In This Story
Originally published on August 17, 2020
It was during a creative internship program Mirae Kim had while staying at New Zealand’s University of Auckland for a year-long study abroad. She was an English literature major at Seoul National University and realized she wanted to make her career at arts organizations. But…
“I asked myself, what can I do if I love art and want to make a living at arts organizations, but I am not an artist myself?”
The question brought her to seek education in running nonprofit organizations, especially those involved in the arts. She began her journey to her new position as an associate professor of nonprofit studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, where she had a chance to curate a rare book exhibit that explored philanthropy and sponsorship in medieval times.
The flowering of charity during the Middle Ages intrigued Kim as to the role of nonprofits in the arts in the modern era. Additionally encouraged by her husband, Pilgyu Kang, who is an assistant professor at Mason’s department of mechanical engineering, Kim earned a PhD in public administration at Rutgers University and devoted her studies to nonprofit management.
“We are thrilled to have nonprofit scholar Dr. Mirae Kim join our Master’s in Public Administration faculty,” said Alan J. Abramson, director of the Center for Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, and Policy at the Schar School. “She is a remarkably productive young scholar, a very well-regarded teacher, and perhaps most importantly, a pleasure to work with.”
With the addition of Kim to the nonprofit faculty—which includes Stefan Toepler, director of the Schar School’s Master’s in Public Administration program—"our nonprofit management program has much to offer public service-minded students interested in working in this important and growing sector of our economy,” Abramson said.