Timeline Events

Timeline NDSU DPA Website Redesign24F 130 Aubrey Franek24F 331 Ryan LivdahlPrinter Replacement2025 Director Search

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Data (Markdown)Wottrich, Tyler Templeton, Karisa; Keogh, Cassie; Moe, Charlette; Law, William; Lee, Daniel; Weber, Michael; Jilek, Dwight; Brekke, Jeremy; +4 others Hey all, I devised the email below with edits and advice from Kelly and Bill. I plan to send it this afternoon at 5 pm signed "the music faculty" and CC everyone except those who don't want to be included-- as of right now Kyle and Sigurd-- please let me know by 5 pm if you don't want to be included. Many thanks, T ------ Dear Dean Wallin and Associate Dean Jung, Thank you for your leadership of CAS and advocacy for unity within the college, especially given its many and diverse units; we recognize the depth of your attention and effort toward the greater health and future success of the college through many initiatives. Likewise, we recognize the value of John Miller's leadership of the DPA with his depth of experience administering a very complex unit: his vision and ability to represent the strengths and needs of the unit, success in fostering unity and collegiality, outstanding approach to navigating personnel conflicts, financial and fundraising acumen, and extensive knowledge of best national practices and standards. In your announcement of the DPA director search you presented the idea of a new director being soon in place so that, along with several incoming faculty members, the DPA can cast a unified vision for the future. Though we also look forward to a new director who will work toward a unified vision of the DPA and CAS, at faculty meeting this past Monday (3/31) the music faculty nearly unanimously felt that a search for a new DPA director would be too late and too rushed with the outlined timeline of bringing in candidates in early June. Here are some of our concerns: --Given that very few faculty and students will be on campus during the candidate interviews, how will faculty and students give adequate and meaningful feedback related to this hire? --Similarly, what can candidates to learn about our programs, students, and faculty with limited exposure to these people outside of the school year? And, though Askanase is of course unaffected, most of the music building will be offline due to construction, and only reduced staff will be available to help facilitate a visit and meet with candidates. --With a search so late in the academic year, how can we expect to find excellent candidates for such an important position who will be available and ready to uproot their lives on short notice? Both the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Music stipulate in their code of ethics that the timing of faculty appointments offered after May 1 would need to be cleared with an administrative head at a candidate's current institution, representing an additional hurdle to securing an excellent candidate (exact NASM language included below this message as an example). Mike Weber and Bill Law have both shared their willingness to cover directorial duties in the case of a year-long director search beginning in the fall. We would deeply appreciate the opportunity for conversation in understanding your reasons for an immediate director search and want to share with you the conviction of the music faculty that the continued success of the DPA as part of CAS would be best served by a director search beginning in the fall. Signed, The Challey School of Music faculty ------- ARTICLE V FACULTY APPOINTMENTS Section 1. Article V. of the NASM Code of Ethics is intended to apply to the conduct of member institutions and their employees or agents who are involved in the negotiation of faculty employment agreements or appointments on behalf of their respective institutions. It is not intended to govern the activities of individual faculty members who may seek employment with other institutions. The purpose of the provision is to encourage communications between institutions so as to avoid, to the extent possible, last-minute disruptions in faculty coverage that could significantly impact an institution’s ability to fulfill its artistic and academic obligations to its students. Section 2. Inquiries about an individual’s interest in and conversation concerning a new, full-time academic appointment are in order at any time of the year. Section 3. However, after May 1, a written contract for an appointment to take effect in the next academic year will not be offered to a faculty candidate who is currently under contract with another college, school, or institution unless the administrative head (usually the music executive) of the offering college, school, or institution, has previously consulted with the administrative head of the college, school or institution that the individual will be leaving and, to the extent possible, determined that the date at which the appointment is to take effect or the manner in which duties will be shared is agreeable to the administrative head of the college, school, or institution that the individual will be leaving if the individual accepts the new appointment. This provision shall remain applicable to both institutions, even if the individual who is accepting a new appointment has already resigned from the individual’s former position, if such resignation takes place less than thirty days before the date that the contract is signed with the new institution. Section 4. As an issue of courtesy and good practice, NASM strongly recommends that when it is not clear that negotiations will be completed prior to May 1, the administrative head of the offering institution advise the administrative head of the institution where the faculty member is currently employed that negotiations are underway. -- Dr. Tyler Wottrich Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano North Dakota State University - Challey School of Music Artistic Director, NDSU Chamber Music Festival https://www.ndsu.edu/performingarts/music/about/people/faculty/tyler_wottrich.php