www.kysu.edu
January 21, 2021
The following is a summary of the procedures, committee vote and recommendation for the application for Tenure of Dr. Keith McCutchen, Associate Professor of Music. The Peer Review Committee consisted of 3 Full time tenured faculty with the rank of full professor, Drs. Danny Collum, Shannon Brogan, and Peter Smith. The committee was formed and met virtually on January 15, 2021 to discuss their review of the dossier via Interfolio. A letter signed by all the committee members stating the vote and recommendation of the committee was uploaded to Interfolio on January 15, 2021. It was the finding of the committee that Dr. McCutchen has met the criteria for tenure and in some cases exceeded expectations, and recommend that he be awarded tenure, acknowledging him as a dedicated and innovative instructor and his value as a performer.
Over the past 2 years I have had the opportunity to observe Dr. McCutchen, and admittedly the first semester was a bit of a rough start with the restructuring of his duties. Yet in spite of the adjustment Dr. McCutchen remained committed to serving the university, the department, and the students. Eventually, I decided to appoint him over Jazz Studies, and he was instrumental in helping me design the curriculum guidelines for our new BA in Jazz and World Music. Dr. McCutchen even took the initiative to begin the work on a collaborative certificate program between Music and Business. He has coordinated his own recruitment efforts for not only the jazz program but the department as a whole and continues to serve the university and the community with his phenomenal jazz piano and compositional talents.
With every task placed upon Dr. McCutchen he has gone above and beyond to execute. From program planning, to transitioning the entire Music Department Seminar to online in the midst of a pandemic, to coordinating the Faculty Christmas concert, both in person in 2019 and virtual in 2020. For both events Dr. McCutchen was responsible for facilitating all the arrangements and recordings with the engineer for a wonderful virtual display of holiday tunes with our faculty and students. As the director of music at the 1^{st} Baptist Church of Frankfort, and a highly sought-after performer at local venues and events, Dr. McCutchen has embedded himself into the fabric of the musical community here in Kentucky. He continues to expand his international research and collaborations, and seeks opportunities to increase the departments engagement with the musical community here and abroad. It is therefore my recommendation that Dr. Keith McCutchen be awarded TENURE at this time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lori C. Hicks, Interim Chair School of Humanities and Performing Arts Bradford Hall G5 400 East Main Street Frankfort, KY40601 (502) 597-6415 lori.hicks@kysu.edu