Laurence Kaptain, dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts, has devised ways to battle budget cuts within the college.
Kaptain began looking for creative ways to supplement CMDA’s revenue after the college lost its state-funded operating budget due to state-wide cuts.
“We have no budget to produce our operas, yet we are one of the most successful public university opera programs in the country,” Kaptain said.
Kaptain is calling his idea “The New Deal,” a reference to Congress’ actions of relief, recovery and reform during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency in the ‘30s.
Offering classes that will teach musical skills to University students outside of the college and programs that teach entrepreneurship skills are just some of the ways Kaptain plans to combat budget cuts.
“The New Deal is less about a new initiative at LSU than my own personal and professional take on societal, economic challenges and creative opportunities for people in the performing arts,” Kaptain said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.
Kaptain believes creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are CMDA’s saving grace when it comes to budget cuts.
“In these times that are challenging for us, our faculty and students stay creative and look for ways to bring meaning into people’s lives,” he said.
Kaptain believes artists have always responded to challenges in many ways, mentioning Anne Frank who wrote her diary while being locked away in a closet during Nazi Germany.
“As a dean, when I think about what I have control over, I don’t have control over anything,” Kaptain said. “I have no control over what the state gives us, but I can try to inspire our faculty and our staff to get more people out to our concerts.”
Kristin Sosnowsky, Swine Palace managing director and associate dean of finance and operations, said the college’s main financial components have been the funds raised through ticket sales and donations.
Ticket sales accounted for 43 percent of the Theatre Department’s 2009 revenue, while donations accounted for 17 percent. Ticket sales accounted for 15 percent of the Music Department’s 2009 revenue, while donations accounted for 44 percent.
“I’m trying to coalesce the strengths of both theater and music because I honestly think we’re missing an opportunity if we don’t tell [each other] about the events we hold and try to have them cross over,” Kaptain said.
The college also receives funds from public grants, special events, endowment incomes, foundation and corporate support and student fees.
In addition to fundraising, Kaptain said the college has increased its use of social media to promote the college, which he believes has led to bigger audiences for the school’s productions.
“I have my own Facebook, my own Twitter, my own blog,” Kaptain said. “What I’m trying to do is put interesting things on there to encourage our donors to keep donating.”
CMDA continues to draw on funds to get the college through the year, Kaptain said.
“I have the same concerns every dean has, and that is generating additional income [and] trying to make sure we increase enrollment even in a time where we’re going to have less to work with,” he said.
However, Kaptain believes raising money isn’t the No. 1 priority — it’s communicating.
“To be a successful dean, I have to be a successful communicator, and if people know what we can do and how they can help us, that’s much more effective,” he said.
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Contact Julian Tate at [email protected]