Dean of Butler’s Jordan College of the Arts Named
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowButler University has named Lisa Brooks dean of the Jordan College of the Arts. She has served Butler as violin professor, director of the graduate program and chair for the School of Music. Brooks has been Interim Dean of the College since June 1.
As interim dean, Brooks has already put her stamp on the College. She and the department chairs have replaced the 4-year-old Butler ArtsFest with JCA Signature Events, which provide more student-centered experiences followed by a public performance. The Signature Event, for example, featured theatre artist Tim Miller, who presented workshops for students and an evening show for the public.
Brooks said her immediate goals for JCA are to reconnect with and energize alumni and to become "a major player in arts education in Indianapolis."
Brooks received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Violin Performance from West Virginia University and earned her doctorate in Violin Performance from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She came to Butler from Baylor University in fall 1994 with her husband, Davis, as part of Butler’s first tenure-track faculty job share.
She plays in the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and both serve as substitutes for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Brooks said she will continue to teach—she has six students this semester—and serve as an academic adviser.