Seeking New Head of the School of Music

The College of Fine Arts and School of Music Seeks a New Head

Carnegie Mellon University seeks an imaginative advocate, a generous collaborator and a proactive communicator as the next Head of the School of Music.

About the School of Music

The School of Music is one of five schools in the College of Fine Arts and currently comprises 90 faculty (17 tenure-track, 23 teaching track or special faculty and 50 adjunct; 20 of the 90 are members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) and 13 full-time staff. 201 of our students are undergraduates (of whom 56 are pursuing BXA intercollege degrees), and 129 are graduate students. Our community also includes alumni, supporters, audience members, our students' families, Pittsburgh residents, industry leaders and our peer institutions.

The School of Music offers the BFA in Performance, Composition and Electronic Music and the MM in Performance, Composition and Music Education. Cooperative degrees include the BS and MS in Music and Technology, the BXA Intercollege Programs (combining the strengths of CFA with computer science, engineering, humanities or science). Related programs include Master of Arts Management and the Master of Entertainment Industry Management.

Role and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Dean of the College of Fine Arts, the head plays a visible and important role internally and externally, focused on providing the school's students with maximum opportunities to fulfill their potential as artists, thinkers and citizens.

The head will articulate a compelling vision of music's role in society and will help our students explore the riotous diversity of potential careers in music. They will foster an environment of growth, challenge, support, curiosity and exploration. The head will be an articulate proponent of CMU's excellence across science, technology and the arts to further strengthen the position of the school and the college.

The Head of the School of Music is the key steward of the school's artistic mission, leading its faculty and staff to set strategy for the school. The head also serves as the primary fundraiser, partnering with the dean in this regard.

This is a unique andministrative role with fiduciary and administrative obligations, as well as primary responsibility for faculty leadership. The next Head of the School of Music will be an active member of a strong leadership team within the College of Fine Arts and will mentor faculty staff and student body of diverse cultures, backgrounds and identities.

Candidate Qualities

The head will possess vision, passion, innovation and execution skills; the ability to engage with multiple stakeholders; and a record of operational excellence. The head will possess achievements as a performer, creator, producer or scholar of music sufficient — when combined with the leadership record — for appointment at the level of full professor with tenure in the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University.

Process

Initial screening of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Carnegie Mellon will be assisted by Jackie Zavitz, Meghan Ashbrock and Sulli Cressler of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc.

Nominations and applications should be directed to CMUHeadofMusic@heidrick.com.

Carnegie Mellon University is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EEO/AA). The university bases its employment decisions on the principle of equal employment opportunity. All personnel actions including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefit, transfer, layoff, education tuition assistance and social and recreational programs are administered in accordance with the university's commitment to non-discrimination.

Further, the university takes affirmative action to attract qualified candidates for employment who are minority, female, individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam Era; ensures that bona fide job-related and valid requirements are used to evaluate employees for promotion and applicants for employment; and complies with applicable federal, state and local laws, statutes, orders and regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national or ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status or non-job related disability.