Runk named director of communications at the Lewis Center

Runk

Steve Runk (Photo by Denise Applewhite)

Steve Runk, the former executive director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, has been named director of communications for Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts.   

Before arriving at Princeton, Runk spent 20 years on the staff of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, which provides financial support to artists, arts organizations and projects throughout the state. He served the last three years as the council's executive director. Before joining the council, he served as assistant director of the summer session at Rutgers University and manager of marketing communications for an architectural design firm. 

"Steve comes to the Lewis Center with an extensive knowledge of the arts and a strong background in communications," said Michael Cadden, the acting chair of the Lewis Center. "We are pleased to welcome him to the Lewis Center and look forward to working with him on promoting the extensive array of programs and events offered by our faculty, guest artists and students. His knowledge of the New Jersey arts community, to say nothing of the mid-Atlantic and national arenas, will help us to get the word out about Princeton’s vibrant arts scene."

The Lewis Center is made up of Princeton's programs in creative writing, dance, theater and visual arts, and the Princeton Atelier, which allows students to collaborate with professional artists. The center each year presents more than 100 public performances, concerts, exhibitions and lectures, most of them free, along with numerous opportunities for students to participate in the arts. 

"I am thrilled to join the staff of the Lewis Center," Runk said. "This is an exciting opportunity to work with Princeton’s world-class faculty, internationally known guest artists, students and the greater Princeton regional community. I look forward to helping connect the public to the outstanding arts experiences available at the Lewis Center."

Runk succeeds Marguerite d’Aprile-Smith, who has relocated from New Jersey.