The Career Paths of Non-European-American Executive Opera Administrators in the United States
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 The Career Paths of Non-European- American Executive Opera Administrators in the United States Antonio C. (Antonio Christopher) Cuyler Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE, AND DANCE THE CAREER PATHS OF NON-EUROPEAN-AMERICAN EXECUTIVE OPERA ADMINISTRATORS IN THE UNITED STATES By ANTONIO C. CUYLER A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Antonio C. Cuyler All Rights Reserved The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Antonio C. Cuyler defended on January 26, 2007. _________________________________________ Pat Villeneuve Professor Directing Dissertation _________________________________________ Patrick Mason Outside Committee Member _________________________________________ Anne Hodges Committee Member _________________________________________ Marcia Rosal Committee Member Approved: _________________________________________ Marcia Rosal, Chair, Art Education Department _________________________________________ Sally McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre, and Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the named committee members. ii “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” Carter G. Woodson iii For my grandmother Mary Frances Cain Campbell & my sister Maikeisha Nikia Cuyler Whose battles with serious illnesses have taught me the true meaning of love for my family! iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Life is a journey that leads us places we never expect to go. Along this journey we will have many compasses. But to dream the impossible dream, we must take the road less traveled. This makes all the difference, and we will not defer our dreams. Completing a dissertation is no easy undertaking. It is absolutely necessary that I give thanks to those who helped me carry out this monumental task. First, I want to thank my study participants, Michael Ching, Linda Jackson, and Willie Waters. I could not have conducted this study without your participation, thank you! I would like to acknowledge my supervisory committee led by Dr. Pat Villeneuve. Dr. Marcia Rosal, thank you for your constant support in all of my pursuits. Dr. Patrick Mason, thank you for encouraging me to look at my topic objectively with a quantitative mind. Dr. Anne Hodges, thank you for always helping me feel better. To the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Endowment for the Arts, and OPERA America, thank you for assisting me with data during the initial stages of this dissertation. To the Board of Regents of Florida State University and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, thank you for financially endorsing this dissertation. To my colleagues Drs. Carolyn Brown-Treadon, Min Cho, Hai Kyung Kim, Gerald Knight, and Brent Peterson, thank you for our many conversations about research. To my friends William P. Brown, Joakima A. Carter, Lawrence M. Jackson, Mitchell D. Lewis, and Reverend Ryan A. Wright thank you all for just being there. My life is more blessed and enriched because of knowing you. To my family, thank you for your prayers. Last but not least, to my divine source of light, thank you for giving me the vision and self-sustained motivation to incessantly seek to know my purpose and maximize my potential! v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Abstract x I. INTRODUCTION 1 Background for the Study 1 Problem Statement 2 Purpose of the Study 4 Research Questions 4 Significance of the Study 4 Delimitations 5 Definition of Terms 6 Summary 7 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 9 Bi-cultural Life Structure Theory 9 U. S. Operatic History 11 Affirmative Action 25 Recruitment 27 Recruitment Theory 33 Career Development Theory 34 Professionalization and Arts Administration 40 Summary 46 III. METHODOLOGY 48 Research Questions 48 Methodological Theoretical Foundation 49 Research Design 50 Sample and Participant Selection 51 Data Collection 52 Data Analysis 54 Data Presentation Strategy 55 Discussion of Credibility 56 Discussion of Transferability 56 Limitations of the Study 57 IV. CAREER NARRATIVES 58 Michael Ching 59 Linda Jackson 65 Willie A. Waters 83 vi V. FINDINGS 103 Research Question 1 Career Paths 103 Research Question 2 Career Advancers 107 Research Question 3 Career Barriers 111 Research Question 4 Career Strategies 114 Research Question 5 Beneficial Experiences 118 Summary 121 VI. CONCLUSIONS 123 Summary of Findings 123 Implications 124 Recommendations for Further Research 127 Reflections 128 APPENDICES 130 REFERENCES 222 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 244 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Opera Company Demographics 22 2. Research Question/Data Collection 53 3. RQ2 Career Advancers 111 4. RQ3 Career Barriers 114 5. RQ4 Career Strategies 118 6. RQ5 Beneficial Experiences 120 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: The Demographics of Opera Audience 22 Figure 2.2: The Age Demographics of Opera Administrators 23 Figure 2.3: The Ethnicity/Race Demographics of Opera Administrators 23 Figure 2.4: The Gender Demographics of Opera Administrators 24 Figure 2.5: The Employment Status Demographics of Opera Administrators 24 Figure 2.6: Alfred’s Internal/External Model 41 ix ABSTRACT The individual and organizational practices that advance and impede careers of people of color are well documented in research (Alfred, 2001; Bell, 1990; Clay, 1998; Chee, 2004; Darden, 2003; Dawkins, 2004; Fagneson, 1993; Green-Powell, 1993; Huang, 1995; King-Toler, 2004; Lester, 1996; Livingston, 2000, 2003; Salleh-Barone, 2004; Scott, 2003; Thomas and Gabarro, 2005). In the arts, however, little is known about the career challenges, choices, and patterns of professional growth of non-European- American executive-level managers. DiMaggio (1987) studied the careers of executive managers in the arts, but excluded opera administrators and ignored the scarcity of non- European-Americans in these positions. Yet, affirmative action, the bi-cultural life structure theory, and Alfred’s (2001) internal/external model offer explanations for how non-European-Americans achieved executive careers in major opera companies. Consequently, this exploratory qualitative research study examined the career trajectories of three non-European-American executive opera administrators to identify career advancers, career barriers, career strategies, and beneficial experiences to their career success. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, follow-up interviews, content analysis, and document analysis, this study compiled the most comprehensive primary source material on the career paths of non-European-American executive opera administrators. The findings of this study support the development of a paradigm that will assist future arts administrators in their pursuit of vertical mobility in arts administration. x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION When a profession lacks a number of diverse individuals, one might assume that discrimination has reared its ugly head without considering the complexities of the situation. I believed this, too, until I had the experience of working in human resources for an arts organization. My current view is that in spite of a society plagued with discrimination, marginalization, and oppression, individuals can obtain professional success regardless of their age, cultural background, ethnicity, gender, mental, or physical disability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. These characteristics represent a multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people of the United States, as well as a variance of perspectives that are valuable and meaningful. This dissertation is about diversity in the field of performing arts administration. I studied the careers of three non-European-American executive opera administrators to tell the story of how they achieved top-level management positions in major opera companies. Statistically firm conclusions were not drawn from this study. The size of the sample did not necessitate such a study. Nor was it the goal of this study to prove that a glass ceiling, discrimination, racism, and sexism existed in the pursuit of top-level management positions in arts administration. Instead, use of the exploratory qualitative research method allowed in-depth examination of outliers. Background for Study In the late 1960s, arts administration emerged as a program of graduate study because arts organizations needed well-trained managers who understood both the artistic and business aspects of managing the arts. Martin and Rich (1998) insisted that successful arts management is critical to the continued vitality of modern cultural institutions and arts organizations. Therefore, arts organizations and cultural institutions need skilled arts managers. As a result of this emerging field of study, arts organizations find significant value in recruiting managers with graduate training in arts administration. Until 1987, however, the only studies conducted on these managers were salary studies 1 that yielded little information about the demographic backgrounds of these administrators. DiMaggio (1987) studied the careers and opinions of senior administrators of U.S. art museums, symphony