BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast · Audacy

Joe talks to Frank Borrelli, chair of AIC’s introduction of a new Division of Arts, Media, and Design

·25 min·1 clip

Borelli says AIC needs to be “brave enough” to change what higher ed offers in 2024.

1. BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast focuses on Frank Borelli and AIC’s new Division of Arts, Media, and Design. 2. Joe Bednar interviews Frank Borelli, who chairs the division, after Borelli spent 12 years at American International College and ran the theater arts program. 3. The episode asks why AIC rebuilt its arts and communication offerings and what students get from the new structure. 4. Borelli says President Benitez worked with the college community on a new strategic plan that included a revitalization of AIC’s academic portfolio. 5. Theater arts became arts and entertainment management, with students learning to manage performing spaces on campus. 6. Visual digital arts became a graphic arts and design program, and communication split into public relations and social media management and digital media production. 7. The division also added minors in fashion design and merchandising, and music technology and production. 8. Borelli says the overhaul answered student requests for credit for work done in GarageBand, fashion projects, and other self-directed creative work. 9. He says students have shifted toward the business side of the arts, not just performance. 10. He points to New England Public Media as a developing partner and says one student will intern there in the spring. 11. Borelli says many students want to start their own businesses, podcasts, or fashion lines. 12. He says required internships and faculty with field experience help students shape what they want to do with a degree. 13. He describes social media management as a field that hospitals and many other organizations need. 14. Borelli says the division teaches core skills that do not change, including communication, negotiation, collaboration, and listening. 15. He says theater adapted during COVID with multimedia and Zoom-based work, but the core discipline stayed the same. 16. Borelli says AIC’s hands-on model includes a 18-seat Mac lab, a small TV studio, two podcast studios, and a collaboration lab. 17. He describes student projects where public relations students and digital media production students work together on events, camera work, scripts, and editing. 18. Borelli says the 500-seat Esther B. Griswold Theater for the Performing Arts will also support community rentals and an artist-in-residence role for the Young at Heart Chorus. 19. Borelli’s tone is reflective and direct, and the interview moves through program details, student needs, and AIC’s broader strategy. 20. Listeners interested in higher education, arts management, and student career pathways would likely value this episode, while listeners seeking a fast-paced entertainment segment may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical look at how arts education is adapting while holding onto core skills.

Business Talk follows Frank Borelli, who chairs the new Division of Arts, Media, and Design at American International College, and looks at what that division needs to do as creative work keeps shifting.

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Why you'd press play

Why arts training still starts with listening, collaboration, and clear communication.

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