IPAY Honorary Board
Wayne P. Lawson, Ph.D.
Wayne P. Lawson, Ph.D.
Wayne Lawson retired as Director of the Ohio Arts Council in May 2006. During his 30 years with the agency, the OAC became one of the foremost state arts agencies in the nation in terms of funding, both public and private, long-range planning and evaluation, support for individual artists and innovative services to constituents in all arts disciplines.
Wayne helped stimulate an arts climate in Ohio that gives artists, arts administrators and the public access to the Ohio Arts Council. By encouraging people in the arts to become involved with the distribution of Ohio tax dollars for the arts, to voice their opinions on arts policy and programming during public meetings held around the state, and by limiting the bureaucratic red tape of the agency, Wayne kept the door to the OAC wide open to all interested individuals and groups. The keys to his administration were accessibility and accountability. Wayne capped his career at the OAC by overseeing the agency's strategic shift away from discipline-based funding toward programs and activities that build public value and encourage wide-spread arts participation.
Wayne, who was born in Cleveland, received a BA in Romance languages, an MA in European literature and earned his doctorate in theatre and comparative literature from The Ohio State University in Columbus. He holds a certificate in Spanish literature from the University of Madrid and an honorary doctorate from Rio Grande College in Ohio.
