• a commitment to students and student success

• an ability to communicate, connect with, and nurture relationships with internal and external constituent groups

• a pursuit and support of excellence in all activities

• an ability to encourage and empower colleagues to commit their best in pursuit of their personal and our collective goals

• a recognition that successes are built by our team, not by one individual

• an unwavering dedication to supporting the administrative staff and dedicated faculty who, together, provide excellent experiences and training for our students

On our pathway to reaffirming our vision for the operation of our unit and defining its role on our campus and in our community, it is critically important that the faculty and staff share in the creation and implementation of that vision.  As a result of this collective effort, our community has successfully worked toward:

• a collective stabilization of recruitment efforts and enrollment management within the School, resulting in a 9.5% increase in first-time freshman enrollment for the 2024-25 academic year.  I am particularly proud of this effort, as the unit has been dealing with an institutional decline in enrollment.

• a focus on issues surrounding student retention, including the adoption of specific measures connected to the academic success of our enrolled students, such as:

  • the implementation of a new staff position dedicated entirely to student advisement

  • a redesign of the entire course meeting pattern and schedule rotation to ensure that the schedule is student-centric and allows for timely degree completion

  • implementation of new semester-by-semester guides and plans of study for each student enrolled in a degree program in the School

  • incorporating new team members into the School administrative team in the positions of Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinator

  • implementation of new online course supplements for all undergraduate music theory courses to aid student success

  • expanding the accessibility of our music theory tutoring for undergraduate students

  • a collaborative, interdisciplinary redesign of our Bachelor of Arts in Music degree program, affording students flexibility and the ability to imagine new degree pathways which were, before, impossible

  • a redesign of the Bachelor of Music Performance degree to include a track in commercial music, requiring interdisciplinary work across campus

• strengthening connections and defining the mutually beneficial agreement that exists between the School of Music and the Hattiesburg Concert Association, the leading community-based presenter and advocate for music, arts, and culture in the state of Mississippi

• building relationships with city and county governments in our region in order to facilitate the creation of music events and music education programs presented by our School faculty and students in venues embedded within our regional communities

• ensuring that our faculty receive the support necessary for them to have impactful positions within important national and international organizations that support their respective, and our collective, fields.  Additionally, we have worked together to ensure that our School continues to interface with and lead the field at national and international levels, including the regular participation of our students and faculty at national and international festivals and training programs. 

  • to this end, unit spending in support of faculty scholarly and creative activity has increased by nearly 100% during my time as School Director

• ensuring that our community is one that serves the needs of our diverse population of students.  Toward this effort, our School is the only school on campus to have appointed a School-level officer responsible for coordinating efforts around student belonging.  This work is connected to our efforts related to recruitment and retention.

Under my leadership, the School embarked on its first scholarship campaign in several decades, resulting in the creation of a scholarship which is endowed and whose contributions are made in honor of our Director of Bands Emeritus, Dr. Thomas V. Fraschillo.  We exceeded our fundraising goal for this campaign in record time, generating significant excitement and engagement from many generations of alumni and friends of the School.  Additionally, relationships with donors and our university Foundation have secured funding for international students who desire to study music at The University of Southern Mississippi – an important component to the continued health of our USM Symphony Orchestra, which is populated with students from sixteen different countries around the world.  Of particular note is the ongoing work on which I have embarked in partnership with interested donors and colleagues from across campus to develop a plan for upgraded and new facilities for our School of Music.  This plan includes a feasibility study engaging campus and community members, as well as a fundraising strategy designed to guide all stakeholders in ensuring that our facilities reflect the excellence of the work taking place in our School of Music.  Further, we continue to develop relationships with our community of alumni and friends, in partnership with our colleagues in the university Foundation and their ongoing capital campaign, to develop designated and unrestricted funds to continue to support the excellent work being done by students and faculty in the School.  As a result, donor engagement with the School of Music is at an all-time high, with contributions increasing by 61% during my time as School Director.

Finally, through partnership with our colleagues in the Physical Plant and with the University Architect, we secured grant funding through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for sorely needed renovations to our primary large concert hall which originally opened in 1930.  The same team is currently working toward securing additional grant funds through the Mississippi Arts Commission for renovation work in several of our other music facilities.  My work related to fundraising and community partnership efforts has been recognized by the University, as the President appointed me to serve as Subcommittee Chair for Philanthropy, Alumni, and Community Excellence as part of the University’s ongoing Strategic Planning process.

A School of Music is unique among academic units in many ways, not the least of which is how important collaboration and community are to its healthy functioning.  In developing this culture of the School as a community of people bound together toward a common set of goals, I have found several items to be of keen importance:

• an investment in shared governance related to as many facets of the School’s operation as possible.

  • This commitment to shared governance has increased dialogue about as many components of the vision and operation of the unit as is feasible, creating a greater sense of ownership among faculty members.  In my experience, everyone in our community having a voice that can be heard related to large- and small-scale policies and initiatives is a core strength of our regular operations.

  • A significant achievement related to shared governance in action was an examination and rewriting of our School tenure and promotion guidelines.  In specific, in order to better position our unit to advocate for our faculty as they progress through the process of tenure and promotion, I asked our Policies and Procedures Committee (a standing committee within our governance structure) to develop objective measurements and standards for research and creative activity so that our faculty had defined guidelines to follow and meet as they worked their way through this most important facet of their careers.  This work is particularly important given our unit’s position within a large and diverse College, wherein a significant amount of dossier evaluation occurs beyond the School level.  The resulting modifications to our School Policies and Procedures document represent an excellent example of the governance structure within the unit working to be sure that all voices were represented and heard throughout the process and that, in the end, our process represents the needs of our broad and diverse faculty.

