Ursula M. Kuhar is a Senior Lecturer in the Arts Administration program within the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, having joined the faculty in August 2016. She is the founding director of the O’Neill in Scotland study abroad program and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including Introduction to Arts Administration and Organizational Behavior, Performing Arts Organizations, Arts Education Policy, Introduction to Arts Management, and Community Engagement in the Arts. Kuhar regularly consults with arts organizations across the country on strategic planning, artistic administration, education, and outreach. Before coming to IU, she served as executive director of Washington Concert Opera and as director and assistant professor of arts management at Sweet Briar College. Holding a Doctor of Music in Voice from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (2011), a Master of Music in Music Education from Butler University (2007), and a Bachelor of Science in Arts Administration with honors from Butler University (2005), Kuhar is also an accomplished mezzo-soprano. She has performed professionally throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, delivered master classes and workshops at colleges and young artist programs nationwide, and advanced to the regional finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She frequently presents at conferences on arts policy, fund development, arts education and pedagogy, and community engagement.

Kuhar’s research interests encompass cultural policy and arts administration, with focuses on arts education, outreach, and community engagement; labor relations in the arts; governance and leadership; arts advocacy; and fundraising and development. Deeply committed to service, she co-chaired the inaugural Indiana Arts Homecoming, serves as the Indiana Federal State Captain for the National Arts Action Summit, and is an active member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators and the National Guild for Community Arts Education. As founding faculty advisor for the Undergraduate Student Arts Managers, her group received the 2018 Indiana University New Student Organization of the Year Award. Her teaching excellence is recognized through awards including the IU Trustees Teaching Award (2020), O’Neill Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award (2018), CITL Active Learning Grant Award (2019), and the Association of Arts Administration Educators/National Endowment for the Arts Mentorship Award (2024-25).

Professional Email: ukuhar@iu.edu