Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) is pleased to welcome Elizabeth Hudson as the new dean of the college. An accomplished leader and scholar, Dean Hudson comes to CAMD from the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington. She begins her new role at Northeastern on July 20.

“It is an honor to be joining Northeastern University at this exciting time,” said Dean Hudson. “The College of Arts, Media and Design encompasses an exhilarating array of creative disciplines that offer inspiring opportunities for flexible, innovative approaches to higher education. With excellent faculty and substantive links to business and technology, the college is poised to reimagine the role and function of the arts and creativity in higher education, and indeed the world. I look forward to joining forces with this thriving community of faculty, staff, and students.”

Dean Hudson served as the New Zealand School of Music’s Inaugural Director from 2006 until 2013, when she took a role as a Professor of Musicology. During her seven years as director, she increased the school’s profile and rigorously developed its curriculum. Her work included increasing professional training, enhancing cross-disciplinary collaboration, and facilitating the establishment of a joint Ph.D. program between music and engineering.

Prior to her tenure at the New Zealand School of Music, Dean Hudson taught at the University of Virginia (UVA) from 1991, both as an Assistant and Associate Professor of Music. She also served in several different administrative positions at the University of Virginia’s McIntire Department of Music, including Director of Undergraduate Programs, Director of Graduate Programs, and Department Chair. While at UVA, she helped to develop an innovative bachelor’s program that received national acclaim as well as a new Ph.D. in music that forged an innovative approach to graduate training and restructured disciplinary boundaries.

Dean Hudson studied piano at the Manhattan School of Music and in Vienna, Austria. She then received her bachelor’s degree in music at Smith College and a master’s and Ph.D., both in musicology, from Cornell University.

“Dr. Hudson has a distinguished career both in musicology and in administration at schools in the United States and abroad,” said Provost James C. Bean. “We are very excited about her leadership of our College of Arts, Music and Design. I look forward to working with her in the coming years.”

Dean Hudson will lead an interdisciplinary team of over 175 faculty and staff, oversee undergraduate and graduate programs serving more than 2000 students, and foster partnerships throughout the college, university, and community. She succeeds Interim Dean Bruce Ronkin, who will resume his duties as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Northeastern University.