ROCHESTER, NY — Dr. Jamal J. Rossi, professor and dean of the School of Music at the University of South Carolina (USC) and an Eastman School of Music alumnus, has been named Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Eastman, effective July 1, 2005.
An individual with extraordinary broad experiences in both the academic and performing worlds, Dr. Rossi will work closely with the School’s faculty and administration in areas such as curriculum, academic policy, student advisement, and admissions.
“Jamal Rossi’s appointment as academic dean and professor of woodwinds will be a marvelous enhancement to the School’s mission of artistry, scholarship, and leadership,” said Eastman Dean James Undercofler. “In leading this great school, I am particularly pleased to be joined by a colleague with such remarkable achievements in leadership, management, and musicianship.”
As dean of the School of Music at USC since 2000, Dr. Rossi acted as that school’s chief academic officer, overseeing 500 music majors and over 50 faculty and staff. During his tenure at USC, Rossi helped to establish the Southern Exposure New Music Series, the Southeastern Piano Festival, and the Center for Southern African American Music, whose purpose is to collect, preserve, and curate the music of African-Americans in the southern United States. Additionally, the USC String Project was chosen by the American String Teachers Association as the national model for the String Project Consortium. In his five years at USC, Rossi also oversaw a multitude of positive changes in areas of curriculum, development, and facilities.
Prior to his tenure at USC, Rossi held positions as associate dean (1998-2000) and assistant dean (1989-1998) at the School of Music at Ithaca College. From 1986-89, he was the chair in the department of music and theater at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
As a performing musician, Rossi has been featured as a saxophonist on numerous solo and chamber recordings, especially as the alto saxophonist and member of the Empire and Carolina Saxophone Quartets. He has received commissioned works by such composers as Augusta Read Thomas, Dana Wilson, and David Kechley, among many others. He has taught private saxophone and woodwind classes, jazz improvisation and arranging, and directed saxophone and woodwind chamber and jazz ensembles. Rossi’s publications include transcriptions for saxophone as well as professional articles, papers, and reviews.
Rossi was awarded a doctor of musical arts degree from Eastman in 1987, with a major in saxophone performance and literature. He received his master’s degree from the University of Michigan in saxophone performance and literature, and his bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in music education and saxophone performance.
During the year-long search to fill this position, Music Education Professor Donna Fox has acted as the interim dean of academic affairs at the School.
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