A position of leadership, holding the power to make decisions is not a duty to be taken lightly. It is a commitment to go above and beyond the call of duty, and create positive results that benefit the students and facility. This is the duty that befalls people who hold administrative power within an educational institution. I had the opportunity to interview an administrator, who is in charge of the prestigious music program, here at Central Michigan University. Dr. Randi L’Hommedieu has been an administrator here at CMU for about 15 years now. The main duties that he performs involves managing department resources, working with the facility and students to hear their needs and demands, planning what curriculum will be taught the following semesters, and scheduling and planning events that the music school hosts.
One of the most significant duties that L’ Hommedieu has, along with being the administrator of the music department, is that he is in charge of planning about 400-500 events that the music school puts on campus. The music school puts on a large variety of shows of their own throughout the school year, as well as hosts guest artist’s performances, such as jazz weekend, choirs, and orchestras from around the state and country. They also host many programs for high school students, such as summer band camps, clinics, music workshops. Many other events that come through are all planned and set up by the administration of the music department. The music department here at Central Michigan is known for being one of the top schools in the state for its jazz programs, Music Education, and Studio Instruction with over 366 Undergrad/Graduate students on campus.
Even with the large variety of opportunities and work that is put into the planning many of these events, this job has its own difficulties. L’ Hommedieu said he felt that the most difficult part of an administrative job is trying to be flexible enough to satisfy the needs of all facility and students, as well as try to keep up with changing and expanding technologies, and other outside elements that affect an educational program, such as funding. He has very little control over these elements, but he tries to do his best in order to benefit the well-being of the whole. After all is said and done with the complications behind running an educational department, L’ Hommedieu said he very much enjoys hearing the music that the facility and students in the program produce.
L’ Hommedieu stated that what he enjoys most about his job is being able to come to work every day to hear all the wonderful music that the students and facility worked hard to produce, and being able to see the students succeed when doing what they love. L’ Hommedieu also hopes to see the school continue to expand with the growing availability of music technology that helps aid in the ease of learning, and expands the opportunities that are available within the field of study. The music program here at Central Michigan has a National Reputation for the work that they do, and for the programs it has within Music Education, Jazz, and a variety of summer camps that are available to all students ranging from high school age and up. The duty of an education administrator is to benefit the learning progress of the students, and to provide the facility with the needed tools and supplies in order to do so. This is just what Dr. L’Hommedieu strives to do with his passion and love for music, and the department that he works for.