FA L L 2 0 2 2 | 2 1 community. Not let the four walls define us. Our goal is to become accessible to everyone. We want folks to know our doors are open to them.” That goal also involves increasing collaboration with other academic departments on campus and with nonprofits, schools and businesses throughout the region. When Zoellner was forced to shut down because of the pandemic, it quickly created a virtual Spotlight Series as a way to engage and connect with students. The weekly series featured the artistic talents of Lehigh faculty, students and staff. Wilson, an opera singer, was the first performer. The second was Flowers, a guitarist and songwriter. During this period, more than 30 performances were distributed via website, social media and emails to more than 50,000-plus supporters of Zoellner and members of the Lehigh community—a notable number as that is how many people the center welcomes through its doors each year. “Zoellner plays a role in inspiring creative activity. Mark is a connector and has an exceptional talent for engaging students, colleagues and the broader community,” says Flowers. While Zoellner has resulted in an increase in music and theatre majors, the majority of participants in its programming are majors in other areas, including business and engineering. Flowers says more students are involved in the arts than ever before. Of course, all of this cannot continue without financial support. Flowers says he has felt that Zoellner “was toomuch of a bestkept secret,” and when he became dean five years ago, he created a successful fundraising and awareness campaign about the arts at Lehigh. Marc Falato ’87 is part of that effort. A two-time Tony winning Broadway producer, Falato is a member of the Zoellner Advisory Council, which brainstorms ideas about engagement, fundraising and more. “From an artistic standpoint, it has a long history of providing the type of entertainment that might not be found elsewhere locally,” says Falato. “And that is crucial, because it brings in a broader audience, but also in some ways fulfills the educational mandate of the center being part of a university—and that is, it is educating people about different types of performing arts and cultures they might not have heard of or been previously exposed to.” Victoria Zoellner, who was there at the beginning, is excited about the potential for Zoellner to have an even bigger impact. "I think Zoellner Arts Center is very important to the campus and the community because the performing arts and the visual arts are all under one roof,” she says. “It makes it a destination place for the students as well as the community to go to amazing varied events.”—Jodi Duckett BY THE NUMBERS 1 MILLION VISITORS 150K+ 104 15 40+ 15 C U L T U R E Since Zoellner Arts Center opened in 1997 “I WANT TO THINK ABOUT STRETCHING OUT INTO THE CAMPUS AND INTO THE COMMUNITY. NOT LET THE FOUR WALLS DEFINE US.” —EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARK FITZGERALD WILSON 5K+ Performances 200+ Campus & community organizations utilized the space Number of Lehigh students engaged with the center Number of Tonys won by visiting artists Number of Pulitzers won from visiting artists Number of countries represented by visiting artists Number of Golden Globes won by visiting artists Gala 2023 Vertical dance troupe Bandaloop will dance on the outside of Zoellner's exterior walls as part of Gala 2023 on April 15.
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