Mark Katz, professor and chair of the department of music and adjunct professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.
Katz will start his five-year term on July 1, succeeding John McGowan, who has directed IAH since 2006. McGowan will complete his term at the end of June and return to his full-time faculty role in the department of English and comparative literature.
“We remain grateful for John’s excellent leadership and administration and will celebrate his achievements at the end of the academic year,” said Terry Ellen Rhodes, senior associate dean, fine arts and humanities, for UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and professor of music. “Mark will bring significant assets to his leadership role at the Institute. He is an inspiring scholar, teacher, fundraiser and administrator committed to faculty excellence and creative engagement.”
Katz has participated in IAH’s Faculty Fellows, Chairs’ Leadership and Academic Leadership programs. An IAH innovation grant helped him develop new courses that combine hands-on music making with entrepreneurship and community engagement. That work led to a grant from the U.S. State Department for the Carolina Beat Academy’s international program that uses hip-hop to promote cultural exchange and conflict resolution.
Since 2012, Katz he has served as chair of the department of music; he has been part of the music faculty since 2006. He previously served as chair of the department of musicology at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Katz is the author of three books, an edited volume and multiple publications.
