Berklee to Hold Inauguration of President Erica Muhl in April

Berklee to Hold Inauguration of President Erica Muhl in April Muhl is the fourth-and first female-president of Berklee.

By

Colette Greenstein

March 14, 2023

Berklee President Erica Muhl

Image by Kelly Davidson

Berklee is pleased to announce the inauguration of Erica Muhl, DMA, as Berklee's fourth president on Tuesday, April 4, at 11:00 a.m., at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston. The inauguration will feature several celebratory events, beginning with a performance by the Berklee Inauguration Symphony Orchestra on April 3 at Symphony Hall. The inauguration ceremony on the morning of April 4 will be followed that evening by students performing the Great American Songbook: Girl on Fire-The Music of Alicia Keys at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Event details are included below.

Since taking office, President Muhl has led the institution through an unprecedented time and has implemented bold new programs and initiatives to enhance the student experience while also advancing Berklee as a world-class leader in performing arts education, said Martin J. Mannion, chair of the Berklee Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee. The committee's primary goal was to find the most qualified leader to continue Berklee's evolution and build upon its tremendous history, and we found the right person in Erica Muhl.

It's been an incredible experience working with this dynamic community over the last 20 months. The inaugural events will be a showcase of Berklee's artistic and creative excellence, and a celebration of the significant milestones already achieved by an extraordinary leadership team and all in our community who work so diligently on behalf of our students, said Muhl. I am thrilled that this moment can provide public recognition for so many at Berklee, including large numbers of student and faculty performers, speakers, and emcees whose talents will be highlighted throughout.

Muhl made history when she became the first female president of Berklee in July of 2021. Under her leadership, significant institution-wide progress is already taking place:

Muhl entered Berklee at the height of the pandemic, navigating the institution to the close of a highly successful first year that included a number of key leadership hires, effective management of complex and evolving community safety and health protocols, and the launch of several major initiatives.

A pioneering holistic approach to student care, the Student Experience Innovation Project, was successfully launched in its pilot phase in fall 2022. Now called the Berklee Bridge, the project resulted in a fully coordinated network of personalized student services, systems, and resources that allow for highly individualized care of our students, ranging across academic success, mental and physical health and well-being, financial services, accessibility services, and much more. It includes an innovative Student Success Advising model designed to resolve a wide array of student concerns, such as finding a medical provider, addressing food or housing insecurity, or navigating a difficult personal matter.

The acquisition and renovation of the 12 Hemenway building, strategically located at the heart of Berklee's Boston campus, will provide much needed additional housing for students, and new and fully accessible collaborative work and creative spaces for students and faculty.

The expansion of Berklees campus in Valencia, Spain, begins this spring as the first stage in realizing the strategic potential of a new long-term agreement with the City of Arts and Sciences and the regional government of Valencia. The expansion will increase instructional capacity by more than 40 percent, allowing for the development of new offerings that will align education and professional partnerships with both the strengths and needs of communities across Valencia, Spain, and the EU.

Additionally, Muhl has launched Berklee's next strategic planning process with a focus on five pillars:

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Values, Culture, and Campus Climate

Affordability, and the Lifelong Value of a Berklee Degree

Curricular and Programmatic Innovation

Global Strategy, Partners and Presence

The Higher Education Infrastructure of the Future

A comprehensive process of gathering insights and feedback from the entire Berklee community is concluding this spring in preparation for the detailed work of defining how these overarching goals will shape the institution's future.

An accomplished musician, educator, and administrator, Muhl joined Berklee in 2021 following a distinguished 30-year career at the University of Southern California. A long-time tenured professor of composition at the USC Thornton School of Music, Muhl was tapped in 2012 to envision a new school at the university that would address the changing needs of 21st-century learners. The result was the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. Since its launch in 2013, the Academy has become widely recognized as one of the most innovative schools in higher education, celebrated for its unique, integrative educational model and remarkable student outcomes. As the Academys founding executive director and dean, Muhl developed the school's vision, mission, and academic programs, positioning the Academy at the intersection of the arts, technology, digital communications, and entrepreneurship, and forging new educational paradigms for the future. Her final project as dean resulted in a groundbreaking partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District to create the Iovine and Young Center, a design, technology, and entrepreneurship magnet that is providing a powerful secondary school alternative to students and families across the district through experiential, challenge-based learning.

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