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Gwyn Richards named dean of IU School of Music
June 7, 2001
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Interim Dean Gwyn Richards has been selected as the next dean at the Indiana University School of Music.
Acting on the advice of IU Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis, IU President Myles Brand will formally recommend the appointment to the IU Trustees at their meeting on June 22 on the IU Kokomo campus.
In announcing his decision, Brand noted that Richards brings significant and proven talents to the job. "The School of Music is the brightest jewel in IU's crown," said Brand. "It has long been central to the life of classical music and dance in this country and abroad, and I am pleased to entrust such a treasure to someone with Gwyn Richards' vision, commitment and passion for excellence. For the last year he has served the school well as interim dean. I have every confidence that he will continue to do so."
Gros Louis added, "With Gwyn's administrative experience at four major universities, we have a dynamic leader at the helm of one of the greatest music schools of the world."
The IU School of Music has been recognized for years as one of the leading music schools in the world and is annually ranked among the top three in the nation. The programs of the School of Music are considered among the finest in the nation, and the IU Opera Theater is considered the preeminent program of its kind.
Richards, 50, holds two music degrees from the University of Michigan and entered the doctoral program at IU in 1976. He is a former associate dean of music at the University of Southern California who came to IU in 1992 as director of admissions for the School of Music. He also has served as assistant dean at the Rice University music school and on the faculty at McGill University. His field is choral conducting, and he is simultaneously being appointed as a tenured professor in that department.
Candidates from throughout the United States and abroad were considered for the position of dean by a 21-member search committee composed of faculty and staff from the School of Music and other units on the IU campus. Richards was announced as a finalist for the position in April.
"I am excited at what lies ahead for this extraordinary school," Richards said. "The transforming influence our institution can have on the development of young musicians, educators, scholars and dancers is one I've experienced personally. Our stewardship of this legendary school must account for the many constituencies that it serves and the ever-evolving role we play in the cultural life of this nation."
The new dean is placing the development of an infrastructure as his earliest objective, key components of which are development, admissions and financial aid. Richards has worked extensively in student recruitment, alumni cultivation and financial aid in his previous administrative appointments.
(Maria Talbert, 812-856-5719, mtalbert@indiana.edu or Susan Dillman, 812-855-0850, sdillman@indiana.edu)