Jon Robert Cart, a 1986 graduate of DePauw University, has been appointed dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Cart had been serving as the associate dean of the College since September. He was selected from a pool of more than 60 applicants to succeed Donald Gephardt, who is stepping down after 17 years as dean.

"I'm very honored and excited," says Cart, who credits DePauw School of Music faculty members Stanley Irwin and Orcenith Smith for their influence in his life. "Under Dr. Irwin’s meticulous guidance, my sense of artistry and my vocal technique were cultivated," says Cart. He instilled in me, by example and by demand, the discipline of daily practice."

The new dean adds, "During my four years at DePauw, I also played bassoon in the orchestra under Professor Smith’s leadership. And, leadership is what I learned from him. His expectations were high, and we all met them. These skills (a well-cultivated sense of artistry, discipline and leadership) are critical to effective leadership in my new position."

Dr. Cart adds, "The opportunity to enroll in dance classes, to perform in the orchestra and on the opera stage, to perform in theatrical productions, and to enroll in art classes helped to nurture my interdisciplinary arts heritage -- an essential element for my new position. I will be leading a college comprised of four disciplines (Art, Dance, Music and Theatre), and as a result of my experiences at DePauw I have a substantive understanding of the unique language of each of these disciplines."

A music major at DePauw, Bob Cart previously chaired the department of music and theatre arts at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania (2000-2006). Dr. Cart, a tenor, has sung with the Baltimore Opera, the Harrisburg Opera, Opera Roanoke, Wolf Trap Opera, the Amalfi Coast Festival and the Shaker Mountain Music Festival. Last year, he issued a new compact disc, Serenata Mexicana, on the Centaur label.