Starting January 2022, arts advocate and community champion David Siegel will lead the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS as its new Executive Director.
Siegel brings deep experience and connections with artists, art and cultural organizations, philanthropists and the wider Colorado Springs community. As Executive Director, he will be charged with developing and encouraging cultural engagement on campus and throughout the Pikes Peak Region.
He will work closely with the Visual and Performing Arts Department (VAPA) in the UCCS College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, Theatreworks, the Galleries of Contemporary Art as well as community arts organizations and partners.
“The arts strengthen our community’s character, create connections between us and make Colorado Springs a better place to live,” said Chancellor Venkat Reddy. “We are thrilled to welcome David to the UCCS community, where he will use his extensive experience in the arts to support the students in our academic arts programs as well as our professional programs and continue to position the Ent Center as a key asset for our community.”
Siegel most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Bee Vradenburg Foundation. Phil Kendall, Board President of the Bee Vradenburg Foundation said, “David brought great insight, poise, and creativity to the Bee Vradenburg Foundation. During his time with the foundation, David helped establish more reliable public sector support for the arts, implemented a comprehensive strategy to advance racial equity at the foundation, and guided more than $1.2 million in grant funding to support local arts organizations. We are sorry to see David leave but celebrate his appointment as executive director at the Ent Center for the Arts where he will continue to champion the arts in the Pikes Peak region.”
An artist himself who actively performs with several musical ensembles, Siegel holds a degree in violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
Siegel is Chair of the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board and is a past president of Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Board of Directors, the Lodging and Automobile Rental Tax Committee, the Colorado Springs Public Art Commission, and co-chairs a statewide affinity group of arts funders and philanthropists.
The team at the Ent Center for the Arts thanks the Executive Director search committee for their time and commitment to this process. The search committee included:
- Daisy McGowan, Director and Chief Curator of the Galleries of Contemporary Art
- Sabrina Wienholtz, Director of Operations at the Ent Center for the Arts
- Martin Wood, Senior Vice Chancellor of University Advancement at UCCS
- Caleb Hall, UCCS student representative
- Gary Nicholson, Music Director and Conductor of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony
- Al Buettner, Theatreworks Board chair
- Erin Hannan, Vice President of Communications, El Pomar Foundation
- Joyce Salazar, Community representative
- Teresa Meadows, VAPA Chair and Associate Professor, Film Studies and Theatre
- Sally Hybl, Patron of the arts and Ent Center for the Arts Consultant
- Chad Garland (Committee Chair), Director of University Center and Conference Services
About the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS:
Powered by hundreds of community members and built to serve the Pikes Peak region, the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS is committed to bringing transformational programming, from performances to educational opportunities, to the Colorado Springs area. The Ent Center is the home of UCCS’ academic arts program performance and gallery spaces, Theatreworks, the Galleries of Contemporary Arts, and a venue for events and performances. Learn more at EntCenterForTheArts.org.
About Bee Vradenburg Foundation:
Bee Vradenburg knew that arts are the soul of thriving communities. The Bee Vradenburg Foundation carries on Bee’s legacy by advancing the relevance, resilience and greatness of the arts in the Pikes Peak region. Since 2001, the Bee Vradenburg Foundation has invested more than $3 million in the arts and creative community in the Pikes Peak region. Visit BeeVradenburgFoundation.org for more information.