student, the student's immediate supervisor at the host agency, the director of the Arts Administration, and the office of Career Development. Each learning is custom-tailored to meet the needs of the student and the host agency. Internships offer the most in-depth and intense form of experiential learning that Fredonia has to provide. Internships may be done for as few as three credits or as many as 15. 135 clock hours is required for every three credits. For more information, visit the internship page at the Office of Career Development.