
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...
19/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/06/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, has announced that its entire Standards catalog is now freely available to the global medi...
19/06/2026
nsign, the digital signage SaaS platform built around its core principle of Simplify Complexity, has announced a partnership with BrightSign , expanding the dep...
19/06/2026
Visual Productions announces the availability of its new RdmRelay2 at InfoComm 2026 (ACT Entertainment, Booth N6813). A networked, four-channel DMX relay, it is...
19/06/2026
Adobe Unveils Major Expansion of Creative Agent Across Firefly and Creative Clou...
19/06/2026
Immersive Studio Metaverse Stage Innovates Storytelling with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 18, 2026
0 Comments
Two new narrative short films c...
19/06/2026
Lab studies explain how new cancer drug works as it enters patient testing Immunologists at Scripps Research show how a new, experimental drug revives immune ce...
18/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
18/06/2026
PTZOptics has unveiled new Visual Reasoning demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 (Boo...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 will take place at the RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14, bringing toge...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 held its first-ever Media Day on June 17, providing journalists an...
18/06/2026
FOR-A America has announced a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant LED display solution combining Alfalite's Litepix LED displays and Brompton Technology...
18/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
18/06/2026
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and TMRW Sports have an...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion ...
18/06/2026
ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA's...
18/06/2026
FOX Sports' Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in Lon...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 opened on Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing t...
18/06/2026
As media companies look to deliver more live, VOD, and snackable sports content ...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
18/06/2026
Improvements & new IR content
iamReverb Audio have just launched a free update that kits their convolution reverb plug-in out with some new features and int...
18/06/2026
Modelling suite gains improved captures, iOS support & more
Two notes Audio Engineering have just announced the launch of Genome 2.0, a significant update t...
18/06/2026
New AI assistance feature, video overhaul & more
VSL have just announced the launch of Vienna Ensemble Pro 8.1 and 8.1V, a pair of major updates to their ev...
18/06/2026
The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...
18/06/2026
Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...
18/06/2026
New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...
18/06/2026
At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...
18/06/2026
Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...
18/06/2026
ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...
18/06/2026
Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...
18/06/2026
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...
18/06/2026
In a consequential grid infrastructure decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory C...
18/06/2026
Techtel delivers Haivision live streaming system for TAFE NSW St Leonards, enabl...
18/06/2026
New study reveals 10 hidden data drainers costing Brits hundreds abroad - and the holiday hotspots where you could get rinsed the mostThursday 18 June 2026
The...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
How to watch the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season on Sky Sports
Which matches are Sky Sports showing on the 2026/27 Scottish Premiers...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
Sky Sale: Latest deals now on, with discounts on iPhone Air & 2.5Gbps speeds
The latest deals have dropped from Sky Mobile, the award-wi...
18/06/2026
FOX Advertising and Toonstar Team to Create New Opportunities for Brands in Digi...
18/06/2026
Arqiva's Crawley Court and Chalfont Grove teleports re-certified at highest World Teleport Association standard
18 June 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the ...