Last Friday, the formal installation of President Dr. Raymond Tymas-Jones turned into a joyous celebration attended by friends and family of the President as well as the students, faculty, and staff of Cornish College of the Arts.
Serving as the tenth president of Cornish College of the Arts since July 1, Dr. Tymas-Jones, the College’s first African-American president, was formally installed during a ceremony at the Moore Theatre in downtown Seattle. The college campus was closed for the morning to allow students, faculty, and staff to attend the event along with the Board of Trustees, members of the community, and distinguished guests and friends of the President. Filling up three rows of the theater was the extended family of President Tymas-Jones, who acknowledged their presence during his remarks, speaking movingly about their unconditional love and unwavering support.
“Very early on in my life, music became the vehicle of personal awareness, as well as a greater sense of being connected with my family and community,” said Tymas-Jones. “I have the good fortune of being the product of parents who instilled in all of their children an appreciation of music and the arts, a love of community, strong personal values, and a belief that in order to have a fulfilling life, being in service to something larger than oneself is essential.”
It was that background, he said, that led him to becoming the first-generation college graduate in his family, and consequently pursue a career in the arts grounded in music.
Today, Dr. Tymas-Jones plans to extend Cornish College of the Arts’ impact in the greater community.
“My journey called for chronic assessing and reassessing goals with reimagining and reinventing my raison d’être,” said Tymas-Jones. “This led to a moment in time when I consciously decided the focus of my professional career would be to be in service to advancing and creating educational opportunities for anyone who recognized their own insatiable desire to be and live as an artist.”
During her presentation of the Presidential Medal to Dr. Tymas-Jones, Chair of Board Lonnie Rosenwald said “As a performer, a professor, and a dean, Dr. Raymond Tymas-Jones has a rich, and broad, academic and artistic history, making him our unanimous choice to lead Cornish during this time of growth and to increase the College’s impact in the greater community.”
“[With President Tymas-Jones] we will venture to new vistas and engage our city, our world, in ways we have yet to imagine. In him, we have an artist and scholar of intellectual seriousness; a principled, compassionate educator; an inspired and inspiring leader,” said Provost Star Hang Nga Rush during her opening remarks.
Prior to becoming President at Cornish, Dr. Tymas-Jones served as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah for 12 years and became the university’s associate vice president for the arts in 2017. During his tenure, he established the Center for Interdisciplinary Arts in Technology and led the development of the Create CONNECTIONS Project to foster interdisciplinary activity through the infusion of arts and design practices in medicine, science, and business.
In addition to his responsibilities in the College of Fine Arts, Tymas-Jones also was the chief administrative officer for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Pioneer Theatre Company, the Tanner Dance Program, and UtahPresents Performing Arts Series. Prior to his time at University of Utah, Tymas-Jones served as the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Fine Arts at Buffalo State College (1990-93), Director of the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls (1993-98) and the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University (1998-2005). As a music instructor or associate professor, he taught at Washington University (1980-83), Buffalo State College (1983-93), University of Northern Iowa (1993-98), finishing there as Professor of Music, and was Professor of Music at Ohio University (1998-2005).
An accomplished classical vocal artist and choral conductor, President Tymas-Jones made his professional debut with the St. Louis Lyric Opera in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha in 1979. He has sung with opera companies throughout North America as well as being a featured soloist with numerous orchestras. He has toured Europe as a guest soloist with the Essence of Joy Alumni Choir of Penn State University. As a choral conductor, he led an 18-voice ensemble for the 1991 World University Games and conducted a 200-voice choir for the opening ceremony of the 1993 World University Games, among other credits.
Founded in 1914, Cornish College of the Arts offers a Bachelor of Music degree, Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in the Art, Dance, Design, Film, Interior Architecture, Performance Production, and Theater, multiple public programs, and extension courses.
