Duke Jazz director John Brown appointed vice provost for the arts

Duke University Jazz Program director and professor of the practice of music, John Brown, has been named Duke’s vice provost for the arts, Duke University Provost Sally Kornbluth announced today. Brown will be taking over the now full-time role from his predecessor, Scott Lindroth, who has held the position since 2007.

Brown is a bassist, composer and producer from Fayetteville, NC. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rather than pursuing a career in law, Brown decided to follow a career in music. 

In 2001, Brown joined the music department at Duke as an adjunct instructor and became assistant professor of the practice of music and director of the Duke Jazz Program in 2003. Brown also founded the live jazz series Jazz @ the Mary Lou Williams Center. The program is now led by Duke University Union and continues to be open each week to campus and community members. 

“John will be a powerful ambassador for the arts at Duke,” said Kornbluth in an interview with Duke Today. “He has grown a community for jazz here on campus and demonstrated his commitment to expanding arts education across our region. I know he will unite the arts at Duke to expand the ways art is central to our student experience and our regional impact.” 

In his role as vice provost for the arts, Brown will determine the overall direction of the arts at Duke, act as the liaison between the university and Center for Documentary Studies, oversee Duke Performances and the Rubenstein Arts Center and extend the impact of the arts beyond Duke. 

“I am energized by what I’ve been able to do with the Jazz Program in terms of both activity and visibility,” Brown said in an interview with Duke Today. “Now, my charge is to shine the brightest light on Duke’s superb arts community. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across Duke to further this vision.”

Brown’s position as vice provost for the arts will begin on July 1. His appointment comes after Trevor Schoonmaker as the Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum of Art and Bobby Asher as director of Duke Performances.