Undergraduate Forum

It is an exciting time for undergraduates in the Music Department. This past spring, students and faculty chartered an Undergraduate Music Forum to better address concerns related to the undergraduate experience. Our Steering Committee, made up of a diverse group of faculty and students, began meeting this fall. We aim to not only represent the student voice, but also to help implement initiatives that will improve the environment for all who live, work and play in the Department.

One of our most important goals thus far has been to provide student input on Departmental undertakings, especially in regards to the new building. Additionally, our student members are already contributing to the work of faculty committees-- we’re developing a system to provide more consistent student ushering at concerts and are discussing what we want to see in the Department’s redesigned website (including a comprehensive listing of student recitals). Our long term plans include increasing unity (specifically between different student sectors), working to better involve students in Departmental fundraising and alumni relations, sharing student input in curricular planning, and until a new state of the art facility arrives, looking at ways to make the best of our current facilities (in particular what small improvements can be made to enhance practice rooms, even on a limited budget).

At least once each semester we will host a true open forum for all students of the Department, generally after a Wednesday at 4 Recital. This will allow us to share our work and open the floor for discussion. Similarly, we have implemented a Dear Abby tool on the website that will help gauge and address student concerns. We look forward to sharing information about our work in future updates on this page.

Sincerely,

Members of the Undergraduate Music Forum Steering Committee

Jake Brady, Eric Bilbrey, Chrissy Bischoff, Casey Molino Dunn, Chris Homick, Meredith Kincaid, Dave Moschler, Christina Smith, Molly Stapleton, Kate Stratton, and Melinda Whittington, and Professors Allen Anderson, John Covach, Susan Klebanow, and Brent Wissick