Rockhurst University to Honor NEA Chair Jane Chu with Leadership Award March 3

Rockhurst University will honor National Endowment for the Arts Chair Jane Chu with its 2016 Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics as part of the fourth annual Rockhurst University Leadership Series luncheon, scheduled for Thursday, March 3.

Chu, a 2005 graduate of the Helzberg School of Management’s executive MBA program, was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the 11th chair of the NEA in 2014. Herself an accomplished pianist and musician, Chu oversees the independent federal agency working to cultivate and strengthen cultural and fine arts programs throughout the United States.

Under Chu’s leadership the NEA has awarded $220 million in grants, researched the economic impact of arts programs in the U.S., and launched Creativity Connects, a leadership initiative designed to show how central the arts are to the country's creativity ecosystem; investigate how support systems for the arts have changed; and explore how the arts connect with other industries.

“Since her confirmation by Congress in June 2014, the rest of the nation has been able to discover what we at Rockhurst and in Kansas City already knew about Jane — that she is a true champion of the arts,” said the Rev. Thomas B. Curran, S.J., president of Rockhurst University. “She is also a living example of what the Rashford-Lyon Award was established to recognize — the excellent leaders among us who consistently display ethical leadership.”

Prior to her appointment to the NEA, Chu served as the CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts from 2006 to 2014. In that position, she oversaw the $413-million fundraising campaign to build the world-renowned facility in Kansas City. Chu also served as fund executive at the Kauffman Foundation, as vice president of external relations for Union Station Kansas City, and as vice president of community investment for the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

The Rashford-Lyon Award is named for two influential leaders in Rockhurst University’s Helzberg School of Management ­—­­ the late Tom Lyon, Ph.D., and the Rev. Nick Rashford, S.J. — and was established in 2014.

Presented by the Rockhurst University Leaders Council and the Association for Corporate Growth, the Rockhurst University Leadership Series Luncheon featuring 107th Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. March 3 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, 2345 McGee St. in Kansas City, Missouri. A limited number of individual tickets are available for the event.