a2ru Hires Associate Director, Shannon Fitzsimons Moen

October 18, 2019

a2ru is delighted to announce the hiring of Shannon Fitzsimons Moen as associate director of a2ru, starting November 1. Fitzsimons Moen’s professional practice bridges the performing arts and higher education; in administrative, artistic and educational roles, she has honed her ability to connect artists, educators, audiences, and ideas in unexpected and illuminating ways that spark dynamic discovery and growth.

Prior to joining a2ru, Shannon served as the inaugural University Programs Manager at UMS (University Musical Society), the performing arts presenter at the University of Michigan. Shannon designed and managed UMS’s portfolio of university-based arts-academic integration programs, which she grew to serve nearly 3,700 students in 2018-2019. Key initiatives included “Engaging Performance”, a team-taught course introducing U-M undergraduate students to the performing arts through the lens of the UMS season; two granting programs for faculty to develop arts-integrative teaching skills; and a commissioned series of white papers and case studies on arts integration best practices for faculty.

Shannon also produced several UMS main stage performances and its Research Residency program each season. Projects included work by Yo Yo Ma, Ivo van Hove/Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the Takács Quartet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ping Chong + Company, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe, pianist Igor Levit, a rapper/poet Omar Offendum, solo performer Edgar Oliver, and Alec Baldwin.

Prior to joining UMS, Shannon worked as a dramaturg, audience educator and theatre writer for companies across the country including The Public Theater/Under the Radar, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, California Shakespeare Theater and African-American Shakespeare Company. She also designed and taught courses in American theatre history and dramaturgy at Northwestern University.

Educated at Hamilton College and Northwestern University, Shannon is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University.

The appointment was made last week after a national search started last summer. “I am thrilled to welcome Shannon, whose considerable skills, deep expertise, and wide-ranging experience deeply resonates with a2ru’s work,” says Maryrose Flanigan, a2ru’s executive director.

You may meet Shannon at a2ru’s annual conference where she’ll be presenting on “The Campus Arts Presenter as Academic Partner: Supporting the Risk of Faculty Innovation”.