Webinar Alert: April 18, 1-2:30 pm ET, Analyzing Data on Arts and Culture in Large-scale Health, Education, and Labor Studies

Melissa Menzer, Ph.D. will briefly overview the NEA Research Awards programs and NEA research priorities, as well as share examples of NEA funded research projects that use datasets archived in NADAC.

Melissa is a senior program analyst in the Office of Research & Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts, where she manages the research awards programs which support research projects and research agendas that focus on understanding the value and the impact of the arts for humans, communities, and societies. Melissa completed her doctorate in human development, and has bachelors’ degrees in psychology and studio art.

Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Ph.D. will present on her work related to Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) and other surveys developed under her previous NEA Research Lab award.

Jennifer is research associate professor and research director of the Arts Impact Initiative in the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and serves as the research director and board vice president for the SNAAP. She was also the principal investigator of one of the four inaugural NEA Research Labs, data from which are available on NADAC. Her work focuses on the social roles of arts, artists, and creativity; how they impact people and communities; and implications for policy and practice. She specializes in the development and use of novel measurement systems to understand cultural participation and the personal and public values derived from these experiences to inform multiple domains of public and social policy.

Kenneth Elpus, Ph.D. will speak about his research using the National Center for Education Statistics datasets from the Department of Education to study questions about youth engagement in the arts and the developmental outcomes associated with that engagement, staffing of arts teachers at schools.

Kenneth Elpus is professor of music education and associate director for faculty affairs and graduate studies at the University of Maryland School of Music. Elpus pursues an active research agenda,  funded in part by grants from the NEA. His research analyzes music education and public policy, the demographics of music students and music teachers, equity of access to music and arts education in the United States, and music education as a context for adolescent development.

Hei Wan (Karen) Mak, Ph.D. will talk about the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, both the NEA arts modules as well as other items in the HRS that are arts focused.

Karen is a senior research fellow at the University College London (UCL) Department of Behavioural Science and Health and at the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health. She is currently working on projects exploring how arts and cultural community engagements are associated with health and wellbeing, as well as identifying the profile of arts/cultural engagers across the UK. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Karen joined the UCL COVID-19 social study team to understand the predictors and patterns of home-based arts and cultural engagements