NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Feb. 20, 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
Oklahoma Arts Council Selects Suzanne Tate to Lead Agency
Oklahoma City, OK -- Following a nationwide search, the Oklahoma Arts Council has named Suzanne Tate as the new executive director of the state arts agency, effective February 20, 2008.
Tate has served as interim executive director of the Oklahoma Arts Council since former executive director Betty Price retired in October, 2007. Since 1992, she has served as deputy director overseeing all of the agency’s programs and budgets and managing the day-to-day activities of this 16-person operation.
Jim Tolbert, Chair of the Oklahoma Arts Council, said the selection process produced a number of highly qualified candidates. Suzanne’s unique combination of experience at the agency, a vast knowledge of the states arts community and its needs, demonstrated leadership skills and a deep passion for the work of the Council made her the unanimous choice of the search committee.”
Tate said one of her goals is to showcase the value and the benefits of the arts in our state. “We have an opportunity to incorporate the power of the arts and culture as tools that unite communities, create economic opportunity, and improve the quality of life in Oklahoma. I’m looking forward to promoting partnerships among state agencies, communities and the business sector to advance the arts for all Oklahomans.”
Tate brings to her position over 25 years of experience in arts administration, accounting and auditing. She has served the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies as a member of the Planning and Budget Committee as well as the Policy Committee and reviewed grants for the National Endowment for the Arts. She has presented at leadership conferences and cultural tourism panels across the country.
As executive director of the Oklahoma Arts Council, Tate will serve on the board of directors of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a nonprofit organization that supports and stimulates cultural activity in a six-state region including Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
A native Oklahoman, Tate earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting and a minor in art from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. She also studied at Bellas Artes Art Institute, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.
For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Information Director, Oklahoma Arts Council at (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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