Kent Devereaux is an American composer, director, academic administrator, and the 12th and current president of

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

. He was previously the president of the New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA) from 2015 to 2019.

Education

Devereaux attended the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

and

Cornish College of the Arts Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) was a Private college, private art school, art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914 by music teacher Nellie Cornish. The college's main campus is in the Denny Triangle, Seattle, Denny Triangle ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, where he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a BFA in music composition in 1982. His teachers included

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his for ...

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

, and

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

. He briefly studied computer science at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and earned an MFA in Art from the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

in 1985, where he was an

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon ...

Fellow.

Career

Academia

From 1985 to 1993, Devereaux served on the faculty of the

with a one-year appointment at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. Additional academic appointments include serving as Senior Vice President and Dean of Curriculum at

Kaplan University Kaplan University (KU) was a private online for-profit university owned by Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. It was predominantly a distance learning institution, maintaining 14 ground locations across the United States. ...

from 2001 to 2008. He also served as professor and chair of the music department at

from 2008 to 2014, where he curated the college's presenting series, Cornish Presents, and co-founded and directed the Seattle Jazz Experience youth jazz festival. Devereaux joined the New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA) as president in 2015. Devereaux's initiatives at NHIA included co-founding the Manchester Cultural District Coalition, which advocated for the city to establish an official cultural district, the launching of a new Certificate in Creative Placemaking program, and the formation of an academic partnership with the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

at Manchester. Outside of higher education, Devereaux served as Senior Vice President and Product Development at

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

, helping the publisher transform from a print to online business.

President of Goucher College (2019-)

On July 1, 2019, Devereaux was named as President of Goucher College. At Goucher College, Devereaux has overseen several initiatives and changes, including the institution’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the development of a strategic plan for the college, called “Cultivating Global Changemakers,” which focuses on student success, global education, and inclusivity. He also led the creation of a campus master plan for the development of the campus, with a focus on sustainability and accessibility. It is the college’s first campus master plan in almost 30 years. Since Devereaux has become president, Goucher College has joined the Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance as a founding member, and the college has launched the Hallowed Ground Project to study the history of slavery on the campus.

Music

As a composer and director, Devereaux's work includes collaborations with artists from around the world and performances at Chicago's

Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbo ...

and the Walker Arts Center. He has been a recipient of grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others.

Personal life

Devereaux is married to documentary film editor Jan Sutcliffe, whom he met in Chicago shortly after finishing graduate school. They had one son, Daniel Gallegos, who died in July of 2023 from a drug overdose.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devereaux, Kent Year of birth uncertain Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers People from Aptos, California University of California, Santa Cruz alumni Cornish College of the Arts alumni Stanford University alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty 21st-century American male musicians Presidents of Goucher College Kaplan University faculty American music educators 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people)