About

Our Vision

The School of Music aspires to cultivate a diverse community of musicians while fostering creativity, innovation, and excellence through transformative musical education. We strive for a future in which music transcends boundaries, enriching lives and cultures and where our graduates create a positive impact on the global music landscape.

Our Values

Guiding our work are the following values:

• Excellence: We are committed to achieving distinction in performance, academic, therapeutic, and professional endeavors.
• Opportunity: We provide formative experiences through intensive and innovative coursework, applied studies, performances, research, internships and community outreach.
• Innovation: We encourage creativity and experimentation in music-making, teaching and research.
• Inclusiveness: We embrace all people, musical traditions and ideas.
• Community: We believe in fostering a collaborative environment and supportive culture among students, faculty, staff and the community at large.
• New Music: We perform, promote and celebrate new music as an essential part of our community’s culture.

Our Goals

The School of Music will make goals to identify and improve opportunity, success, and impact for students, faculty and staff in the following areas:

Student Experience & Support

• Develop and implement a strategic plan for improving student recruitment, matriculation, retention and graduation rates.
• Partner with campus offices and organizations to promote students’ wellbeing.
• Foster and document positive educational and career outcomes post-graduation.

Academics

• Increase creative, research and performance opportunities for faculty and students.
• Expand the breadth of experiential learning beyond the classroom, including community engagement and global opportunities.
• Continue review and revision of degree programs to ensure alignment with current industry standards, emerging trends and accreditation organizations.
• Explore possibilities for creating a performance certificate and doctoral program.

Access & Opportunity

• Collaborate with UofL’s Office of Institutional Equity to support UofL’s Inclusive Excellence Plan.
• Promote cultural understanding, inclusive pedagogy and a welcoming environment for all members of the community.

Faculty Development

• Increase financial support for the pedagogical, creative, research, and service endeavors of all full- and part-time faculty and lecturers.
• Support faculty members in achieving tenure and promotion goals.
• Support faculty members in integrating innovative teaching methods and technologies.

Staff Development

• Implement initiatives to improve staff workload and retention.
• Increase financial support for professional development.
• Administrative Effectiveness
  • Prioritize the processes of shared governance.
  • Enhance administrative communication, processes, and procedures.
  • Establish regular opportunities for faculty, staff and student recognition and appreciation.

Community Engagement

• Strengthen and continue community partnerships.
• Expand outreach efforts to under-resourced populations.
• Develop stronger marketing and communication efforts to promote the School of Music’s programs, events and achievements.
• Strengthen relationships with current and future donors and alumni.
• Cultivate broader concert audiences.

Facilities & Equipment

• Complete regular cleaning, maintenance, and updates to School of Music facilities.
• Pursue larger and more acoustically appropriate practice/rehearsal spaces.
• Investigate possibilities for building a larger concert hall with additional rehearsal spaces.
• Create a long-term plan for the purchase, maintenance, and repair of instruments, equipment, and technology for classrooms, studios and performance spaces.
• Overhaul system for instrument inventory and storage.

Teaching & Staffing Hiring

• Increase staff positions for managing concert halls, coordinating events, recording, archiving and/or streaming performances and distributing and promoting content online.
• Identify and fulfill staffing needs related to piano accompaniment, marketing and promotions, grant writing and additional areas to better meet the needs of the School of Music.
• Identify teaching needs and increase the number of tenured faculty and graduate assistant lines.

School of Music Inclusion Statement

The School of Music fosters a caring and inclusive community that honors the humanity and dignity of every individual. We warmly welcome all qualified students who wish to audition for or take part in our music ensembles, courses, programs and opportunities.