Expert on Arts and Communities to Visit UA; Public Presentation Set for Feb. 25

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, an expert on presenting the arts, will spend several days in Tuscaloosa this week discussing arts and community issues with representatives of The University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa community.

She will make a public presentation on “Arts and Public Purpose/Connecting Communities” on Friday, Feb. 25 at noon in the Recital Hall of the Moody Music Building on the UA campus.

Jennings-Roggensack, executive director of public events and assistant vice president for cultural affairs at Arizona State University, has been presenting the performing arts for the past 26 years. Her visit ties in with an ongoing arts initiative on the UA campus and in the Tuscaloosa community, according to Dr. Hank Lazer, assistant vice president for undergraduate programs and services at UA and chair of UA’s Arts Council.

“The University and the Tuscaloosa community are working together to coordinate and enhance cultural events in our community,” Lazer said. “We are looking forward to hearing the ideas and experiences that Colleen Jennings-Roggensack has to offer.”

In addition to her public presentation on Feb. 25, Jennings-Roggensack will meet with numerous campus and community leaders during her three-day visit to the area.

Jennings-Roggensack served on the National Council on the Arts from 1994-1997 and has also served as an Ambassador for the Arts for the National Council on the Arts. She worked with the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education on the Goals 2000 Arts Education Action Planning Process. Her speaking engagements have included the Library of Congress, An American Canvas in Salt Lake City and the Classical Music Summit and the Performing Arts Center Summit in Hartford, Conn.

Widely recognized for her work, Jennings-Roggensack was honored for her contributions to the arts and diversity by the Consortium of Black Organizations and Others for the Arts in 1997. The same year, she was also recognized for her work with the disabled community. The Western Arts Alliance honored her with the Betty Connors Award in 1996, and she was selected as the International Association of Administrative Professionals Kachina Chapter’s 1995/96 Executive of the Year. She was also selected as a 1995 YWCA Tribute to Women Award Winner in the professional category.

Jennings-Roggensack has held positions at Dartmouth College and Colorado State University and served as director of performing arts and professional development at the Western States Arts Federation. She was an adviser to the National Dance Project, Africa Exchange Advisory Council, The Japan Foundation and its performing arts program, and a contemporary theatre partnership between the United States and The Netherlands.

She also served for three years as the president of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and is a former Board member on the Arizonans for Cultural Development and Western States Arts Federation. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau, Childsplay, and Creative Capital. She was vice-chair for special events for the Super Bowl XXX Host Committee, and she coordinated the first-ever Super Bowl Concert Series in January 1996.