Mission

The Committee on Academic Leadership and Administration focuses on developmental and career issues of administrative work in music.

About Academic Leadership and Administration

There are many music faculty—thousands, in fact—who are presently involved at some level in the administration in music, whether as department chair, assistant to the dean, director of graduate admission, or in some other demanding capacity. There also are larger numbers of faculty who have served as administrators in the past and still others who will do so in the future. Some faculty are conscripted for a tour of duty, either in part-time or full-time positions, for a specified period of time. Many return to full-time teaching, while others experience the period of administrative service as a personal challenge, finding it interesting, stimulating, even rewarding to serve colleagues and students as an administrator, leading them to choose it as a new direction in their careers. For all these constituents, the Committee on Administration offers a forum in which established and aspiring administrators may consider a range of issues and challenges relevant to their work. Additionally, since all faculty interact with administrators, the work of the committee indirectly promotes productive dialogue between faculty and administrators.

Few of us have ever been trained in the discipline of music administration; we often are handed these responsibilities because we have shown aptitude for it. For this reason alone the CMS Committee on Administration serves as a valuable link to assist and support administrators in their undertakings, providing members with workshops, forums, publications, and resources relative to administrative work.