ORONO — For Susie Monagan, a performing arts center should be more than a stage.
It should be a gathering place where students, families and community members can come together to laugh, reflect, learn and connect.
That philosophy will guide Monagan as she steps into her new role as executive director of the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine on July 21.
Monagan brings more than two decades of experience in arts leadership, higher education and community engagement to the Collins Center. She currently serves as executive director of the Smith Center for the Arts in Geneva, New York, where she has expanded programming, increased fundraising and built partnerships with schools, civic organizations and local businesses since 2017.
“The Collins Center is so deeply woven into the region, and that really appeals to me,” Monagan said. “The arts have a very broad role to play in mirroring to a community what it’s thinking about, what it’s arguing about, what brings it joy and how it learns.”
Located on the UMaine campus, the Collins Center serves audiences across eastern and northern Maine through performances, lectures, educational programming and community events. More than 100,000 people visit the venue annually for Broadway tours, concerts, lectures, student performances, film screenings and public gatherings.
“Susie brings a tremendous combination of artistic vision, community engagement and leadership experience to the Collins Center,” George Kinghorn, senior executive director of cultural engagement and arts at UMaine, said. “She understands how a performing arts center can serve both a university and the broader community, and she has a clear passion for building connections through the arts.”
At the Smith Center for the Arts, Monagan has overseen expanded programming, increased fundraising and strengthened partnerships with community organizations and regional leaders. Before joining the Smith Center, she spent 12 years at Ithaca College, where she taught arts management courses and worked with students in the Department of Theatre Arts.
Monagan holds a master’s degree in communications from Ithaca College and a master of professional studies degree in community and rural development from Cornell University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College.
Monagan said returning to a university setting was one of the biggest draws of the UMaine position.
“There are so many opportunities to connect what’s happening on stage with what students are learning in classrooms across the university,” she said. “Whether a student is studying engineering, public health, business or the arts, there are ways to engage creativity, critical thinking and community through live performance and shared experiences.”
Monagan also hopes to strengthen the Collins Center’s connections with schools, families and local organizations throughout the region.
Monagan pointed to youth and family programming as a priority, citing the success of school day performances in her current role that bring students from rural districts into the theater for live arts experiences.
“You need people coming through the doors who will become future audience members, future donors and future community advocates,” she said. “Part of that is making the arts accessible and welcoming for everyone and finding out what barriers might be preventing people from participating.”
Monagan said she also hopes to expand opportunities for UMaine students to engage with the Collins Center beyond traditional performances, including more informal community events and collaborations across campus.
“Not every student is going to connect with every performance, and that’s OK,” she said. “But the goal is to create opportunities for as many students as possible to feel like the Collins Center is a place for them.”
Monagan said she plans to spend much of her first year listening and building relationships across both the university and the broader community.
“I’m all ears,” she said. “I want to hear what the Collins Center means to people, what they hope it can become and where opportunities for collaboration exist.”
Monagan said she was especially struck by the Collins Center’s open gathering spaces and the symbolic flame at the center of the building.
“It sends the message that this is your space,” she said. “People gather there for performances, lectures, orientations and community events, and each experience creates a different kind of community. I love that idea.”