KU School of Music dean candidates to present visions for school
LAWRENCE — Three candidates will hold public presentations in a bid to become the next dean of the School of Music at the University of Kansas.
Dean candidates will describe their vision for the school under their leadership. The name of each candidate will be announced one to two business days before their respective campus visit. The presentations additionally will be livestreamed through links available on the Provost’s Office website.
Paul Popiel, current interim dean and professor of music at KU, will be the first candidate to give a public presentation. His presentation will take place 11 a.m.-noon Nov. 6 in Swarthout Recital Hall. The event will be livestreamed, and the passcode is 684789.
The public presentations for the remaining candidates are scheduled for the following dates and will also take place in Swarthout Recital Hall.
- Candidate 2: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 9
- Candidate 3: 4-5 p.m. Nov. 15
Members of the KU community are encouraged to attend each candidate’s public presentation and provide feedback to the search committee. Feedback surveys will be open for two business days following the conclusion of each finalist’s visit. The survey and a recording of each candidate’s presentation will be available after their presentation on the search page until the survey closes.
Additional search information, including candidate bios and CVs, is also available on the search page as each candidate is announced.
“Any of these candidates would bring valuable leadership and expertise to the School of Music,” said Derek Kwan, executive director of the Lied Center of Kansas and co-chair of the search committee.
Mahbub Rashid, dean of the School of Architecture & Design, also serves as co-chair of the committee.
In addition to serving as the School of Music’s interim dean since January, Popiel is a conductor and professor within the school. He previously was the director of bands since 2010 and has annually led the historic Lawrence City Band and the Crossroads Wind Symphony through multiple concerts. Popiel recently completed a four-week professional conducting residency with the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra in Japan.
His previous appointments include the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Oklahoma State University.
Popiel has lectured and performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. He is a contributing author to several volumes of “Teaching Music through Performance in Band” and the Alta Musica journal, as well as the editor-in-chief of The Wind Music Research Quarterly.
In 2013, Popiel was elected to the membership of the American Bandmasters Association and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Popiel earned his bachelor’s degrees in instrumental music education and trumpet performance from Truman State University, a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in wind conducting from Michigan State University. He also earned a postgraduate diploma in 20th century music from the University of Bristol in England.
The dean of music will oversee the school’s strategy, academics, research and creative activities, and is responsible for fostering community engagement and service activities. The dean will ensure talent development of faculty, staff and student employees and fiscal stewardship of administrative structures and the school’s endowment. Additionally, the dean will locally and globally guide partnerships to bring an international audience to its program.
The School of Music seeks to become a model of diverse, creative and innovative approaches to the study and performance of music in the 21st century. The school brings together students and faculty in music composition, education, history, performance, therapy and theory.
WittKieffer, an executive search firm specializing in higher education, aided with the search process and development of a robust and diverse candidate pool.