FSU College of Music announces new dean

Florida State University has announced that FSU alumnus Don Gibson has been selected as the sixth dean of the College of Music.

Gibson, who is replacing retiring Dean Jon Piersol, comes from Ohio State University, where he served as director of the School of Music from 1992 to 2003.

“Don Gibson is one of the most respected national leaders in the higher education music profession, and I can’t imagine leaving the College of Music in better hands,” Piersol said.

Gibson has also served as director of the School of Music at Western Michigan University, associate dean of the School of Music at Baylor University, and chair of the Instrumental Division of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory from Florida State and both a Master of Music and Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Duquesne University.

Gibson has been active in the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), serving as chair of the Commission on Accreditation, as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors and as associate chair of the Commission on Accreditation, as well as several other leadership positions over the previous decade. He also has served as executive director to Pi Kappa Lambda (national music honor society) and has served on its Board of Regents.

His research interests include publications and presentations in music administration at many of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) annual meetings over the past decade and at the College Music Society national conferences. Gibson also has presented on a variety of music theory topics and has been published in Psychomusicology, the Journal of Research and Music Education, and Music Theory: Explorations and Applications.

Gibson will begin serving as dean starting on July 1.