Yale News

Dean of the Yale School of Music Robert Blocker will retire at the end of August, University President Peter Salovey announced Wednesday morning.

Salovey told members of the Yale community that Blocker will retire on August 31, 2023. He will remain a professor of piano at the School of Music and a professor of leadership strategies at the Yale School of Management. Blocker informed Salovey of this decision after commencement in May. 

“It has been a privilege to work closely with Dean Blocker,” Salovey wrote in his message Wednesday morning. “His wisdom and vision, commitment to excellence in education and scholarship, bold creativity, and principled leadership have redefined the school, and his immense contributions will be felt for generations to come.”

Salovey wrote that he and Blocker share the belief that boosting education access is crucial to the creation of “long, positive change in society.” He added that Blocker has grown the school’s endowment from $29 million to $574 million throughout his tenure. Blocker also oversaw a donation from Stephen and Denise Adams in 2005, which provided full-tuition scholarships to all School of Music students in subsequent years. 

Deputy Dean of the School of Music Melvin Chen said Blocker’s ability to secure full funding for student tuition has helped the School of Music to attract the most talented musicians. 

Chen also added that Blocker’s leadership in the evolution of the curriculum has produced musicians “that are not only musically compelling, but are also thoughtful about the role of their art in the cultural and societal landscape. Chen said that Blocker’s retirement is a “deeply bittersweet moment.”

“Dean Blocker means so much to me as a mentor, a friend, and an administrative and musical colleague,” Chen wrote to the News. “I’ve learned so much from him in so many ways, and I’ve absorbed many of my values from him.  I will miss working with him – every day we have things to discuss and decide.  I have to say, though, that my greatest pleasure is being able to make music with him – and I expect that to continue!”

Looking back on his time as dean, Blocker wrote to the News that he is proud of the School of Music for being among the first music institutions to livestream performances throughout the world and for having a 40 percent international student body since the 1970s. 

“Working together with all School of Music constituencies—faculty, staff, students, alumni, board members, donors, and New Haven community friends—has established not only a community of people who care passionately about music in society, but about one another,” Blocker wrote to the News. “We have celebrated moments of joy and mourned numerous losses through musical offerings to the entire community.”

In 2007, under Blocker’s leadership, the School of Music and Yale’s Class of 1957 also formalized the Music in Schools Initiative, which works with New Haven Public Schools and has become a “national model,” according to Salovey. 

Salovey also wrote in his message that Blocker’s leadership helped the School of Music improve its facilities, with the renovations of Sprague Memorial Hall in 2003 and Leigh Hall in 2006 occurring during Blocker’s time as Dean, as well as the Adams Center for Musical Arts in 2017. 

“When Dean Blocker arrived at Yale, the School of Music occupied spaces that desperately needed renovation to support the mission, artistic advancement, and global reach of the school,” Salovey wrote in his message. “For the next three decades, he worked tirelessly with donors and the school’s faculty, staff, and students to transform the facilities available for teaching and performance. 

Blocker has also been involved with two improvement projects at the Yale Summer School of Music and has finalized plans for a major renovation of the Morris Steinert Collection of Musical Instruments to begin in 2023. 

Looking to the future, Blocker wrote he is hopeful that the School of Music will continue to advance its mission with a focus on diversity and inclusion, curriculum review and reform, facilities upgrades and growth of the endowment. 

“My successor will, I am certain, capably and thoughtfully continue all the above-mentioned projects and more,” Blocker wrote to the News, “The School is in the excellent hands of the community that calls this place home, and it will continue to introduce new generations of cultural leaders to the world.”

Salovey said he will soon form a search committee to identify candidates to replace Blocker. 

Correction, Sept. 8: This article has been updated to clarify that Blocker is a professor of piano at the School of Music, and of leadership strategies at the School of Management.