College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Carole Brzozowski to become University performing arts presenter

College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Carole Brzozowski to become University performing arts presenterJanuary 25, 2008Kevin C. Quinnkcquinn@syr.edu

Carole Brzozowski, dean of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) for the past eight years, today announced she has accepted a new position as University performing arts presenter. She will continue in her current role until a dean appointment is made by Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina. Spina expects to conduct an expedited internal search to be completed in the next several weeks.

In her new role, Brzozowski will be a senior advisor to Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor and will work directly with the Chancellor and her cabinet to engage and connect the University — and its nationally recognized performing art programs and venues — to the world. She will work closely and collaborate with leaders in the performing arts within SU and connect them to other performing arts leaders and new venues across the world.

Recognizing the University’s efforts to further engage the world through Scholarship in Action, Brzozowski saw a unique opportunity to move VPA and the University forward by creating this new role that would advance and expand SU’s efforts to promote the performing arts in Syracuse, Central New York, the nation and abroad. Brzozowski recently approached Cantor and Spina with the idea. Both fully supported the proposal and have appointed Brzozowski to the position.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to play a critical role in advancing the University’s efforts to promote the performing arts as a vehicle for change and creating opportunity,” says Brzozowski. “I look forward to working directly with Chancellor Cantor, her cabinet, deans, faculty and others to further engage and connect our unique performance art programs and venues in Syracuse, across our region and abroad.”

Brzozowski and VPA have played a pivotal role in advancing the University’s Scholarship in Action vision by helping take the arts off “the Hill” and creating new opportunities for SU to engage the world through the arts.

“My many wonderful years at VPA have given me the experience and passion necessary to further Chancellor Cantor’s vision for the arts,” Brzozowski says. “I’m excited to be able to continue working with the many talented and creative individuals I have met during my tenure with the college.”

Under her leadership, VPA implemented an improved college organizational plan and sharpened its focus on providing students with valuable educational experiences off campus as well as on. She strengthened ties with SU’s study abroad centers and created special opportunities, such as an opera partnership with the Teatro Communale in Florence, Italy. In New York City, she oversaw the creation of the Tepper Semester, a unique program that allows drama students the opportunity to live and study on Broadway. During her tenure, VPA was the leader in creating the multi-disciplinary Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries — one of the first programs in the country to prepare students for careers in the music and entertainment industries. She also led development of new programs in Los Angeles, such as the Sorkin in L.A. Learning Practicum, which immerses SU performing arts students in the television and film industry.

Closer to home, during Brzozowski’s tenure, VPA moved its programs in advertising design and communications design to The Warehouse, the University’s downtown Syracuse presence; she oversaw the transition to new leadership at Syracuse Stage and the SU Department of Drama; and she and the college played a key role in creating SU’s Partnership for Better Education with the Syracuse City School District, which promotes literacy in city schools by infusing arts into the district’s curricula.

“Carole has been a vital partner since my arrival at SU, helping to raise awareness of the importance of the arts within the University and our communities at home and abroad. For some time, Carole has been discussing with Eric Spina and me the University’s need for a performing arts presenter. Not only did we agree with Carole, but we ultimately determined that she was the perfect person to fill that role!” says Cantor. “Carole and VPA have established programs in Syracuse, New York City, Los Angeles and Florence that will provide the perfect launching pad for her new University-wide role tapping the talent of students and faculty performers, and connecting them to communities of experts.”

Brzozowski has a long history with SU. She began her career at the University as a student in VPA, receiving a bachelor of music degree in voice performance from the Setnor School of Music in 1981. After graduation, she performed extensively in upstate New York as a soprano soloist while also working at SU, first for the University’s Independent Study Degree Program and then as registrar of the then-College for Human Development. After graduate work in higher education administration at SU’s School of Education, she became director of counseling at the Whitman School of Management. She returned to VPA in 1994 as assistant dean and was named interim dean in 2000. She was appointed dean in 2004 following a national search.

Brzozowski was born and raised in Syracuse and, as a result, has a passion and drive to associate her college with the city’s growth and stability, and lead conversations on art and community. She currently serves on the boards of the Cultural Resources Council, the Cultural District Commission (chair), Syracuse Stage (executive committee) and Partners for Arts Education. Brzozowski continues to perform regionally and internationally, specializing in the sacred literature of the early Baroque and French Romantic and Modern periods.