Monday, January 27, 2025
Kennedy Center’s president since 2014, Deborah Rutter, will step down from her role at the end of the year amidst uncertainty in a new (returning?) administration.
Rutter’s contract is up in August, but she agreed to stay on through year’s end to help with the transition. According to an article in The New York Times, she is looking forward to working with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who recently said she was interested in reconnecting with The Kennedy Center.
Over the last 10+ years, Rutter helped the Kennedy Center through the global pandemic, added more hip-hop and comedy shows and brought Gianandrea Noseda to be music director of the National Symphony Orchestra.
In her first year at the Kennedy Center, Rutter, now 68, broke ground on the REACH, which offers flexible indoor and outdoor performance space.
According to Rutter, she is leaving because she is ready for a change and “it’s time for a new generation of leaders to pick up the mantle and move the Kennedy Center forward.”
Trump’s second presidency has certainly shaken up D.C. He already signed multiple executive orders the day he was inaugurated, including eliminating remote work for federal government employees and ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs (the National Gallery of Art recently announced they would end their DEI measures due to Trump’s executive order).
Chairman David Rubinstein will continue to lead the Kennedy Center’s board through September 2026. The Board of Trustees has formed a search committee, along with executive search firm Spencer Stuart, assist with the search.
You can read more about Rutter, who was part of our 2022 Women Leaders series, here.