Durham, N.C. - Aaron Greenwald has been appointed interim director of Duke Performances following the retirement of Kathy Silbiger, Duke University Provost Peter Lange has announced.

Greenwald, who recently produced the Festival of the Book at Duke and in Durham, will begin his appointment Jan. 1, 2007. It will continue through June 30, 2008. Silbiger, executive director of Duke Performances, recently announced she would retire at the end of 2006.

"Aaron has experience as a producer of performing arts events and programs in New York and Nashville, and he most recently produced the successful Festival of the Book," Lange said. "I look forward to working with Aaron during the interim period as we plan an even more significant role for the performing arts in Duke's future."

Duke Performances produces and presents between 45 and 50 events each year, including short- and long-term residencies integrated with academic programs, and community outreach and education. It currently administers the Benenson Awards in the Arts and cosponsors the Arts/Ventures Grants with the Pratt School of Engineering, TrinityCollege of Arts & Sciences and the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies.

After graduating from ColumbiaUniversity with a degree in drama and theater arts, Greenwald studied theater in South Africa on a Fulbright Fellowship. He worked on music videos in Nashville with artists such as the late Waylon Jennings. He was a producer of the New Yorker Festival and the Toyota Comedy Festival. Immediately before coming to Duke, he spent two years producing programs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, including a 50th anniversary tribute to the legendary 2nd Ave. Deli with Fyvush Finkel and the Klezmatics, among others.

Silbiger has been at Duke since 1984 in various arts management roles, including as head of the Institute of the Arts and Duke Performances. She also is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, where she has taught a class in arts management since 1989.

"Under Kathy's leadership, Duke Performances has grown into a truly significant cultural asset, serving a diverse audience of students, faculty, and members of the community," Lange said.

Lange said he decided to fill the position on an interim basis because Silbiger's retirement comes at a time when the university is reorganizing arts administration as part of a new focus on the arts. The new strategic plan for the university calls for increasing investment in the arts over the next several years, and Greenwald will oversee Duke Performances during this planning period.

Before he takes on the position of interim director on Jan. 1, Greenwald will serve as consultant to the Perkins Library and the president's office, working to institutionalize the Festival of the Book in the Triangle, evaluating the library's communications activities and assisting with arts planning, Lange said.