Dr. Mruzek directs his last concert - Apr. 7, 2022 (Clarice Scheele)
Earlier this year, Hanover College’s instrumental music director, Dr. David Mruzek, announced his retirement. As it gets closer to the end of the school year, his position has still not been filled.
This vacancy leaves returning students concerned with the continuation of the program. Many are questioning if they will continue to receive their music scholarship from the school if there isn’t a program. Students received this scholarship when agreeing to participate in the instrumental music program while Mruzek was director.
However, replacing a faculty member takes time. Hanover College’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Carey Adams, says there is a process that’s followed when a facility member retires.
Most facility members inform administration at the beginning of the academic year before they leave. With this, the process would begin in the fall. This gives administration time to find a replacement.
“The timeline for doing a faculty search is typically months. And there's a calendar to it” says Adams.
Mruzek informed administration much later than this, making the process of finding a replacement more difficult. By this time of year, people who are coming from graduate school and are in the job market have already secured their positions.
However, the Hanover administration offered a retirement incentive this year that provides older faculty with bonus payments if they agree to retire within three years. Faculty can choose to retire immediately or to phase out their retirement over one to two years.
“We have a total of 11 faculty who are taking advantage of the retirement incentive that was offered. 10 of them are doing it in a phased option” says Adams.
Mruzek declined to comment on why he did not choose the phased option.
Original Hanover College Band bass drum from the 1950s - Apr. 7, 2022 (Clarice Scheele)
The next steps for the instrumental music program are still under discussion. Adams plans to speak with the choral director, Dr. Madlen Batchvarova, to see what part she can play in the process.
There is going to be at least a year grace period where there will not be a permanent director in the position. Adams mentioned hiring a temporary director for the position, but this decision has not been finalized.
There is one way that Adams can ease the concerns of the students though. Students receiving a music scholarship while Mruzek was director will still receive that scholarship.
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