Two finalists announced for CU-Boulder dean of College of Music
The finalists for the position are Mary Ellen Poole, former dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Robert Shay, director of the School of Music at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
“The search committee received well over 50 applications for this highly desirable position and came up with the two finalists after an earlier round of off-campus interviews and lengthy and thoughtful deliberation,” said John Stevenson, dean of the Graduate School and chair of the search committee. “The quality of the college is reflected in the stature of the applicants.”
Both finalists were scheduled to visit the campus this month. A public session with Poole was announced for Wednesday, Feb. 5;. a public session with Shay will be from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in the Imig Music Building, room 199.
Poole was dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2003 until this year. She previously was at the School of Music at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., where she held positions including director (1997-2003), associate professor (1997-2003), assistant professor (1993-96), coordinator of music history (1989-95) and instructor of music history and flute (1985-93).
She earned her bachelor’s degree in flute performance from Baylor University, a master’s degree in flute performance from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Shay has been director of the University of Missouri School of Music since 2008 and previously held positions as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of the conservatory at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. (2000-08), visiting associate professor of music at Duke University (1999-2000) and various positions at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark., from 1991 to 2000 including associate professor of music and chair of the Fine Arts Division.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Wheaton College in Illinois, a master’s degree in choral conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
James Austin, professor of music education, has been serving as interim dean of the CU-Boulder College of Music since Dan Sher returned to teaching last year. Sher had served as dean for 20 years.