University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell Moore today announced that he has accepted the resignation of Daniel Sher as dean of the College of Music at CU-Boulder effective June 30, 2013.
Sher, who will have served in the post for 20 years when he steps down next summer, will return to the College of Music faculty. He was named dean of the College of Music in July of 1993.
鈥淒uring Dan鈥檚 tenure he has developed particularly strong partnerships with our surrounding performance and outreach music communities,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淗e has also significantly increased the college鈥檚 endowment by fivefold and annual cash giving by nearly tenfold, in addition to establishing the first two endowed faculty chairs.鈥�
Moore added that since Sher has been dean, the College of Music has established the Entrepreneurship Center for Music, which was the first of its kind in the United States; created Jazz Studies degrees from the bachelor鈥檚 through the doctorate level, and added new graduate programs in music theory, collaborative piano at the master鈥檚 and doctorate levels and graduate professional certificate programs in opera, woodwind and string quartet performance.
CU-Boulder has been cited the past three years in a row by the Fiske Guide to Colleges as one of just 25 in the nation -- among a total of 1,200 music programs in higher education -- for its excellence in music and has been ranked in the top 20 among all college, university and conservatory music programs by U.S. News & World Report.
Moore said that after consultation with Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano he hopes to move forward quickly with a national search to fill Sher鈥檚 post.
鈥淣ot only has Dean Sher advanced the College of Music in unimaginable ways in an era of budget austerity, he has been instrumental in establishing the university as a cultural and performing arts hub attracting 385,000 citizens to campus annually,鈥� said DiStefano, who has worked with Sher听for the past听20 years. 鈥淗e will bring the same energy as a professor that he does as dean and I am thrilled he will remain on the faculty.鈥�
Sher served as president of the National Association of Schools of Music, the U.S.-designated听accreditation association for music in higher education, and president of Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Honor Society for Music in the U.S.
He was previously on the piano faculty at the School of Music at Louisiana State University, where he served as dean from 1984 to 1993. He is a past president of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national honor society for music, and currently serves on that group鈥檚 Board of Regents.
Sher received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, a master鈥檚 degree from the Juilliard School and a doctorate in piano pedagogy from the Teachers College of Columbia University.
Current and former advisory board members are establishing a scholarship fund through the CU Foundation to honor Sher鈥檚 20 years of service and leadership.听The endowment will be used to support talented undergraduate music students from the state of Colorado.
Contact:
Malinda Miller-Huey, 303-492-3115
Daniel Sher
