Boston Conservatory Names Joe Bennett VP for Academic Affairs

Boston Conservatory announces the appointment of Joe Bennett, Ph.D., an internationally renowned music educator, music specialist, author, and forensic musicologist, as the school’s new Vice President for Academic Affairs. He assumed the role July 2015.

July 9, 2015

Boston Conservatory announces the appointment of Joe Bennett, Ph.D., an internationally renowned music educator, music specialist, author, and forensic musicologist, as the school’s new Vice President for Academic Affairs. He assumed the role July 2015.

Bennett joins the Conservatory from Bath Spa University in England, where he served as Dean of the School of Music and Performing Arts.  

“We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Bennett to the Boston Conservatory,” said President Richard Ortner. “His portfolio of accomplishments and administrative experience are a marvelous fit with the Conservatory’s traditional fields of study – extending but not duplicating our faculty’s expertise. We expect great things from his academic leadership, especially as we continue our conversations with Berklee; it’s a happy ‘convergence’ that brings him to us at this moment in our history, and I know that both students and faculty will enjoy getting to know him.”

Bennett has taught widely on the psychology of collaborative songwriting; his doctoral work was in the field of constraint, creativity, copyright and collaboration in popular songwriting from the University of Surrey. He is an internationally published writer and music journalist, director and founder of the UK Songwriting Festival, performer and composer.

In his six years as dean at the University (and the four years before that, as head of the department of music), Bennett had academic leadership responsibility for a performing arts school of 1,600 music, theater and dance students. While there, he also developed the world's first online master’s degree in songwriting, established entirely paperless online assessment feedback systems and pioneered the school's use of industry standard digital tools for its artistic and distance learning activities. In his work as a forensic musicologist, Bennett has been a consultant to music publishers, advertising agencies, composers, songwriters and lawyers in legal debates on complex copyright issues. 

“I am very excited to be joining the administration at the Boston Conservatory,” said Bennett. “Its long, rich history and award-winning, national reputation for innovation in dance, theater and music education make it an exciting and inspiring environment for students and faculty alike. I look forward to working with President Ortner and the outstanding faculty at the Conservatory to shape its academic agenda so that it continues to support students and help to shape the future of the performing arts worldwide.”

"Expanding Creative Capital" first appeared in the WINTER 2015 issue of STAGES, the Conservatory's bi-annual magazine. The article appears in its original form.