Shenandoah Magazine Features: Going All-Steinway – Pianos serve an indispensable role in a conservatory education, preparing graduates for satisfying careers in the arts; Shenandoah adds four exciting programs this fall.
> Visit the interactive Spring 2012 Shenandoah Magazine
EXCERPT: Letter from President Fitzsimmons
Spring is here and with it the always welcome promise of things that are fresh and new and exciting. I am happy to share with you several things at Shenandoah that are exactly that – fresh and new and definitely exciting.
As you’ll learn from our lead story, we have embarked on a new initiative in Shenandoah Conservatory that will result in our joining a select number of conservatories in the world that share the coveted All-Steinway School status. Over the next five years, we will continue to replace our aging fleet of more than 100 pianos with Steinway or Steinway-made instruments. Conservatory students and faculty will be learning, growing and performing on the premium piano brand in the world. What better creative experience can there be? Becoming an All-Steinway School is possible through a $3 million campaign currently underway. I am most appreciative of the generosity of several donors, whose gifts have already made possible the acquisition a variety of new pianos.
In other classrooms across campus, three new bachelor’s programs will soon be available. Students are now being recruited in the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business for programs in entrepreneurship and health care management and in the College of Arts & Sciences for a program in public health. They join a new master’s program in special education in the School of Education & Human Development. This rich mix of professional programs will engage students in rewarding careers that meet important economic, educational and societal needs. Our students will study with distinguished faculty in each of these disciplines with many opportunities to apply what they learn in and out of the classroom.
Working with staff in the Office of Student Life, engaged student leaders have been recreating a fresh and more vibrant Student Government Association. Putting aside the traditional SGA structure, they have developed a high-energy, solutions-oriented organization that, while fashioned to address needs they have identified here at Shenandoah, will prepare participants for real-world leadership.
The exciting things happening at Shenandoah have not gone unnoticed outside the university. On February 3, Apple Inc. recognized the pharmacogenomics program in the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy and the music production and recording technology program in the conservatory for their creative use of technology in education with its Apple Distinguished Program award. As well, Shenandoah’s Office of Marketing and Communications was recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education with their Grand Award for the campaign to launch our new brand platform and graphic identity, which you see reflected throughout the pages of this issue. As the promises of spring become realities, all of us at Shenandoah look forward to even more fresh and exciting days to come.
