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Dear Colleague:
I am writing to inform you that Bernard Dobroski has announced
his intention to step down as dean of the School of Music,
effective July 1, 2003. With great gratitude for the many
contributions he has made to the School and to the broader
University community, President Bienen and I have accepted
that resignation.
In my discussions with Bernie over the past year, we have
concluded that after his long and successful decanal career,
he can serve the arts at Northwestern in other ways. We are
pleased to know that, following a year’s leave of absence
and his return to the School of Music faculty as John Evans
Professor of Music, Bernie will be available to assist us
with special projects related to the promotion of the arts
at Northwestern. We have no doubt that we will be frequently
calling upon his many talents.
Currently the longest serving among the school deans at Northwestern,
Bernie Dobroski joined the Northwestern faculty in 1974 and
has been a valued friend and colleague for many years. By
June 2003, he will have completed 25 years of service in one
or another capacity in the Dean’s Office of Northwestern’s
School of Music. In addition, from 1986 to 1990, he served
as Dean of the School of Music at the University of Oregon.
Thanks to his tireless efforts, our School of Music has grown
greatly in strength during his tenure as dean. To cite but
a few signs of that progress:
- Undergraduate applications doubled, with the profile of
the enrolling students improving on every dimension. By
next June, more than 1,200 students will have received their
degrees from the School of Music during his tenure.
- The school faculty has been significantly strengthened,
with more than half of the current members of the faculty
having been appointed during his tenure. Some of the most
sought-after musical pedagogues in the world are among the
persons recruited by him. In addition, and thanks to his
commitment, the school’s faculty includes significantly
greater representation of women and under-represented minorities.
- Outreach activities both within the University and beyond
have been significantly expanded, including the introduction
of innovative programs for members of the community, ranging
from “KinderMusic” courses for youngsters to courses
for senior citizens. At the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall and
in other Music venues, internationally renowned musicians
have performed for campus and community audiences.
- Highly successful new degree programs have been offered,
including Music Theater (in conjunction with the School
of Communication), Music Technology, Music Cognition, Jazz Pedagogy
and Studies, and Opera Direction.
- To encourage collaborative initiatives and to serve students
better, 14 individual departments were reorganized into
two inclusive departments. At the same time, the school
was placed on a strong financial foundation and he removed
an operating deficit he inherited.
- Thanks to his energetic work as a fundraiser, more than
$26 million dollars has been raised to support the school
and its programs.
- The national reputation of the school has risen, as national
polls imply: A 1993 National Research Council study ranked
Music programs as 23rd in the nation. The most recent US
News and World Report ranking placed Northwestern’s
program as the country’s sixth best.
- The School nurtured important ties with such local musical
organizations as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the
Lyric Opera. One such collaborative undertaking was last
summer’s Mideast-West Divan Workshop, which brought
Israeli and Arab student musicians to campus under the direction
of Daniel Barenboim.
While Bernie’s first love has clearly been the School
of Music, his devotion to the larger University was always
apparent. He has been a valued member of the Council of Deans:
A token of his colleagues’ respect for him is their selection
of Bernie to chair the Committee on Cross-School Initiatives,
a group of deans who distributed over $3 million to encourage
interdisciplinary work at the University. Bernie’s high
sense of University citizenship has been demonstrated by his
eagerness to work with his fellow deans on other initiatives
beneficial to the institution as a whole. Under his leadership,
the School of Music has provided far greater access to its
courses by students enrolled in other schools; the number
of ensembles, courses and lessons available to non-specialist
undergraduates has grown ten-fold and registrations by non-Music
students in the School’s courses has grown by more than
125% during his tenure. In addition, Bernie has been unfailingly
generous in helping other units of the University draw upon
the rich human resources of School its students and faculty.
President Bienen and I greatly appreciate Bernie’s many
contributions to Northwestern and his leadership of the School
of Music. We look forward to working with him in as dean during
the coming year. And we are pleased to know that he will be
available to us, thereafter, as a vigorous and dedicated advocate
of the arts at the University.
Lawrence B. Dumas
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