Debora Spar, president of Lincoln Center, and Matthew VanBesien, president of UMS, will engage in a conversation about the future of cultural institutions, the performing arts, and their communities in the age of Netflix and Grubhub.

Debora L. Spar is president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Lincoln Center’s New York City campus is home to 11 world-class arts organizations and considered one of the world’s leading performing arts organizations. Spar came to Lincoln Center from Barnard College, where she served as president from 2008-17. During her tenure, she was widely recognized for stimulating substantial academic and financial growth on campus and for establishing a renewed commitment to the arts. Prior to her time at Barnard, Spar spent 17 years as a professor at Harvard Business School. A prolific writer, she has authored seven books, including Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection (2013) and Ruling the Waves: From the Compass to the Internet (2001). Spar received her Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her Master’s and PhD in Government from Harvard University.