Lynne Conner

professor, theater, University of Pittsburgh

Lynne Conner is a theatre and dance scholar, playwright, arts activist/advocate and educator. She taught at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh before coming to Colby, and for many years was very active in Pittsburgh's arts and culture community as a playwright, arts advocate and arts consultant. Her areas of scholarship and artistic practice are all centered on a passionate belief in the power of the arts to enhance the quality of individual lives and to build communities. As an educator, Lynne is committed to the value of a liberal arts education for myriad reasons, beginning with the undeniable fact that freedom of the body politic starts with broadly educated minds. Lynne is the resident playwright for Carnegie Mellon University's Interactive Theatre Company, a professional troupe performing scripts on workplace and campus life issues, for which she received a Pennsylvania Economy League Learning and Development Award and a College and University Professional Association Innovation Award. Her latest scripting project involves developing a series of video scripts for Carnegie Mellon University's Program for Research & Outreach on Gender Equity in Society (PROGRESS). As an arts advocate, Lynne was the founding co-chair of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance (now the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council), where she helped to develop a nationally recognized advertising campaign for the arts in Pittsburgh. She currently serves as a council member of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and as a board member for ArtUp, a Pittsburgh-based arts organization devoted to new works and studio activities that enhance the quality of Pittsburgh's downtown living.