Mulcahy earned master's degrees from both Brown University and Pennsylvania State University before completing his Ph.D. work at Brown. Before joining the faculty of Louisiana State University, Mulcahy taught at Claremont McKenna College, Mills College, Queens College-CUNY, and the University of Colorado. Since joining the faculty of Louisiana State University in 1981, Mulcahy has developed the study of Cultural Politics within the framework of Public Policy and Public Administration.
Mulcahy’s primary area of study focuses on cultural policy in the United States and abroad. Mulcahy has received an ATLAS (Award to Louisiana Artists and Scholars) grant for a new work tentatively titled Patronage, Politics and Cultural Policy: International Perspectives. The award committee enthusiastically endorsed his project, saying in part:
Dr. Mulcahy is uniquely qualified to undertake this study. His training is in public policy and administration with a special emphasis on foreign policymaking. He is well published. In addition, his narrative career account reveals that he has spent a lot of time in all sorts of countries working on international cultural policy in some form or another.
As presented in the proposal, the project is strongly conceived, defined, and organized. Noteworthy is Dr. Mulcahy’s enthusiasm for the project one gets the impression that this is a labor of love as well as a scholarly pursuit. As he describes his project in the proposal, it comes alive in the mind of the reader. This promises that his book will do the same.
In his 1995 book, America’s Commitment to Culture, Dr. Mulcahy and co-editor Margaret J. Wyszomirski discuss the current state of arts funding in the U.S. and argue for a reorganization of the National Endowment for the Arts to include interdisciplinary panels for judging new grants in a system similar to that of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Prior to initiating his primary study of cultural policy, Mulcahy focused on American Foreign Policy, in the footsteps of his mentor Cecil V. Crabb. Mulcahy and Crabb coauthored two books on the subject: Presidents and Foreign Policy Making: FDR to Reagan (1986) and American National Security: A Presidential Perspective (1990).
Selected Books, Articles, and Book Chapters(1982-2012)
Public Culture and Cultural Policy: Comparative Perspectives, (Forthcoming, 2015-2016).
"Coloniality: The Cultural Policy of Post-Colonialism," International Journal of Cultural Policy, (Forthcoming, 2015).
“L’Analyse Comparative des Politiques Culturelles Infranationales” (collaborating author), Loisir et Societe 34 (Fall, 2012) : 149-86
“Counter Reformation Cultural Policy: The Case of St. Peter’s,” International Journal of Cultural Policy, (March 2011); 131-152. Religion and Cultural Policy, edited by Oliver Bennett (Taylor and Francis)
Globalization and Culture: the Case of Canada and the United States; ESSACHESS – Journal for Communication Studies, (Spring 2012): 151-162; (Archived in Social Science Research National)
“Coloniality and Cultural Policy,” in International Relations, Culture and Global Finance. Akis Kalaitzidis, editor (Athens: Aitner Publications 2011): 199-212.
“Privatisation ou Darwinisme: Le Système Américain pour la Subvention des Arts aux États-Unis” in Claudine Audet and Diane St. Pierre (eds. ) Tendances et Défis des Politiques Culturelles dans les Pays Occidentaux. (Les Presses de l’Université Laval, 2010.), pp. 89–130.
“The Book that Most Influenced my Study of Cultural Policy Research: A Review Essay” International Journal of Cultural Policy Research, 16(February 2010): 60-62.
“Coloniality, Identity and Cultural Policy” in J. P. Singh (ed.), International Cultural Policies and Power, (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2010), pp. 155–165.
“Identity, Independence, and Imperialism: The Case of Canadian-American Cultural Relations” in Monica Gattinger and Geoffrey Hale (eds.), Borders and Bridges: Canada’s Policy Relations in North America, (Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 248–266.
“Vorsicht Kulturdarwinismus: Die Grenzen des Amerikanischen Systems der Kulturförderung, 1990-2006” in Adam, Lässig and Lingelbach (eds.), Stifter, Spender und Mäzene: USA und Deutschland im historischen Vergleich, (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2009), pp. 191–218.
“Identity and Cultural Policy” in Understanding the Arts and Creative Sector in the United States. Joni Cherbo, Ruth Ann Stewart and Margaret Wyszomirski, editors (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008), pp. 197–212.
America's Commitment to Culture: Government and the Arts, co-editor with Margaret J. Wyszomirski, and principal contributor (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995).
