Columbus, Ohio (January 10, 2013) – The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) today announced that President Milt Baughman will retire later this year. He will be succeeded by Tom Katzenmeyer, currently Senior Vice President, University Communications at The Ohio State University.
Baughman, who has led GCAC since mid-2009, expanded programs and support for arts and cultural organizations and individual artists, and played an active role during the City’s FRAC (Financial Review and Advisory Committee) analysis, demonstrating the importance of arts and culture to the economic development and competitiveness of Central Ohio. His accomplishments are many, including overseeing the updating of the organization’s grant-making process, which increased funding for small and large organizations, and overseeing GCAC during the 50th anniversary of the Columbus Arts Festival and its return to the Scioto Mile in 2012, where it achieved a record net income.
Under his leadership, GCAC chaired the 200Columbus Celebrations Committee, and developed and began implementing GCAC’s 10-year plan of shared responsibility for arts and culture sustainability.
“Milt brought the right combination of leadership skills and commitment to the arts that GCAC needed, and he can be very proud of his accomplishments in moving GCAC forward. He did a great job of forging the link between arts and culture and economic development,” said Robert Falcone, GCAC board chair. “When Milt took over the leadership reins, he was planning to stay 2-3 years. He has surpassed that and we are grateful for his service to GCAC and the arts community.”
Katzenmeyer is expected to join GCAC this spring and work with Baughman during the transition period. He will guide the organization as it works to help arts organizations and artists thrive in the community, consistent with cities that compete economically with Columbus. Katzenmeyer, who is involved with many nonprofit organizations, leaves Ohio State after five years in the role of chief communicator with the desire to apply his passion for the arts to making a difference in the community.
“We are thrilled that Tom has accepted this opportunity. Not only is he personally passionate about the arts, but he understands what it will take to elevate the arts in Columbus to make us more competitive economically, retaining young talent and keeping our city vibrant for residents, businesses and visitors,” Falcone said. “He joins GCAC at a critical time as we continue to focus on helping the arts and culture community achieve sustainability.”
“In Tom Katzenmeyer, the Greater Columbus Arts Council has found a rare leader,” said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. “Tom’s passion for and commitment to the Columbus community are unparalleled, as is his deep interest in the arts and civic engagement. While the University will miss his talents mightily, I am heartened to know that he will strengthen our community in additional ways.”
About the Greater Columbus Arts Council: Through vision and leadership, advocacy and collaboration, the Greater Columbus Arts Council supports art and advances the culture of the region. A catalyst for excellence and innovation, we fund exemplary artists and arts organizations and provide programs, events and services of public value that educate and engage all audiences in our community. GCAC thanks the City of Columbus and the Ohio Arts Council for their continued support.
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Addendum
Milt Baughman accomplishments
Since 2009, Milt Baughman has done an outstanding job for GCAC by convening arts and culture organizations, expanding programs for individual artists, educating community leaders about the economic impact of the arts in Columbus, and making the case for increasing arts funding to reach sustainable levels. Specifically, Milt
- Oversaw the updating of our grant-making process,
- Led the arts community in demonstrating the importance of public funding before the mayor’s Financial Review and Advisory Committee
- Led GCAC as it Chaired the 200Columbus Celebrations Committee
- Led GCAC as it celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Columbus Arts Festival and moved the Festival back to the Riverfront in 2012 generating record net income for arts programs from this privately-funded project.
- Expanded programs for artists.
About Tom Katzenmeyer
Since 2008, Tom Katzenmeyer has served as the senior vice president for university communications at The Ohio State University. Prior to that time, Katzenmeyer was senior vice president of investor, media, and community relations for Limited Brands where he was responsible for the company’s relationships with investors and analysts, the media, trade press and the non-profit and philanthropic community. Prior to joining Limited Brands, Katzenmeyer worked for nearly 15 years in state government.
Katzenmeyer has an extensive track record of serving nonprofits, including serving on the boards of the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, the YMCA of Central Ohio, the Columbus Clippers, Leadership Columbus and Community Research Partners. He also has co-chaired fundraising efforts for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank including a recent $16.2 million capital campaign. He also co-chaired a $12 million capital campaign for the Grange Audubon Nature Center.
He received the Judges’ Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in November 2010, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University School of Communications in May 2003.
