Russell Wins Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize

President Walter Harrison (right) congratulates Joshua Russell on winning the 2013 Belle K. Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize.

Pictured, left to right: Hartt School Dean Aaron Flagg; Provost Sharon L. Vasquez; Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize winner Joshua Russell; John Feierabend, director of The Hartt School's Music Education Division; and University President Walter Harrison.

Joshua Russell, assistant professor of music education in The Hartt School, has been selected to receive the 2013 Belle K. Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize.

The prize, which includes an award of $10,000, will be presented to Russell at Commencement in May.

In what has become an annual tradition, President Walter Harrison and Provost Sharon L. Vasquez walked into one of Russell’s classes Thursday carrying red and white balloons, and surprised him with the news. The selection committee for the award was made up of Harrison, Vasquez, and student Tara Reuter.

Russell was immediately congratulated by Hartt School Dean Aaron Flagg; Associate Dean T. Clark Saunders; Professor John Feierabend, director of The Hartt School's Music Education Division; and other colleagues.

Russell is the fifth winner in the history of the Belle K. Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize, which was established in 2009, and the first winner from The Hartt School.

The annual prize, together with an endowed chair for junior faculty, was established through a generous gift from Belle K. Ribicoff, a long-time supporter and life regent of the University. Each year, the prize recognizes an outstanding junior faculty member – one who is in a tenure track position, but not yet tenured.


Making a Mark in the Field of Music Education

In just four years at The Hartt School, Russell has distinguished himself with an exceptional record of achievement in research, teaching, and service.

Though he is in the early stages of his career, Russell is already held in high regard in the field of music education. His scholarship has attracted national and international interest; he has presented his research across the United States and around the world, and has published peer-reviewed articles in some of the most prestigious journals in the field. Russell’s areas of research include investigating alternate methods of string music instruction, factors that contribute to prosperous teaching careers, and issues that influence the success of undergraduate music education majors.

The regard with which Russell is held in the profession has led to his appointment to the editorial review boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education and the String Research Journal. In 2012, Russell became the first-ever recipient of the American String Teachers Association’s Emergent String Researcher Award. The award recognizes quality research endeavors by early career scholars.

“This amount of recognition by a junior faculty member is extraordinary,” wrote Hartt School Associate Dean T. Clark Saunders.

Russell also has exceled as a teacher, garnering consistently high student evaluations. Since arriving at Hartt, he has worked to redesign the string pedagogy classes, giving students more opportunities to develop their own string skills as well as opportunities to practice those skills with children at area schools. In 2010, Russell and Associate Professor of Music Education Warren Haston received the University’s Innovations in Teaching and Learning Award for developing a program in which undergraduate music education students provide instrumental music lessons to children at the University of Hartford Magnet School. This innovative program provides Hartt students with valuable, “real world” experience, while providing magnet school students with high-caliber music instruction.

Russell also has restructured many of the graduate music education research courses, and he recently took on the role of Director of Doctoral Studies in Music Education, allowing the Music Education Division to devote greater attention to the specific needs of doctoral students.

In addition to research and teaching, Russell also has taken an active role in the area of service to the University. Among his many roles, Russell serves on the Faculty Senate, serves as faculty advisor for the student chapter of the American String Teachers Association, and served on the President's Commission on Faculty Compensation.