American National Security: A Presidential Perspective, co-author with Cecil V. Crabb, Jr. (Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1990).
Presidents and Foreign Policy Making: FDR to Reagan, co-author with Cecil V. Crabb, Jr. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1986.) Included in "The Political Traditions in Foreign Policy Series" edited by Kenneth W. Thompson.
Public Policy and the Arts, co-editor with C Richard Swaim, and principal contributor (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1982).
In 2002, Dr. Mulcahy was selected as the Fulbright Distinguished Professor of American Studies (The Laszlo Orszagh Chair) at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration. The Fulbright Program is a merit-based grant program that encourages academic exchanges between the United States and foreign countries. More recently in 2009, Mulcahy served as the Fulbright Senior Specialist in Cluj, Transylvania, Romania at Babeș-Bolyai University. For the 2010-2011 award period, he was selected to serve on the review committee for the Fulbright Senior Specialist where he worked to select American scholars for international assignments.
Since the beginning of his career in 1970, Mulcahy has participated in over one hundred major professional meetings at home and abroad. Since 2007, his talks on culture have taken him across the United States and abroad to Athens, Greece; Jyvaskyla, Finland; Istanbul, Turkey; Quebec City, Quebec; Grenada, Spain; Kaohsiung and Taipei, Taiwan; and Haifa, Israel.
Keynote Speaker, 2015 International Conference on the Commercialization of Museums, Tianan National University of the Arts and the National Science and Technology Museum, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, October 2–3, 2015.
Participant, Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, University of Ottawa, Canada, October 9–11, 2014.
Participant, 2014 International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, University of Hildesheim, Germany September 9–13, 2014.
Chercheur, Institut National de Recherche Scientifique du Canada, 2009-2014.
Professeur Invité, Institut d'Etudes Politiques du Grenoble, France, December 2013.
Guest Researcher, Institute for Cultural Studies, Shenzen University, China, November 2013-November 2016.
Participant and Keynote Speaker, Cultural Workshop, University of Haifa, Israel, March 2013.
Scholar-in-Residence, Observatorio Politico, Lisbon, Portugal, July 2012.
Convener and Organizer. 40th Annual Conference on Social Theory, Politics and the Arts. Lod Cook Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, October 18–20, 2012. (This was a major undertaking requiring creating a Conference website; a list serve for calls for papers, vetting paper submissions, logistical work on hotel rooms, meals and refreshments, conference panels)
Professeur Invité, " La Système de Promouvoir et Soutien les Affaires Culturelles aux États-Unis," Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Université de Strasbourg, December 12–21, 2011.
Keynote Speaker, “Performing Arts Organizations as International Sports/City Events: The Case of the ‘36 Berlin, ‘84 Los Angeles, and ‘08 Beijing Olympics,” Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. November 18–19, 2011.
Invited Participant, International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, Jyvaskyla, Finland, August 24–27, 2010.
Visiting Lecturer, Strategic Planning on the Development of Cultural Policy and Cultural Management Programs, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa, July 19-August 2, 2008.
Keynote Speaker, “Privatisation ou Darwinisme: Le Système pour la Subvention des Arts aux États-Unis,” Colloque International sur les Tendances et Défis des Politiques Culturelles dans les Pays Occidentaux, Institut de la recherche scientifique, Québec City, May 2008.
Invited Participant, “The Cultural Manager as Global Citizen,” Helsinki, Finland, April 19–20, 2007. . (Proceedings in Constance Devereaux and Pekka Vartiainen, eds., The Cultural Manager as Global Citizen (Helsinki: HUMAK Press, 2008).
Keynote Speaker, “International Symposium on Theater Arts and Cultural Administration: Transformation and Imagination,” Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, November 2007.
Visiting Professor, “Seminar on Cultural Policy,” Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, December 2006.
Lecturer, Arts and Cultural Management Program, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, May 2006. (Interview on “The Deep End,” the educational and cultural radio program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 11, 2006).
Since 1990, Dr. Mulcahy has served on the editorial board for the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, and has served as an Executive Editor for the journal since 1997. Additionally, he has also served as an editorial board member for the Journal of Pacific and Asian Studies since 2008. Below is a list of journal editions edited and introduced by Dr. Mulcahy.
Executive Editor, “New Zealand Cultural Policy: the Helen Clark Years.” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, (Spring 2010); Introduction: 93-94.
