Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds Named Dean of the Professional Education Division A renowned jazz vocalist, educator, and Berklee alumna, Hammonds is known for her innovative teaching methodologies and global contributions to music education.
By
Media Relations Staff
June 13, 2024
Image courtesy of Lenora Helm Hammonds
Berklee College of Music has appointed Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds as the new dean of the Professional Education Division, effective August 1, 2024. She will succeed Darla Hanley, who served as dean for 16 years, and Marcela Castillo-Rama, who has led the division in an interim role since fall 2023.
A Berklee alumna, Hammonds is a Chicago native with a distinguished career as a jazz vocalist, educator, and interdisciplinary scholar. Her contributions to music education are globally recognized, highlighted by her role as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador and her two appointments as a Fulbright Senior Music Specialist.
She comes to Berklee from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), where, as a professor in the university's music department and jazz studies program, she received numerous accolades, including the prestigious UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2021. Her research, which explores intercultural maturity, jazz pedagogy, and digital humanities, has been published by Springer, Routledge, and Taylor & Francis.
Since 2010, she has led a 12-person global team at NCCU's College of Arts and Sciences, pioneering the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology. This work positioned NCCU as the only HBCU (historically Black college or university) in GLOMUS, an international network of more than 20 liberal arts universities. She is also a sought-after guest lecturer at international universities and conferences, sharing her expertise in jazz education.
I am honored to return to my alma mater and lead the Professional Education Division, said Hammonds. Berklee has always been a place of inspiration for me, known for its innovative approach and commitment to nurturing talent. I am eager to contribute to its legacy of excellence in music education and support the next generation of musicians and educators.
We are excited to welcome Dr. Hammonds back to Berklee and look forward to her visionary leadership in the Professional Education Division, said Ron Savage, vice president and executive director, Berklee College of Music. I am confident that her extensive experience and passion for music education will inspire and elevate our community.
With this appointment, Hammonds becomes the first Black woman to serve as dean of Berklee's Professional Education Division, after previously making history as the first Black woman to graduate from the colleges film scoring program. In addition to her bachelor's degree from Berklee, she holds a Master of Music in jazz performance from East Carolina University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in music education from Boston University. Her numerous academic awards include the Mayor's Award for Promoting International Understanding, a NCCU-Duke Digital Humanities Fellowship, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Publishing, and NCCU's Excellence in Teaching Award, to name just a few.
Beyond her academic achievements, Hammonds is also an accomplished recording artist, jazz vocalist, vocal coach, composer, lyricist, and bandleader with four-plus decades of experience. She has released eight commercial recordings, owns Baoule Works Music Publishing, and has an extensive discography with internationally renowned jazz and contemporary music artists. Her indie jazz record label, Zenzalai Music, was a 2021-2022 Black Independent Music Accelerator (BIMA) recipient. For more information about her work and achievements, visit lenorahelm.com.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Image by Michael D. Spencer
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2024 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
Latest
Adrian Anantawan as a child with one of his first musical instruments.
Image courtesy of Adrian Anantawan
Working to Make Music More Accessible to All New technologies and changing attitudes mean more disabled musicians are playing instruments.
Berklee Online Offers Courses to Students in Juvenile Justice Centers To date, Berklee Online classes are offered at nearly 30 such centers across the United States.
Berklee students with Nona Hendryx at Sonic Futures Multichannel Works event at Lincoln Center.
Image by Erin Patrice O'Brien/Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Students Help Bring Nona Hendryxs Dream Machine to Life at Lincoln Center A group of electronic production and design majors created sonic landscapes for Hendryx's visionary multimedia project.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds Named Dean of the Professional Education Division A renowned jazz vocalist, educator, and Berklee alumna, Hammonds is known for her innovative teaching methodologies and global contributions to music education.
