Announcing Dr. Michael Kim as Dean of the Mason Gross School of the Arts

February 12, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Michael Kim as the next Dean of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, effective July 1, 2026.  An accomplished concert pianist, scholar, and academic leader, Dr. Kim brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience to Mason Gross, the flagship arts school of New Jersey.

Dr. Kim joins Rutgers from Western University in Ontario, Canada, where he has served as Professor and Dean of the Don Wright Faculty of Music since 2021, leading a period of strategic growth focused on research excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and student career readiness.

During Dr. Kim’s tenure at Western University, student applications and enrollment surpassed pre-pandemic levels, undergraduate entrance awards expanded substantially, and community partnerships deepened with municipal and international arts organizations, including collaborations with fellow UNESCO Cities of Music. He also led significant investments in digital innovation and strengthened student career preparedness through nationally distinctive experiential, entrepreneurial, and mentorship initiatives. During this period, philanthropic support grew markedly, including the establishment of the Moscovich endowed fund for innovation in music—the largest individual gift in the faculty’s history. In recognition of his broader impact, Dr. Kim was most recently honored with the 2025 Korean Canadian Scholarship Foundation’s national Dream Tree Award, celebrating exemplary lifetime leadership, service, and community engagement.

Prior to Western, Dr. Kim served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Dean of Music and Acting Vice-President (External) at Brandon University in Manitoba, and Faculty Associate to the President at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.  Across these roles, he has strengthened partnerships between universities and the arts sector, served as an active juror and grant reviewer, and provided leadership for major international artistic and academic initiatives. He has also demonstrated strong financial stewardship, overseeing complex, multimillion-dollar budgets and advancement portfolios that included fundraising and alumni engagement.

In addition to his administrative leadership, Dr. Kim is an internationally recognized concert pianist whose artistic career spans solo, recital, chamber, and interdisciplinary performance. He has appeared widely across North and South America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist with major symphony orchestras and as a collaborative artist with leading chamber musicians, working with distinguished conductors and artists from both the classical and popular music worlds. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary and both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School, and is a laureate of the Scottish, Leeds, and Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competitions.

Dr. Kim succeeds Ellen Bredehoft, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who has served as Interim Dean since July 1, 2025, and to whom I extend my sincere thanks for her steady leadership and service to Mason Gross during this transitional period.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Kim to the Rutgers community.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick