Three M.A./M.B.A. Students Awarded Patricia A. Porter Fellowships from the Business Council for the Arts

The Dallas-based Business Council for the Arts has named three M.A./M.B.A. graduate students – Meghann Bridgeman (’17), Veronica Treviño (’17) and Caroline Webb (’17) – as recipients of its 2016 Patricia A. Porter Fellowship in Arts Management.

The fellowship is awarded annually to one or more graduate students at North Texas colleges or universities studying arts management. Selection is based on scholastic achievement, professional achievement, community participation, demonstrated leadership potential and financial need. Awards typically range from $1,000 to $2,000 each. After accepting the award, the recipients are expected to maintain a 3.00 GPA on a 4.0 scale and make reasonable progress toward the completion of a graduate degree leading to a career in arts management.

“Business Council for the Arts is thrilled to foster the academic and professional careers of these three outstanding students through our Patricia A. Porter Fellowship, which honors our founding director,” said Katherine Wagner, CEO of Business Council for the Arts.

Launched in 1982, SMU’s M.A./M.B.A. joint degree program combines courses in business and the arts with study abroad, internships and intensive experience with arts organizations, preparing graduates for leadership positions in arts, entertainment and nonprofit organizations around the world. Porter Fellowship winner Veronica Treviño said, “The program has been both enlightening, in terms of learning the composition of an arts organization and how I might fit into those dynamics, and affirming, in terms of solidifying and refining my strengths and interests.”

The Patricia A. Porter Fellowship in Arts Management was established in 2009 to honor Patricia Porter’s contribution to the Business Council for the Arts and the North Texas arts community. Porter was founding director and CEO of the Business Council for the Arts, an organization formed in 1988 by Raymond D. Nasher and members of the Dallas Citizens Council. The BCA works to position Dallas as a world-class business city by increasing business support for the region’s arts and culture. Porter led the organization for 21 years before retiring in 2009.

Read more about the M.A./M.B.A. program at Meadows School of the Arts.

Read more about the Business Council for the Arts.