Provost Larry Nielsen and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Tom Stafford, are leading the way in assessing the feasibility of the addition of a music major. Nielsen and Stafford commissioned the Music Major Feasibility Study team June 6.

According to the charge memorandum, the team members will include as chair J. Mark Scearce, director of the music department, Alex Miller; associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs; Karrie Dixon, associate vice provost; and deans Marvin Malecha of design, Kay Moore of education and Toby Parcel of humanities and social sciences.

“The idea is not to do what someone else would do and transfer [a music major] here,” Nielsen said. “This is an opportunity to build upon a really strong Arts N.C. State program…It is exactly what we want to be doing.”

The team brings together three different colleges within the University design, education and humanities and social sciences, but according to Nielsen “the major would have to be in a college, academic department or the Provost’s Office.”

“There [has been] no pre-commitment that it would go anywhere,” Nielsen said.

“We can find a music major that can tie to the historical strengths of the University,” Scearce said. “We have a lot of strengths here and I think it would be good to look at them in a broader way.”

Having recently completed the addition of an elementary education program, Moore is interested in seeing what a 21st century music degree would look like. “We as a committee are trying to understand the full continuum of what music is like today,” Moore said.

Malecha said that “the stronger the arts the better” as far as he is concerned. “The role the College of Design could play is to be a constant supporter,” he said. He said he wants a possible academic music major to reside in whatever college the major will thrive the best in.

One concern on the minds of some administrators and students is space.

“We are confined by our current space as to what we can consider,” Scearce said.

According to Scearce, the practice rooms in Price Music Center are closet-sized.

Young Cho, a junior in biochemistry and biology, agreed.

“There are not enough practice rooms and it [Price Music Center] needs renovation badly,” Cho said. Nielsen emphasized that the process to get a new takes time.

“Everyone needs to be patient about the process,” he said.