Thelma’s Kevin Miller Will Head Confluence Art Center

Update:

After 10 years with the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac (formerly the Windhover Center for the Arts) Executive Director Kevin Miller is moving on. He will become the first executive director of the Confluence Arts Center, a $45 million public-private effort to enhance arts experiences in the Eau Claire community. Jacqui Corsi, director of marketing and operations for Thelma, has been named interim executive director. She says it’s a good opportunity for Miller. She says he’s leaving Thelma in very good hands with very good people to run it. Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau President Craig Molitor is a friend of Miller’s. He says Miller had a big role in the things that are happening in downtown Fond du Lac now. During his tenure Miller led the arts center in a nearly $8 million expansion/renovation project, and rebranding effort. A search committee has been established to name his successor.

Thelma Press Release:

Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts (THELMA) announced today that Kevin Miller will be leaving as executive director to become the first executive director of the Confluence Arts Center, a $45 million public-private effort to enhance arts experiences in the Eau Claire community.

Miller has been the executive director of Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts (formerly Windhover Center for the Arts) for 10 years. During that period, Miller led the arts center in a nearly $8 million expansion/renovation project, and rebranding effort. Under Miller’s direction, the artistic programming at THELMA has grown considerably and the venue has become a favorite for hosting fundraisers, weddings, and corporate gatherings.

Miller also chairs the Wisconsin Arts Board, the state agency which promotes the arts, supports arts education, stimulates economic development, and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage.

“Kevin Miller’s efforts led to Fond du Lac earning a statewide reputation as a leader in making the connection between the arts and a vibrant economy,” said Tom Herre, THELMA’s board of directors’ president. “Governor Scott Walker’s recent visit to Fond du Lac in which he touted the value of the creative economy is a direct result as Kevin’s work as the chair of the state arts board. Kevin leaves our community with a superb legacy of achievement.”

The Confluence Arts Center replaces the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Kjer Theatre and the community’s State Theatre. The new arts center will provide much-needed rehearsal, teaching and support space for the university’s theater program and a significantly larger performance venue for its nationally renowned music program. The arts center also will be able to host concerts, performances and Broadway-style touring shows that no current campus or community venue can support.

“I will miss THELMA a great deal but I will miss the people of Fond du Lac even more,” Miller said. “THELMA was more than just a building to me and saying goodbye is difficult but I look forward to beginning a new and exciting chapter for my family and my career in Eau Claire.”

A search committee has been established to name a successor, Herre said. Jacqui Corsi, director of marketing and operations has been named interim executive director.