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USITT is saddened to hear that former USITT President William (Bill) J. Byrnes passed away on Jan. 19, 2026 after a short illness. He was 79. He was Professor Emeritus of Arts Administration at Southern Utah University. He was a technical director, production manager, and lighting designer before shifting his focus to arts management. He co-edited the Routledge Companion to Arts Management (2019) and wrote the well-known comprehensive textbook Management and the Arts, the sixth edition of which was released in 2022.
Byrnes served as USITT President from 2000 to 2002. He was a USITT Fellow, an Honorary Life Member of the Institute and the recipient of the Joel E. Rubin Founders’ Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Management among other accolades. He had been a Member of USITT for more than 50 years.
He will be remembered with great respect and will be missed by the USITT community.
Click here to read his obituary and learn more about his life and legacy.
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