An anthropologist and musician who specializes in the study of music and popular culture in Africa and the Americas, Christopher Waterman has been named dean of UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture. The appointment was announced by Chancellor Albert Carnesale and is effective June 1, pending regental approval.
“Christopher Waterman is a highly respected anthropologist and musician, a dedicated teacher and an experienced arts administrator,� Carnesale said. “His talents will serve the school superbly as we work together to maintain the preeminent academic program for our students and to broaden our ongoing commitment to the community through outstanding museum and performing arts programming.�
Waterman, 48, joined UCLA in 1996 as a professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures and was appointed chair of the department in 1997. He has served as acting dean of the school since July 1, 2002, replacing Daniel Neuman, who became executive vice chancellor of UCLA last year. Prior to joining UCLA, Waterman was associate professor of music at the University of Washington, where he served as head of the ethnomusicology program and chair of the African studies committee.
As dean, Waterman will oversee six academic departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts, Ethnomusicology, Music, and World Arts and Cultures. Also under his direction will be the school’s three public arts units: the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History; the UCLA Hammer Museum, which houses the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts; and UCLA Live.
“I am delighted at this opportunity to serve UCLA, one of the world’s most innovative and diverse institutions of higher learning, and a national leader in arts education,� Waterman said. “Much has been accomplished in the School of the Arts and Architecture in recent years. The main task before us is to maintain our impressive forward momentum in the areas of teaching and research, public arts presentation, and extramural support for our students and programs. With careful planning, strategic thinking and fully engaged leadership, we can and will emerge from the present economic climate in even better shape, ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of the future.�
Early in his career, Waterman conducted extensive field research among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. He is the author of “Juju: A Social History and Ethnography of an African Popular Music� (University of Chicago Press, 1990) and co-author of “American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV� (Oxford University Press, 2002).
In his capacity as a bassist, he has performed with such artists as Zoot Sims, Larry Coryell, Buddy Emmons, the Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey orchestras, and I.K. Dairo (M.B.E.) and His Blue Spots.
His work has been recognized with awards such as The Ethel Curry Distinguished Lectureship in Musicology from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and he was cited by Rolling Stone magazine for his innovative course on world popular music in 1992.
Waterman received his Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.Mus. degree in composition and electric bass from Berklee College of Music.
One of 11 professional schools at UCLA, the School of the Arts and Architecture degree programs include the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D., as well as M.F.A., M.M. and D.M.A., plus M. Arch I and M. Arch II. The school has approximately 95 full-time faculty members and an average current enrollment of 801 undergraduate and 395 graduate students.