New Afro-Am, Music Professor Tenured

Professor Ingrid T. Monson, formerly associate professor of music at Washington University, was named Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music at Harvard University. Her appointment begins on July 1st.

The position is a tenured chair.

Professor Monson said she opted for the Harvard position despite Columbia University's efforts to recruit her.

"It was a tough choice," Monson said. "But in the end the particular opportunity join the two fields of African-American studies and music swayed my decision."

Monson previously served as a Harvard visiting professor last spring term--her familiarity with the campus played a key role in her decision to come to Cambridge.

Her expertise and experience make Monson a welcome addition, members of the music department say.

"Her extraordinary record and credentials are without any question, outstanding. Everyone in the department is thrilled," Robinson Professor of the Humanities Robert D. Levin said.

"It is an extraordinary opportunity to broaden the partnership the music department has with Afro-Am," added Levin, who is also the head tutor of the music department.

Students had similar reactions to Monon's arrival.

"I think its great," Sarah C. Darling '03, a music concentrator said. "The premise of the class I took with her as a visiting professor was fascinating."

Monson's said her plans also include helping to build up the library research collection and expanding the materials available on Afro-Am music.

"It is a mandate to bring this music front and center," Monson said of her new position.

Monson plans to teach courses that look at the way that music interacts with race, culture, and politics. These types of courses would cover topics such as jazz history, music politics and popular music.

"It will make a clear statement to the world," Levin said. "To offer these types of courses on an ongoing sustained basis by one of the most prominent and vibrant members of the field."

The CEO of Time Warner Inc., announced in April of last year that the corporation would endow a professorship for the study of black music.

This is the first time a corporation has ever funded a permanent professorship in African American studies at any American university. The professorship is dedicated to Quincy Jones, 67, musician, composer, executive, and 26 time Grammy award winner.

Endowments of this type are usually valued at around $3 million.

Professor Monson won the Sonneck Society's 1998 Irving Lowens Prize for best book in American music for her 1996 Saying Something, Jazz Improvisation and Interaction.