IC News

Baruch J. Whitehead, associate professor of music education and founding director of the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, was announced as this year's recipient of the President Shirley M. Collado Faculty Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Ithaca College Community by the Center for Faculty Excellence on May 4.

Whitehead is the second IC faculty member to receive this award, which was established by a gift from Gloria Hobbs, an honorary member of the IC Board of Trustees who was motivated to create the award in honor of President Shirley M. Collado’s inclusive vision for the college community. Hobbs’ gift supports the professional development of one faculty member each year, providing $5,000 to further enhance their capacity for equitable and inclusive leadership.

Assistant Professor of Instrumental Music Education Matthew Clauhs, who nominated Whitehead for this honor, shares, “Dr. Whitehead has brought culturally affirming music experiences to countless students and community members, and consistently exemplifies President Collado’s vision of excellence in education in all of his teaching, mentoring and service to the community.”

“I am very humbled and grateful to receive this award,” shares Whitehead. “From the very outset of my time at the college, I looked for opportunities to engage with the campus and surrounding community. I have the unique opportunity to use music to bring people together; it’s a language we can all understand, even if we do not all speak the same language.”

Whitehead’s numerous projects include organizing the Biennial High School Gospel Festival at Ithaca College, directing the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, advising several student clubs and organizations (IC Musicians of Color, Student Chapter of Association of Negro Musicians, Ithacappella, Island Fusion), directing the annual MLK Celebration, and co-founding the Community Unity Music Education Project at Southside Community Center, and along with many other initiatives.

A member of Ithaca College’s School of Music faculty since 2002, Whitehead’s areas of expertise include diversity in music education; gospel music and its preservation within mainstream musical settings; African-American music; and the music of the Civil Rights Movement.

As founding director of the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, Whitehead seeks to preserve the formal concert style Negro Spiritual, which he feels carries the power to promote social justice and racial healing. Amber Ward ’20 writes, “What makes the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers so special, is that regardless of your personal or musical background, the community choir is for everyone and we perform to anyone. Dr. Whitehead proudly leads us and teaches us that spirituals and gospels are not only for the black community, but they are for everyone. The music brings us together, it moves us together, and it changes us together.”