University News

Arts Leadership Graduate Students Help Bring Goldfarb Center to Life

August 20, 2026

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MACOMB, IL. — As Western Illinois University prepares to open the Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts (GCPA) in September, students in the University's inaugural Arts Leadership graduate cohort are gaining hands-on experience while helping prepare the facility for its first audiences.

The students have contributed to projects including website development, marketing, artist research, donor profiles, audience services and production.

For Phil Weiss and Joe Butcher, both WIU alumni and longtime Macomb-area residents, the program provides an opportunity to help bring to life a performing arts venue they have watched develop for decades.

"We are excited to delve into aspects of running a center of this magnitude; the Arts Leadership graduate program will help us to facilitate this. Since Joe and I obtained our undergraduate degrees here at WIU in the late 90s, we have waited for a long time for this building to come to fruition," Weiss said.

Weiss earned bachelor's and master's degrees from WIU and has worked at the University since 1999. He serves as a television director-producer for WIU University Television and owns a video production and photography business. He has also been involved with the WIU Performing Arts Society, Macomb Park District and local school theater productions.

Butcher earned a bachelor's degree in music business from WIU in 1999 and works in uTech's User Support Services. He is also a member and director of the Prairieland Barbershop Chorus and has been involved with the WIU Performing Arts Society and local performing arts.

"When they officially announced the building of the Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts, I was very excited," Butcher said.

Justyne Lane-Mitchell, of Havana, IL, returned to WIU in fall 2025 as part of the inaugural cohort after earning a bachelor's degree in recreation, park and tourism administration, with a minor in dance, in 2024. Her work has included developing the GCPA website, writing a donor profile, scouting performers at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City, developing marketing ideas and researching community information and rental rates. She will serve as a graduate assistant for the Youth Performing Arts Series during the 2026-27 academic year.

"We came in when there were still blueprints and now we get to watch people finally experience it and help bring these communities together," Lane-Mitchell said.

Megan Coleman was drawn to the program after attending the GCPA groundbreaking in 2022. The program's focus on the entrepreneurial side of the arts supports her goal of running a theater company for children. Her graduate assistantship will involve managing the box office for the GCPA and the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Noelle Lindem, a full-time WIU staff member and Arts Leadership graduate student, has helped prepare the center for performances. She will serve as stage manager for "TWELFTH NIGHT" and work with the production team to bring the show to the Clow Theatre.

Kim McDaniel, a lifelong Macomb-area resident and WIU employee for 27 years, has contributed to website information about the inaugural season, information for visiting artists, merchandise planning, research on the Auracast assisted listening system and a donor profile of Paul and Carol House.

As part of her fall practicum, McDaniel will serve as the GCPA's volunteer coordinator, responsible for recruiting, training, and managing volunteer ushers.
"For us to be able to experience this as students, something that members of our field may go an entire career and never experience, is really humbling," McDaniel said.

For the cohort, the opening of the GCPA represents an opportunity to expand access to the performing arts and create new experiences for students, audiences and the community.

"The people of Macomb have never been exposed to the arts in this capacity, so I am so excited to be able to give our community access to the arts in this scale," Coleman said.

The Goldfarb Center for the Performing Arts is scheduled to open in September 2026. The GCPA is a LEED Silver-certified facility, recognizing the building's sustainable design and construction.

For more information or to become a volunteer, visit go.wiu.edu/4z6eN0Y. For more information on the GCPA, visit wiu.edu/cofac/gcpa/. To stay up to date on performances, follow the center's Facebook page at facebook.com/wiugoldfarbcenter.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing