The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music appointed a music professor as its inaugural dean, a university press release announced Friday.
Eileen Strempel will begin her term July 8. She is an opera singer and voice professor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Strempel was previously the senior vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Cincinnati, and assistant vice president for academic advancement and associate dean of the graduate school at Syracuse University. Strempel was also an American Council on Education fellow-in-residence at Colgate University.
Strempel also held faculty positions in the departments of art and music history and the department of voice at Syracuse University. Strempel has edited volumes and produced recordings, articles and commissions about the different contexts of female composers and their work.
A trained opera singer, Strempel received her bachelor’s degree in music from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and her master’s degree and doctorate in music from Indiana University. She has performed with various opera companies including the Bolshoi Opera in Russia and Opera Theatre of St. Louis in roles including Violetta in “La Traviata” and the title role in “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
Judith L. Smith, the founding dean of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, said in a statement she thinks Strempel’s experience in music, administration and academics will help her as inaugural dean.