Nathan B. Kruse, Professor of Music Education, will begin his role as the department chair of the Department of Music effective July 1, 2024. Kruse, previously an associate professor, has also served as associate department chair and coordinator of undergraduate studies in music. He succeeds David Rothenberg, who announced at the start of the 2023/24 academic year that he would step down as chair after nine years of dedicated service, but will continue as the faculty member.
Kruse joined the CWRU faculty in 2013 and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the department. He teaches courses in research methods, the sociology of music education, vernacular music, and classroom guitar. His research interests include adult music education and lifespan learning, ethnographic traditions of community music, and informal music-learning. Kruse is recognized as a wonderful, conscientious, strategic, and fair leader.
Kruse's career honors include:
- Graduate Fellow in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2006-07)
- Recipient of the Excellence-in-Teaching Citation at Michigan State University (2006-07)
- Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Adult and Community Music Education Special Research Interest Group (2008)
- Distinguished Alum, University of New Mexico, College of Fine Arts (2018)
- Nominations for the J. H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award at the University of North Texas (2010) and the John S. Diekhoff Award for Graduate Mentorship at Case Western Reserve University (2015, 2018, 2021, 2024)