4/3/98 Contact: Office of Provost Sharon Brehm, (740) 593-2600
Editors: JPEG images of Raymond Tymas-Jones, new dean of Ohio University's College of Fine Arts, will be available Friday afternoon for downloading from the Web at:
ATHENS, Ohio -- Raymond Tymas-Jones, director of the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa, has been appointed dean of Ohio University's College of Fine Arts effective July 1.
In introducing Tymas-Jones at a reception Friday morning on the Athens campus' Konneker Alumni Center, President Robert Glidden said the new dean's accomplishments at the University of Northern Iowa are a sign of the enthusiasm and energy he will bring to Ohio University.
"He's been innovative in what he's done there in curricular leadership," Glidden said. "And he certainly has been effective in development work." Noting that a new performing arts center was built at Northern Iowa under Tymas-Jones' leadership, Glidden added, "That's the kind of expertise that's going to be helpful here."
Tymas-Jones has served since 1993 as director of Northern Iowa's School of Music, which includes eight divisions and more than 40 full- and part-time faculty members. In addition to building a new performing arts center, the school received approval for three new degrees and added an endowed professorship and several endowed scholarships since he became director. He also serves as a professor of music at the university.
Prior to joining Northern Iowa, Tymas-Jones was associate dean and assistant to the dean of arts and humanities at Buffalo State College from 1990 to 1993. He was an assistant professor of music there in 1988-89 and an associate professor of music from 1989 to 1993. He served as a lecturer on choral music in the black studies program at Washington University in St. Louis from 1980 to 1983.
Provost Sharon Brehm said Tymas-Jones makes an excellent addition to Ohio University's team of deans.
"I think we have the ability among our deans to really collaborate and cooperate. I know that Raymond will be a very important member of that team and will give us some new ideas and some new goals to aspire to," Brehm said.
Tymas-Jones said he looks forward to beginning his work here.
"I am ecstatic to be a part of Ohio University," he said. "The faculty are outstanding, the administration is in inspired, and I can't wait to get here and take on my responsibilities as dean of the College of Fine Arts."
Tymas-Jones graduated magna cum laude from Howard University in 1977 with a bachelor of music degree. He earned a master of music degree in 1979 and a doctorate in 1988, both from Washington University.
His creative activities include performances as a singer and choral conductor. He has performed as the featured soloist with several orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the St. Louis Orchestra and the Dortmund Youth Orchestra of Dortmund, Germany. His operatic and music theater performances include roles in "La Traviata" with the Erie (Pa.) Opera Theatre and "Porgy and Bess" with the Greater Buffalo Opera Company, Syracuse Opera and Connecticut Opera.
Tymas-Jones succeeds James Stewart, who has served as interim dean of the College of Fine Arts since September 1995. The college includes the schools of art, comparative arts, dance, film, music, and theater.
