EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees will consider an action to change the MSU School of Music to the MSU College of Music at its Feb. 23 board meeting.
The proposed change would recognize the growth of MSU’s School of Music and its stature among music performance and music education programs. The new designation would make the school the university’s 16th college.
“This is a very exciting time for the school,” said Jim Forger, director of the School of Music. “The College of Music designation would reflect the achievement of a distinctive programmatic direction led by a superb faculty. This new designation would add to the school’s prestige and its impact on recruiting top students and faculty, and would increase opportunities for collaborations and outreach.”
If elevated to its new stature as a college, the School of Music, previously within the College of Arts and Letters, would be an autonomous unit and Forger would serve as dean. The change in identity would be effective immediately after board approval, and programmatic and academic changes would begin during the 2007 fall semester. The location of the College of Music would remain in the Music Building, though there are plans for a new facility in the future, according to Forger.
The school has been recognized as a leading professional training ground for composers, music educators, performers and therapists. In 1997, the last time the National Association of Schools of Music completed a national ranking of music schools, the School of Music was ranked among the top 30 programs in the nation.
“MSU’s School of Music has an excellent reputation as an outstanding conservatory experience with top-notch music education programs,” said President Lou Anna K. Simon. “The change to a college would reflect that reputation and add prestige to the program and the university.”
Currently, the school includes more than 80 resident faculty artists and scholars, 400 undergraduates and 275 graduate students. It offers students six bachelor degree programs, a performance diploma, 10 master’s programs and four doctorate degree programs. The school presents more than 300 concerts, recitals and productions each year, including a faculty artist series, two fully staged operas, a Latin American music series, and orchestra, band, jazz and choral series.
In the last 15 years, the school has seen a significant growth in enrollment, competitiveness among peers and in its outreach endeavors. Enrollment of music majors increased more than 100 percent between 1990-2006, and nonmajor enrollment in ensembles and music classes has increased to serve approximately 2,000 students annually.
The Community Music School, the outreach arm of the School of Music, has increased services to nearly 1,200 individuals annually and will expand with the hiring of Rhonda Buckley, who will serve in the newly created position of associate dean of outreach and engagement. Buckley, an MSU alumna, is currently the director of the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
"The School of Music has a long history of success and growth in both performance and music education programs," said Provost Kim Wilcox. "This new designation is a natural step that recognizes that success and provides a foundation for further excellence in a highly competitive national environment."
MSU’s music program began in 1919 when a Department of Music was formed and its faculty consisted of one professor. It has been an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music since 1934.
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