MPA Alum Greg Cameron Receives Distinguished Service Award
President and CEO of the Joffrey Ballet and MPA '87
Greg Cameron is the president and CEO of the Joffrey Ballet, but he is the first to admit he is not a dancer. But watching him engage a room is like watching a beautiful dance in its own right. “I realized early on that I didn’t have the creative energies to be an artist, but I’m good at making connections,” says Cameron.
For more than four decades, Cameron has worked to shine a spotlight on Chicago art and artists. He served in administrative and philanthropic roles with prominent organizations, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), Art Institute of Chicago and WTTW-Channel 11. The Joffrey Ballet hired him as executive director in 2013, and he helped the once-struggling institution set box office records and re-establish itself as a world-renowned dance company.
Cameron’s love for art was always clear — as a young boy he organized theatrical productions in the garage and set up a mini-museum in the basement. However, his route to the Chicago art world was circuitous. He began his studies in special education before switching to German and Art History for his undergraduate degrees.
He then moved to Chicago and started taking classes at UIC where he fell in love with the campus, the courses and the school’s connections to the Chicago art world. He acquired a Master of Public Administration and interned at the Department of Cultural Affairs, which set the scene for his career as an arts leader. “I got this introduction to the breadth and depth of the cultural community in Chicago — from music to theater to the visual arts — and I found a space for me to support artists,” he says.
Over the years, Cameron dedicated himself to giving back to the institutions that impacted him. While at the MCA, he taught a UIC art history course that brought students to the museum every week to learn from curators, designers, facilities and fundraisers. He developed connections between Chicago Public Schools and the Joffrey’s training program, the Joffrey Academy of Dance, to engage the next generation of dancers. And he has served on various UIC leadership and advisory boards to strengthen the school’s role in the Chicago arts community.
“I want to give people an opportunity to be part of something that’s bigger than them — and that’s the arts,” he says.
Read more about Greg and his MPA degree in the 2019 CUPPA Magazine.
The UIC Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals or couples whose consistent and exceptional service to UIC has significantly contributed to the university’s well-being and the advancement of its mission. The award will be presented on April 18. See the UIC Alumni Association website for more information.