Executive Editor, “International Issues in Arts Management, Law and Society” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 39 (Summer 2009); Introduction.
Executive Editor, “Varieties of Non-National Cultural Policies.” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 38 (Fall 2008); Introduction, 163-165.
Executive Editor, “Emerging Researchers in Australia and Asia,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 38 (Summer 2008).
Executive Editor, “EU Enlargement and European Cultural Policy Development,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 37 (Winter 2007).
Executive Editor, “Cultural Development,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 36 (Fall 2006).
Executive Editor, “Austrian Cultural Policy,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 35 (Winter 2006).
Executive Editor, “Cultural Policies in Australia,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 35 (Spring 2005).
Executive Editor, “The Conceptualization of Art,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 34 (Summer 2004).
Executive Editor, “Culture and Entrepreneurship,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 33 (Fall 2003).
Executive Editor, “The Cultural Market and Public Cultural Agencies,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 32 (Spring 2002): Introduction, 3-5.
Executive Editor, “Cultural Politics: Global and Local,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 31 (Winter 2002); Introduction, 251-253.
Executive Editor, “The Nordic Cultural Policies,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 30 (Spring 2001); Introduction, 3-4.
Executive Editor, “Not-for-profit Cultural Sector in Post-Socialist States,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 29 (Spring 2000); Introduction, 3-6.
Executive Editor, “Cultural Diplomacy in the Post-Cold War Era,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 28 (Spring 1999); Introduction, 3-6.
Executive Editor, “The Arts and Entertainment in Comparative Perspective,” Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 27 (Winter 1998): Introduction, 243-44.
In the 1980s, Mulcahy took an active role in cultural politics at the Louisiana State Legislature. From 1980 to 1982, Mulcahy served as the Cultural Advisor to the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives where he served as the National Endowment for the Humanities Humanist-in-Residence at the State Legislature. From 1982 to 1984, he served as Chairman of the Louisiana House of Representatives Arts Advisory Committee where he was tasked with coordinating three museums and three public agencies in placing artwork in the House of Representatives. He continued serving on the committee from 1987 to 1992.
In 1990, Mulcahy testified to a U.S. presidential commission in opposition to the existing peer review system of assigning federal grants, asserting that as potential beneficiaries of other grants the peer reviewers have an automatic conflict of interest. The National Endowment for the Arts later reorganized into four purpose-based categories, as opposed to the discipline-based system in place at the time. The organization has since reverted to its pre-1995 structure.
In addition to serving as a reviewer for Tenure and promotion decisions at several American universities, he assists the School of Management at the University of South Australia, Adelaide in reviewing Doctoral Dissertations and fulfilling the role of foreign reviewer.
At Louisiana State University, Professor Mulcahy currently serves as an undergraduate advisor in the Department of Political Science and sits on the Organizational Relief Fund committee in the Faculty Senate, where he helps to provide aid to deserving clubs on campus. He also serves the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research by serving on Committee on the Humanities Research and Development Group.
Mulcahy has a long history of service to the school and his students. He has served variously as President Emeritus, President, First Vice-President, and Member of the Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate. In addition, he served as a Faculty Friend for the LSU Honors College.
Awards and honors
In addition to the many awards and distinctions mentioned above, Mulcahy’s work in the fields of teaching and cultural politics has been recognized throughout his career. A select list of his honorariums not previously mentioned in this article is found below.
Huntoon Distinguished Teaching Award, Claremont-McKenna College, 1979, 1980.
Cultural Advisor to the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1980–1982, as a National Endowment for the Humanities Humanist-in-Residence at the State Legislature.
Amoco Foundation Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching, Louisiana State University, 1983.
Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Seminar on French Politics and Society, Ecole d ‘Etudes Politiques de Paris, June–July, 1991.
Manship Research Fellowship, Summer 1998, for a study of cultural nationalism in France, Canada and Quebec.
Exchange Professor, Ecole d’Etudes Anglophones, Université de Provence (Aix-Marseilles I), Aix-en-Provence, January–July 1996.
“Who’s Who in Cultural Policy Research,” International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies, 2007–Present.
Chercheur, L’Institut de Recherche Scientifique du Canada, 2009-2014.
Honorary Homecoming Football Coach (with Richard White, Associate Dean of Business College for Academics). Named by the LSU Football Academic Advisory Office and Head Coach Les Miles, 2010.
