The Body of Knowledge project is supported by a generous grant from the IAAM Foundation.

The Body Of Knowledge Project

An important step in the development of a profession is establishment of university degree programs. IAAM's leadership recognized the importance of cultivating relationships with colleges and their students in the mid and late 1990s with its creation of student and associate membership categories for faculty. Today, IAAM's membership rolls include 320 college students and 60 faculty from 48 colleges and universities, representing departments such as sport management, entertainment management, facility management, hospitality management and business management.

To continue the cultivation of IAAM's relationships with the colleges and students in public assembly facility management and related fields, IAAM's leadership created a Body of Knowledge task force (BOK). This task force documented the body of knowledge in the industry which led to the creation of the "core competencies" for a public assembly facility manager. The Body of Knowledge task force then took the "core competencies" to the next level as a textbook outline. The outline was also used to create a template for a Masters Degree in Public Assembly Facility Management.

The innumerable hours the Body of Knowledge task force has poured into creating and crafting the core competencies is about to come to fruition. Peter J. Graham, Professor for the Department of Sport & Entertainment Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC as the Principal writer for the textbook and Ray Ward as Executive Editor will be soon completing "Principles and Practices of Public Assembly Facility Management," the first Masters level textbook for the industry.

Another work project of the BOK is the development of master's degree programs focusing specifically on public assembly facility management. In an effort to pilot these degree programs, BOK has teamed up with three universities, University of New Haven, University of South Carolina, and Florida Atlantic University. Information on these three universities are below and on the next page.

IAAM's Body of Knowledge Task Force was appointed in 1999 and is funded by a grant from the IAAM Foundation. Its past and current charges include:

	Development of a "body of knowledge" description for the field of public assembly facility management.
	Support for college classes and degree programs in the area of public assembly facility management.
	Planning for development of teaching resources, including college textbooks and possibly workbooks and supplementary material.
	Use of body of knowledge materials to review and revise two key IAAM education programs: the Public Assembly Facility Management School at Oglebay and the Certified Facilities Executive program, working with the respective Boards who manage the two programs.
	Development of a model of professional development that will guide curriculum planners for other IAAM educational programs, including the Annual Conference, the Senior Executive Symposium, and mid-management conferences.
	Establishing distance-learning programs culminating in masters degrees in public assembly facility management in conjunction with selected universities.
	With other committees, identification of other educational resources and material needs and value.
	Determine feasibility of an undergraduate program.

A related BOK effort was the establishment of the University Venue Management Conference in 2000. This one-day meeting, held in conjunction with the IAAM Annual Conference & Trade Show, is aimed not only at campus facility managers but also at teaching faculty and students. Beginning in 2000 under the leadership of Second Vice President Lionel Dubay, IAAM, the IAAM Foundation and several IAAM Districts began awarding scholarships to assist college students to attend the UVMC and Annual Conference. Many of the students work as volunteers at the events. During the first three years of the scholarship program more than 25 students have been able to attend IAAM events and increase their understanding of public assembly facility management as a career.

The members Body of Knowledge task force are: Frank E. Russo, Jr., CFE, chair; Global Spectrum, Glastonbury, CT; Patrick K. Fitzgerald, CFE, past chair; CAVS/Gund Arena Company, Cleveland, OH; Debbie Kling, Bank of America Centre, Boise, ID; Lynda Reinhart, Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida--Gainesville, FL; Robert E. Seitz, Evansville, IN; Rodney J. Smith, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, CO; Robert J. Stewart, CFE, Lawlor Events Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NV; and Dexter G. King, CFE, IAAM Executive Director.