• an understanding from all parties that it is my role to guide, champion, and support our faculty, staff, and students

  • As an administrator, I view it as my role to serve and assist.  It has been critically important for me to work to gain as deep an understanding as I can of the work in which each of my colleagues is involved.

  • I have regular meetings, apart from those mandated by our annual evaluation process (at least one per year), with each individual faculty member to talk with them about their work and the goals associated with that work.  Additionally, I schedule at least one opportunity each year to visit each faculty member in the classroom, studio, or rehearsal hall.  These efforts have afforded me the opportunity to gain significant insight into the artistry and academic brilliance of the faculty.  In fact, this exercise is one of my favorite, albeit incredibly humbling, activities in which I take part each year.

  • Our School staff meets regularly to discuss the ongoing work happening throughout the unit.  Fundamental to my daily work is to interface with, connect, and encourage our excellent team of staff so that the daily and long-range operations of the School happen as seamlessly as possible.

    • Through this work and connection, our staff morale remains exceptionally high.  During my tenure as School Director, we have experienced turnover only once, and in one line.  That turnover was due to a great opportunity for the staff member, made possible in large part by the skills and experience they gained while working in the School.

    • Our School staff has been recognized across the institution for their high level of work ethic and excellent execution of their tasks.

• establish recognition within our Unit that we will better achieve our goals by working as partners with other units 

  • This has borne fruitful outcomes related to curricular redesign, wherein our Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Music Performance degrees have been restructured to include options for coursework in other Schools, including business and marketing courses.

  • Additionally, the unit is increasing collaborative efforts with the School of Performing and Visual Arts, which houses dance, theater, and art, resulting in work toward an expanded vision for our Southern Opera and Musical Theater Company wherein the expertise that exists on the faculties of each school can be harnessed toward higher levels of student achievement.

• work in an atmosphere of transparency and trust

  • It is important to me that I am able to be transparent and openly communicative about decisions that come from or through the School Director’s office. 

  • I have absolute comfort in being transparent about decision-making that originates from my office because of my commitment to, and my expectation that our staff maintain, integrity and accountability related to all our operations.  As such, the School office sends weekly updates of the happenings around the office which include small operational details as well as major announcements and policy decisions.  This weekly communication has developed a sense of trust and comfort between the School office and our faculty and staff.

  • I am accessible to staff, faculty, and students.  I work, generally, in an open-door environment, with drop-in visits being a regular occurrence every day.  Certainly, for important and subject-specific meeting needs, I make myself available by appointment to ensure that we have enough dedicated time to navigate the issues at hand.  Additionally, we have implemented Microsoft Teams, embedding it deeply into our daily operations.  Faculty and staff can reach out to me directly via the chat feature on that platform for quick needs or questions.  This accessibility has helped to develop a sense of connection, community, transparency, and trust among our entire School team.

• engage with The University of Southern Mississippi Partners for the Arts organization at a higher level

  • Partners for the Arts is a fundraising and advocacy organization on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi, for which I serve on the advisory board.

  • I am leading, in coordination with the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a restructuring of this organization so that the governing board is more closely aligned with and aware of the needs of each unit supported by the organization.

  • As a result of my advocacy on this board, financial support for music initiatives has increased significantly.  Further, I have led the effort to create major fundraising and awareness events aimed at supporting all areas of the arts on our campus.  These efforts have led to increased membership levels and fundraising through Partners for the Arts.

• increase the level of engagement that our School office and faculty have with our strong alumni base 

  • This activity includes outreach from the School office to individual alumni in an effort to maintain better contact with them, to encourage faculty to engage with alumni in their area, and to engage alumni both when they come back to campus to visit and while meeting them in their communities and workplaces. 

  • Developing a strong connection with the Executive Director of the Alumni Association has been important to me during my time as School Director.  Through this connection and the excellent work that our alumni execute in the field every day, our School, through our alumni, has been featured several times, and in a significant manner, in the University’s alumni magazine.  Featured articles on alumni who now serve as major conductors, Broadway performers, and significant educators throughout the country have helped to increase the unit’s visibility and better engage our alumni of all ages.

  • The School of Music is fortunate to have a particularly engaged alumni base, largely because of the significant work that has gone on for decades to build a sense of strong community within the School.  We continue to work to capitalize on this unique connection with our alumni base, re-engaging groups who have been disconnected from the institution for various reasons.

I have spent much of my time in higher education working with athletic bands.  To be successful in this work, one must be mindful and respectful of long-held traditions developed through the rich history of the organization while serving the needs of current students and, simultaneously, preparing the organization for the future.  Having to work with this mindset from the outset of my career has poised me well for my work as an administrator, where it is critical to embrace the history of our unit while working concurrently to meet the needs of our current students, faculty, and staff, preparing the unit for a continually brighter future.  Weaving the School of Music into the fabric of campus life is central to upholding important traditions and ensuring future success.  The key to this work, as with all the previous efforts discussed, is the ability to forge strong relationships with campus and community partners, developing supportive and engaged constituent groups who are passionate, themselves, about the success of the unit.

• let your character be known by how well you love your neighbors

• exercise prudence and care when navigating matters large and small

• treat all individuals equitably and fairly

• control and discipline yourself in all matters

• have the fortitude to face difficult circumstances or situations with the same integrity and care as you treat less difficult circumstances or situations

• work to consistently find positive outcomes in all situations

• approach life with a curious spirit