After building the Modlin Center for the Arts from scratch, executive director Kathy Panoff will be leaving after this semester to restructure the art center of the sixth-largest university in the nation.
Panoff will begin her tenure at the University of Texas at Austin to be the director and associate dean of the school's Performing Arts Center, and she leaves Richmond with seemingly universal praise for a job well done.
"Kathy has been a great gift to the university," President Edward Ayers said. "For more than a decade, she has made friends for Richmond all over the world."
Panoff started working for the university when the Modlin Center was just a concept. In 1995, Richmond hired her with the vision that the Modlin Center would be what former president Richard Morrill called an "arts village at the center of campus."
"When I came here 13 years ago, I was amazed by the level of cooperation and sense of common purpose there was behind the Modlin Center," Panoff said. "From the faculty and staff to the students and police officers. This place was willed into existence."
Under Panoff, Modlin became integral to the art scene in the city of Richmond. This year, Modlin sponsored the First Friday Art Walk, a monthly event when area art galleries and restaurants open their doors late to display local artwork.
"Kathy helped turn Modlin Center into a rich resource for the metro area," said Andrew Newcomb, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Ayers agreed that Panoff had raised the stature of the university through her work at Modlin.
"Kathy has put Modlin on the map," he said. "Her energy and enthusiasm have inspired the entire university."
The success of the Modlin Center could not be credited to the director alone, Panoff said.
"When I first came to Richmond in 1995, I would call booking agents in New York and they would have never heard of Richmond," Panoff said. "Now people are clamoring to come here. That is not just my success, but a reflection on the university.
"A lot of universities try to do this but then don't finance it. Richmond put forth the resources. The university made it possible, this is not just my success."
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
The University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest schools in the country, claiming an enrollment of about 50,000 students. The performing arts center's Web site boasts coming performances by Bill Cosby, Itzhak Pearlman and rock legend Morrissey.
But Texas does not do a good job of involving students in their arts center, Panoff said.
"The first order of business when I get to Texas is to make the performance arts center a reflection of their mission," she said.
Putting students at the center of the of the mission is what Panoff has tried to do.
"We employ 50 students and we could not do what we do here without them," she said. "They have 40 full-time employees and only two student employees. That's one thing I want change."
Changing the way that Texas does business will be difficult.
"When I came here, there was no Modlin Center, so I was given a long leash to run things the way I thought fit," she said. "I'm going to have to come and change an established order. That is going to be a challenge."
David Howson, associate director of the Modlin Center, said that Panoff's departure was a good opportunity for her but a huge loss for the university.
"She has a great sense of artistic quality," Howson said. "And she has an incredible ability to get students engaged in the arts."
Contact staff writer David Larter at david.larter@richmond.edu
Support independent student media
You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.
Donate Now
