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Ten Years. Boundless Impact.
Extraordinary Stories.
The Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership and its EXCEL Lab serve as SMTD’s home base for performing arts entrepreneurship, leadership, and career services.
For ten years, we have envisioned a world where every SMTD student acquires the knowledge, mindset, and skills to realize a meaningful, rewarding, impactful, and sustainable life in the arts.
2015-2016:
Entrepreneurial Exploration
2015-2016:
Entrepreneurial Exploration
Many of our most well known offerings, including immersions, our internship fund, and our online resources, were catalyzed by information and feedback from our community.
For me, the true soul of EXCEL is its focus on student growth and success. This was not an accident, but reflects the program’s unique origin.
What is most meaningful to me is watching artists realize they are not “just” performers, makers, or scholars. They are leaders.
EXCEL: The Student Perspective
EXCEL: The Student Perspective
In this video, originally published on March 4, 2016, students share their perspectives on the EXCEL Lab in its first year.
2017-2019:
Rapid Growth
2017-2019:
Rapid Growth
A New Department Forms
A New Department Forms
A transformative gift from the Weiser family spurred entrepreneurship activities into rapid growth. The initial program office was converted to the Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership, within which the EXCEL Lab would be housed. Jonathan Kuuskoski became the department chair and joined the SMTD faculty.
With more financial freedom, offerings expanded to include new internship partnerships, immersive trips to cultural centers, and additional collaborations with industry partners. These activities helped meet increasing demand and established the dynamism that characterizes these programs today. This growth phase drove increased engagement with students across SMTD and across campus.
U-M's entrepreneurial ecosystem received a #1 national ranking by Princeton Review/Entrepreneur Magazine in 2018, celebrating a robust environment that continues to thrive today. Learn more.
Visit entrepreneurship.umich.edu to see the latest activities across U-M.
Learning How to EXCEL in New York City
Learning How to EXCEL in New York City
New York City is a vast, competitive, dazzling, daunting labyrinth where the best of the best go to make their mark―especially among performing artists. It’s where you go to be king of the hill, top of the heap, and all that jazz. But how do you break in? How do you make connections? How do you find success? That’s what a group of 25 SMTD students set out to discover when they traveled to NYC in May 2018.
2020-2022:
Resiliency and Evolution
2020-2022:
Resiliency and Evolution
A Moment for Mindful Changes
A Moment for Mindful Changes
For a new department, the COVID shutdown and the political and social justice context at that time offered a pause for reflection. Not only did programming change, with new online modalities and cross-institutional partnerships, but this time of self-evaluation also helped the department sharpen focus on its core values and examine how those were embedded in the programming.
Specific outcomes of this work included:
Elevation of anti-racism discourse and work throughout SMTD.
Development of best practices to situate social and racial justice at the heart of our training programs.
Strengthening of offerings by expanding, deepening, and/or refining programs to foster robust student engagement opportunities.
Expansion of faculty and staff, including the anti-racism cluster faculty hires of antonio c. cuyler and Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, and also new affiliated faculty members from the U-M School of Social Work, M. Candace Christensen and Greer Hamilton
To mark its five-year anniversary, EXCEL's annual report compiled 50 Stories of Impact, where 50 students shared their insights about EXCEL and how utilizing its programs enriched their educational experience at SMTD.
Pathfinders: Jad Abumrad with Matthew Dear in Conversation
Pathfinders: Jad Abumrad with Matthew Dear in Conversation
In this episode of Pathfinders: A Music Industry Seminar from February 2022, Jad Abumrad (creator of Radiolab) shares his journey from musician to broadcaster, the surprising influence of his musical background on the conception and construction of Radiolab’s iconic soundscapes, and the power of being a generalist in the broadcasting universe today.
Curated and hosted by acclaimed musician and Entrepreneurship & Leadership lecturer Matthew Dear, in collaboration with the University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, this virtual seminar series investigates today’s complex and rapidly changing music industry through the lens of five leaders who have paved unique, transformative pathways to success.
2023-2025:
Establishing Sustainable Structures
2023-2025:
Establishing Sustainable Structures
I was exhilarated by the opportunity to realize the EXCEL Lab vision where "every SMTD student acquires the knowledge, mindsets, and skills to realize a meaningful, rewarding, impactful, and sustainable life in the arts."
EXCEL is more than a resource center, it is a catalyst for turning ideas into action, offering personalized support for internships, experiential learning, special projects, and immersion trips.
It is a privilege to help prepare this next generation of arts professionals and creatives, and one of the absolute benefits of being at SMTD is that we have made the time, space, and commitment to take on the challenging questions facing the creative sector.
We train students to recognize that artistic support is not always about money, but also about the relationships, engagement, and methods of leadership that foster cultural vitality in a community and nationally.
I’m especially grateful to contribute to the EXCEL Lab’s continued growth, including leading the EXCEL Lab Arts Career Fair, which connects students with professionals and pathways that shape their futures. It is deeply rewarding to witness students’ growth from orientation to graduation and to play a role in that journey.
2024 EXCEL Prize Awarded to Allyson Cohen
2024 EXCEL Prize Awarded to Allyson Cohen
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the EXCEL Lab announced the winner of the 2024 EXCEL Prize, which is awarded to a U-M student (or student team) that has developed an exceptional performing arts venture that meets the award criteria of artistic excellence, innovation, social impact, professional development, and sustainability. The prize includes $10,000 in funding and ongoing mentorship by EXCEL staff.
2026-Beyond:
Looking Towards the Next Decade
2026-Beyond:
Looking Towards the Next Decade
While the present is ever-changing and the future cannot be known, the adaptability and resourcefulness cultivated by SMTD and EXCEL will prepare students for whatever they may encounter.
As a natural outgrowth of our community-oriented ethos, our alumni are self-creating additional opportunities to engage with students and alumni and extend the on-ramp to professional success.
SMTD's Strategic Framework is the culmination of a multi-year effort to capture and document the SMTD community’s aspirations. Within this framework, we affirm our strengths, showcase our vitality, and articulate the school’s significance to the world in which we live.
EXCEL Lab's Detroit Immersion 2026
EXCEL Lab's Detroit Immersion 2026
Right before spring break, EXCEL Lab and 14 participants visited the Detroit Opera House for the annual Detroit Immersion. The immersion included a behind-the-scenes tour, speed networking, and a cultural trust activity. The visits are designed to provide SMTD students with insights into arts management and careers in the performing arts. Afterwards, the group stayed to witness the dress rehearsal of Detroit Opera's latest production, The Handmaid's Tale.
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