Terri Trotter / Photo: Midland Center for the Arts
A leadership change is in store for the Jones Center.
Terri Trotter will become the next president and CEO of the center, and Ed Clifford will transition into a new role, officials announced Wednesday.
Clifford joined the Jones Trust Board in 2011 and moved into the President/CEO role in 2012. He will continue in that role until early 2022 when he will transition from the staff and into a position on the board.
“He has led the transformation of the center’s business operations and has begun repositioning the center as a major attraction for Northwest Arkansas,” a release stated. “Clifford has also fostered revitalization of the Centers for Nonprofit facilities in Springdale and Rogers, which are significant contributors to the social fabric of the region.”
Trotter is currently president and CEO of the Midland Center for the Arts in Michigan, but will return to Arkansas for her new role in Springdale.
“Terri has made an outstanding and lasting mark on the center, our Midland community and the entire Great Lakes Bay region,” said Lisa Ungerleider, board chair of the Midland Center for the Arts. “Her tenure with the Center has been one of vision, action and uplifting transformation. The center will continue to benefit from her inspired leadership far into the future.”
Trotter’s background in leading cultural organizations includes nearly 16 years at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville where she served in several roles and eventually became CEO.
After leaving Fayetteville, Trotter became president and CEO of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts (now the Sun Valley Museum of Art) in Idaho. She then moved to Michigan for her current job where she led the multi-campus organization in Midland and helped grow audiences by over 40% and increase earned revenue by 90%, according to the release.
The Jones Center is currently in the process of redesigning its 52-acre campus in Springdale. The project is funded by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, and aims to attract a new generation to the center while also welcoming a diverse demographic.
Initial designs call for native gardens and open green spaces, fitness activities, a plaza lawn for community gatherings and art markets, public art installations, a network of hard- and soft-surface trails, and an expanded bike park, all tying the campus to downtown Springdale revitalization efforts and the spine of the Razorback Greenway trail system.
