May 5, 2021
Oakland University has been selected as the 2020 NAfME (National Association for Music Education) Collegiate Chapter of Excellence Recognition recipient for the Professional Development category in recognition of the OU chapter’s hard work and dedication to furthering music education throughout the 2019-2020 school year.
Kasey Julian, president of the OU NAfME chapter, has also been selected as a recipient of the 2020 NAfME Collegiate Professional Achievement Award.
“I am grateful for my time as president of this organization and am so immensely thankful for my board members, Hannah Combs and Ilyssa Brunhild, the rest of our NAfME OU chapter, and our music education faculty,” Julian said. “The opportunities that OU has granted me have allowed me so much growth, more than I could have ever imagined. This has been such a wonderful and fulfilling journey filled with so much learning. If you are looking for a music education program OU is where to be.”
Award recipients will be recognized at an event to be scheduled early in the fall 2021 semester. In addition, the OU chapter will receive a plaque from NAfME.
About NAfME OU
Since being reinstated in 2019, the goal of the OU NAfME chapter has been to provide a mix of professional development and community outreach programs and events aimed at preparing all of Oakland University’s Music Education students for their future.
Since 2020, the OU chapter has created the “NAfME” OU Media Club, which meets weekly over the summer. The project has previously involved 38 members including OU students and faculty across Michigan, as well as outside participants in Oregon, Missouri, Washington, Tennessee, and Minnesota. This media club allows the participants to explore topics that are not discussed in the average undergraduate curriculum.
This past year, the NAfME OU chapter was also able to have a discussion series featuring seven guests with unique perspectives to discuss achievement disparity due to race in music education. The guests included: Dr. Robert Martin and Sue Quintanilla, Jiana Hunter, Dr. William L. Lake Jr., Eric Jimenez and Justin McLean from the The Score podcast, and Alfred Watkins. The chapter also managed to have small events about gender in education, a workshop about technology with an OU Ph.D. student, and the annual “Ask Amy” event.
Learn more about the OU NAfME chapter by following them on Facebook (NafME at Oakland University) and Instagram/Snapchat/Twitter (NAfMEOU).