Yet the Conservatory's statistics for American minorities lag behind national averages for colleges and some of its music school peers. This statistic for governing boards is equally acute. The New England Conservatory Board of Trustees has but one minority member, an African-American. We had the emblem and reputation of being the diverse music school. Now, I feel we're coasting, not sure what to do with that legacy.
Agreement comes from a counter-intuitive direction, the department of historical performance.
W ith these thoughts in mind, in 1993 the New England Conservatory Board of Trustees authorized an ad hoc committee, the Task Force on Diversity, to review the Conservatory's situation. Two years previously, Provost Peter Row had convened the 21st Century Committee to analyze the future of the NEC curriculum and other factors that shape our ability to remain relevant to a changing musical and cultural environment. In addition to strengthening the classical and jazz programs at which NEC excels, their recommendations included active recruitment of minority faculty and exploring new curricular initiatives that might appeal to growing populations. Chief among them were the Boston Music Education Collaborative and the Jesse B. Cox Winds Program. All these elements converged in the recommendation of the Task Force on Diversity to create a standing committee reporting directly to the trustees to serve as catalyst and provide oversight for NEC's diversity initiatives.