Mexico native Benjamin Juarez will be the new dean of the College of Fine Arts come the next school year, Boston University President Robert Brown announced in a June 14 press release.
Juarez, 59, replaces Walt Meissner, the CFA dean ad interim who has held the position for eight years.
Prior to taking on his new position as dean, which he will begin on Aug. 1, Juarez served as the director of culture, technology and development at the Dr. Jose Maria Luis Mora Research Institute in Mexico.
Previously, Juarez directed the Centro Nacional de las Artes and headed the music and dance departments at the National University of Mexico, among other things.
Juarez received a master’s degree in fine arts in music from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973.
Part of the new dean’s job will be raising money for CFA renovations, a project that began in 2009.
The multi-phase plan includes building new facilities for CFA, such as new practice rooms, teaching facilities and studios, as well as renovating the concert hall and main building. The renovations will take place over several years.
Brown emphasized Juarez’s experience as a vital addition to BU.
“Benjamin brings to BU an impressive spectrum of experience as an artist and leader in the performing and visual arts, a passion for creating a world-renowned conservatory, and a vision for the role of the arts in the fabric of a modern research university,” Brown said in the press release.
Juarez’s experiences both as a conductor and musician and as an administrator made Brown confident in the new dean’s appointment, the president said in the press release.
“I have great optimism for the future of the College of Fine Arts under his leadership,” he said.
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