“It’s really exciting and also humbling,” Stringham said. “… To have the opportunity to come back here and help lead a place that has already had tremendous impact … it’s really exciting and it also carries a lot of weight to me because I have such high regard for this place and the people that have been a part of it.”

Although not a SUNY Fredonia graduate himself, Stringham has plenty of indirect experience with the School of Music. Many of Stringham’s former music teachers and professional colleagues throughout his life have attended the school.

“This was – as far as I knew – the place that prepared music teachers. My own music teachers – with one exception in K-12 schools – came through Fredonia. I student taught with a Fredonia alum. When I began my own teaching career, the teacher next door to me was a Fredonia alum. So, I was very familiar with this institution and the impact it has had, in a variety of ways,” Stringham said.

A graduate of the University of Rochester, Stringham received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Music Education. He also taught music in nearby Greece, N.Y., and at Williamsville North High School before he received his doctorate.

Photo by Cody Troyer, courtesy of SUNY Fredonia Dr. David Stringham recently began his tenure as Dean of the School of Music at SUNY Fredonia. A Rochester native, Stringham comes to Fredonia after 13 years at James Madison University in Virginia.

After graduating with his Doctor of Philosophy in music education, Stringham applied to more than a dozen jobs across the country before accepting a position with James Madison University in Virginia.

“Everything just clicked,” Stringham said, describing how he and his wife planned to move wherever the best opportunity was professionally after they had just welcomed their first child. “It was the right next step for us, so we took it,” he said.

Stringham has been a part of the School of Music and College of Visual and Performing Arts at James Madison University since 2010, where he most recently served as the Executive Director of the Office of Creative Propulsion. He was also the Assessment Coordinator for the James Madison University School of Music.

Stringham co-founded Center for Inclusive Music Engagement at James Madison University, and he served as its founding director. He was also the acting as the Director of Research, Entrepreneurship, and Engagement in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

After growing the School of Music so much at James Madison University, Stringham takes on his new role at SUNY Fredonia in under very different circumstances. Stringham appreciates the rich history of the School of Music and does not have major changes in mind upon his arrival.

“I don’t necessarily see my role as accomplishing something that I want to accomplish. I’m really here to work with and in support of our faculty. We have some world class faculty members here at this institution, and they have wonderful ideas,” said Stringham. “That’s not to say that I’m not going to contribute ideas or perspectives … but I really think of this as an opportunity to organically build on this really rich and wonderful history that is here. I don’t think there is a need for a drastic ‘changing of the guard’ shift in direction. What has been going on here has been really successful and really meaningful for generations of Fredonia students.”

During his transition from Virginia to Fredonia, Stringham took four short trips to visit the campus, where he attended various events and met with administrators, faculty, and students before assuming the full-time role of Dean of the School of Music on May 1.

“The campus here has been really wonderful about trying to help the transition be a good one. Part of what we negotiated was that I would spend essentially a long weekend each month here before I started full-time May 1,” Stringham said. “To get a sense of Fredonia, it was really helpful to have that smooth on-ramp … to be able to hit the ground running.”

Now that his full-time tenure is underway, Stringham is excited to lead the renowned School of Music to more success, just as his predecessors did.

“What I’m really excited about is the unique opportunity to work from a position of historic strength … to think about how we can do it in ways that can help us bring more meaning and more benefit to more people,” Stringham said.