Kennedy Center Leader Taking Arts Institute to U. of Maryland

Michael M. Kaiser will step down as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts four months early and take the arts-management training program he leads to the University of Maryland, The Washington Post reports.

The university said Wednesday that the DeVos Institute of Arts Management will take up residence on campus in September, with Mr. Kaiser joining the faculty. He had announced plans last year to leave the Kennedy Center when his contract expires at the end of 2014 but said he wanted to continue leading the training program.

Mr. Kaiser launched the institute, which teaches management practices to professional arts administrators, in 2001, the same year he took over leadership of the Washington, D.C., performing-arts complex. Formerly the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute, it was renamed in 2010 for Michigan philanthropists Betsy and Dick DeVos in honor of a $22.5-million gift.

“Maryland has a wonderful performing arts center, a master’s in nonprofit management, and a lot of expertise,” Mr. Kaiser said. “So much of what we do is educational – and the confluence of missions is very strong. We can grow bigger at a larger institution.”

Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein endorsed the move, saying the institute “was [Mr. Kaiser’s] baby, his creation and would do much better under his direction.”