The verdict is in, and the College of Music has a new dean. Donald Boomgaarden — pianist, organist, fiddler, university administrator and church music director — will be taking over in fall 2009.

Loyola has been searching for a new dean of music since September through a national search firm and a committee of Loyola professors.

Brian Bromberger, the committee chairman and dean of the College of Law, said the most important factors in a candidate were administrative experience, artistic ability, a sense of budget and an awareness of Jesuit values.

“We looked at their academic records, excellence in their fields, experience with alumni and fundraising, signs of creativity and vision, and their abilities to work with faculty and students,” he said.

Edward Kvet, university provost and former music dean, said the committee chose Boomgaarden because of his experience with administration, education, music, Jesuit values and leading through cooperation.

Boomgaarden has “potential for taking new ideas and directions and relating them to the Loyola tradition,” Kvet said.

Boomgaarden, the assistant vice president of academic affairs at Loyola College in Maryland, said he is excited to work with the staff in such a strong program.

“Though I will miss Baltimore, it will be great to work at another Jesuit university, and it seems like a perfect fit,” he said.

Boomgaarden said he hasn’t faced any problems yet because the program is already well established, but when he starts in the fall, he plans to listen to faculty and students and take an assessment before making any major changes.

He has a lot of experience in new program development, he said, but wants to find what is right for the college and the graduate school first.

“I hope to build on the hard work of my predecessors,” he said.

Boomgaarden grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and received a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University in music education. He received a master’s degree and doctorate from the Eastman School of Music in musicology.

He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Vienna in Austria and completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education last year.

As a professor of music literature and history at St. Mary’s College in Maryland for fifteen years, he also served as the dean of music and the assistant to the provost.
He spent the last five years in his position at Loyola College in Maryland and also served as the music director at Corpus Christi Church in Baltimore.

Boomgaarden focused on “working primarily with faculty on new undergraduate and graduate program development, being in charge of space planning and renovation for our four campuses, academic program review, and the assessment of teaching, faculty development, and projects related to our Ignatian mission” at Loyola Maryland, he said.

Behind the scenes

The hired search firm’s purpose was to put out a national advertisement and sort through applications, picking the best choices for the committee.

The firm chose around five applicants, who were then welcomed for an interview with the committee, Bromberger said.

They reviewed further and offered three choices to the faculty and provost who were all brought in for discussion with the faculty and administration. The provost, with the committee’s consensus, announced the final decision in February.

Anthony Decuir has served as interim dean since the beginning of the school year (he also led the department during the 1996-1997 school year).

“Dr. Decuir has done an excellent job as interim dean with his knowledge and previous experience as associate dean,” Kvet said.

Garrett Cleland can be reached at [email protected].