In Tuesday’s (5/13) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, James Goodman writes, “When University of Rochester President Joel Seligman introduced Jamal J. Rossi as the new dean of the Eastman School of Music, he called the school the ‘crown jewel’ of UR.” Rossi, whose appointment was announced Tuesday afternoon at Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall, “came to the Eastman School in 2005 as senior associate dean. He then served as executive associate dean from 2007 until last September, when he was appointed dean following the illness and resignation of Douglas Lowry, who died of cancer in October. Rossi has continued to serve as dean while an international search was conducted.” Before joining Eastman—where he is also a saxophonist and a professor of woodwinds—Rossi spent five years as dean of music at the University of South Carolina. As Eastman’s new dean, his “top priority, said Rossi in comments to reporters, is making more scholarship money available for students attending the Eastman School.” Goodman reports that Rossi also wants to “have a greater presence in New York City” and to “expand RocMusic, a partnership between [Rochester’s] arts and educational institutions to provide tuition-free-after-school music instruction for city children.”
Posted May 14, 2014
