B. Glenn Chandler, director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, said he plans to leave The University of Memphis in June to accept a position as director of the school of music at The University of Texas at Austin.
Chandler said he is looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges that will come with his new job.
"It's an exciting challenge," he said. "Although it's a mixed emotion for me personally, because I have lots of close colleagues and friends on this campus and close acquaintances with lots of students. I really hate to leave, but I am looking forward to the new challenge. There is a lot of opportunity and excitement in this department. It has made this job very interesting and is why I hate to leave."
Because The University of Texas' school of music has a greater number of faculty, students and support staff members than at the U of M, Chandler said its program has more infrastructure for seeing that things move smoothly.
Chandler said he is primarily leaving The U of M because the Scheidt School of Music does not receive sufficient funds from the state of Tennessee.
"The legislature has not been willing to bite the bullet to do what they need to do to increase higher education," Chandler said. "It is hard to run a program like ours without proper funding."
According to Chandler, the music department does not have the proper budget to keep up the equipment they have. The list of instruments which need attention and the cost required for maintenance is growing fast, he said.
"It is beginning to adversely affect the quality of the education of our students," Chandler said. "We need money to replace worn out equipment that we need to educate our students. Without that commitment from the State Legislature to give us the proper funding we need, it is hard for us to do our job. It is beginning to affect our ability to attract outstanding faculty. We are also losing faculty because they are getting better salary offers at other institutions."
Chandler said he will be receiving more than a 50 percent increase in his salary by accepting the position in Texas. He is currently making $78,359 a year at The U of M.
"The fact is that The University of Texas' school of music is funded well by the state of Texas. It will enable me to do what I need to do to build a good program."
Despite insufficient funds, Chandler said, the music program at The University of Memphis has greatly improved and grown significantly over the past few years. Chandler said this has been made possible by the support of private contributions to the program.
"Of course, that makes it harder for me to leave because of the real dedicated support of people in the community who have come to our support and rescue as a program," Chandler said. "If the state of Tennessee steps up to the bat and provides additional funding for the program, there is no reason that it cannot continue to blossom."
Chandler, who will take over the Texas position Aug. 1, has been at The U of M for seven years.
"I came here from Connecticut in 1994," Chandler said. "I taught there for 22 years, so I don't jump around a lot. I assumed I would stay here for the rest of my career, but this was an opportunity that was just too good to pass up."
John Baur, associate director for graduate studies, has worked with Chandler for several years in the music program and said Chandler will be hard to replace.
"He is my immediate boss, and he is also a good friend," Baur said. "He has done a super job here and is really fabulous. In a certain sense, he has really turned the whole place around.
"He is very interesting because he has a good tendency to think outside the box, and as a result of that, we have been able to shift things around so that, even though we haven't had very much of an increase in budget, he has started various programs which have generated an increase of funds that have helped out the school as well as the community," Baur said.
Danny Armitage, associate dean of students, has also worked with Chandler, and said he has been a great asset to The U of M.
"I am certainly disappointed with him leaving," Armitage said. "He has moved the music department up in many ways. I have worked with him in several capacities. I have worked with him on problems and issues regarding the International program. That can be a real challenge. These students not only need education, but also housing and other necessities. He has always been very supportive of student life and activities."
