- Mark Katz
Mark Katz, professor of music and adjunct professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. His five-year term began July 1. Katz succeeds John McGowan, director since 2006.
“Mark will bring significant assets to his leadership role at the Institute,” said Terry Ellen Rhodes, senior associate dean for fine arts and humanities for UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and professor of music. “He is an inspiring scholar, teacher, fundraiser and administrator, committed to faculty excellence and creative engagement.”
Katz has participated in IAH’s Faculty Fellows, Chairs Leadership and Academic Leadership programs. An IAH innovation grant helped him develop new courses that combine hands-on music making with entrepreneurship and community engagement. That work led to a grant from the U.S. State Department to create an international exchange program that uses hip-hop to promote cultural exchange and conflict resolution.
Katz joined UNC’s music faculty in 2006 and became department chair in July 2012. He previously served as chair of the department of musicology at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. His research explores the intersections of music, technology and culture.
He is author of three books, an edited volume and numerous publications. His latest book, Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ, was named among the 20 best music books of 2013 by Rolling Stone magazine. He is editor of the Journal of the Society for American Music, a senior editor for Oxford Handbooks Online and member of the National Recordings Preservation Board.
Katz received a UNC Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement in 2011. He is a classically trained violinist and holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in musicology from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in philosophy from the College of William and Mary.