Mentor’s dismissal criticized

Voice students claim school leaders made choice without input

By Dan Strumpf

The Daily Northwestern

School of Music students expressed outrage at a meeting Wednesday night over school administrators’ handling of a controversy surrounding a much-beloved voice lecturer who was not asked to return next school year.

More than 50 voice and opera majors attended the department’s annual town hall meeting to protest the ousting of voice Prof. William Woodruff. The school’s handling of the issue, students said, displays a deep misunderstanding and lack of communication between students and administrators in the School of Music.

“Something is missing in this equation — they’re lying to us,” said Music junior Joanna Ashouripour after the meeting, held in the Music Administration Building.

The turmoil surrounding Woodruff centers on the music school administrators’ decision not to renew his year-to-year contract for the next academic year. The decision infuriated students, who said they were shocked by Woodruff’s departure — and irate because of administrators’ apparent inattentiveness to students’ input.

But faculty and administrators denied that they have been unfair.

“I think you have been listened to — and I think you’ve disagreed,” voice program coordinator Karen Brunssen told the students at the meeting. “I think that’s the heart of this conversation.”

A search committee already has compiled a list of finalists to replace Woodruff and has made its final recommendations for a replacement to the music school’s dean, Toni-Marie Montgomery.

But a number of the questions students raised at the meeting remain on their minds: Why were students notified just this quarter that Woodruff would not be returning when the decision to find a replacement concluded many months ago? And why wasn’t Woodruff — who has taught at Northwestern for three years and is widely lauded by his students — one of the finalists?

“The only disappointing thing is the way the faculty went about it,” said Music sophomore David Ernst. “There’s little student input and, regardless of whether the decision is right or not, if you pay $40,000 per year, you should have a say who your primary teacher is.”

Montgomery and other faculty declined to comment.

“The students in the School of Music certainly had the opportunity to provide input on the candidates that are being considered for the position,” said Alan Cubbage, NU’s vice president of university relations. “I’m not sure many students really gave much input — my understanding was there were less than a dozen or so — but students were invited to participate in the process when it came down to the finalists.”

The voice program provides each student with a single professor to serve as a mentor during the student’s four years at NU. Woodruff’s 16 students now must find new mentors.

They gathered a petition with more than 50 signatures urging Montgomery to let Woodruff stay. It had not received a response as of Wednesday, Ashouripour said.

The students met with Montgomery and University Provost Lawrence Dumas on Wednesday morning to express their grievances, which were not taken seriously, Ashouripour said.

“It’s seems like we’re not cared about, like we’re not listened to,” said Lisa Tillette, a second-year music graduate student and one of Woodruff’s students.

Ashouripour and other students even sent letters to the search committee urging Woodruff’s consideration as a candidate — but were told by Montgomery on Wednesday that the committee was asked to ignore their pleas.

“They’re getting rid of, arguably, the best voice teacher at Northwestern,” Ashouripour said.

Woodruff said he was “offended” that he was not among the four finalists for the position he now occupies and, like his students, is baffled by the way the search committee has gone about finding a replacement.

“Later, they changed the criteria (for the job) to a well-known performing artist who is out singing professionally,” said Woodruff, who no longer performs. “The truth is, the people who are on this final list, none of them fit the criteria.”

But despite his anger with administrators, Woodruff is resigned to his fate.

“Usually when someone leaves a job, either they die, or they go on their own accord — or somebody hates them,” he said. “I don’t think the fight is going to be won. It is an administrative decision.”