Balloting for 2013 President-Elect in MENC’s Eastern, Northwest, and Southwestern Divisions ended earlier this month. The new MENC office-holders will assume office on July 1, 2013 for two years. MENC’s 2013 presidents-elect are:
• Eastern Division: Robert T. Frampton, Washington Township Schools, Sewell, New Jersey
• Northwest Division: Mark Lane, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington
• Southwestern Division: James South, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Frampton is the supervisor of visual & performing arts for the Washington Township Schools in Gloucester County, New Jersey. He began his tenure in Washington Township in 1994 as the K–12 Music Supervisor with elementary general music and elementary band teaching responsibilities. His supervisory duties now include the district drama program, a new high school dance program, and the K–12 visual arts program.
Robert T. Frampton
Looking forward, Frampton said: “MENC will be challenged not only to continue advocating for the profession, but also to help music educators adjust to the changing demands thrust upon them.
“The success of the 21st-Century music educator will be dependent in part on the leadership and support that MENC provides in striking a balance between contemporary, comprehensive, and relevant music education programs, while avoiding the marginalization of critical music content and traditional music offerings.
“To meet the challenges, MENC will need to continue deliberate and strategic advocacy efforts that provide a national voice for music education and maintain an influential presence at the federal level,” Frampton said in seeking office.
Lane is the associate director of bands and assistant professor of music Education at Central Washington University. Previously, he taught high school for 27 years in both Oregon and Washington.
He has served on both the Oregon Music Educators Association and the Washington Music Educators Association Boards. He is in his 13th year on the WMEA Board where he has served two terms as band curriculum officer, two terms as vice president, one term each as president-elect, president, and now is in his first year as past-president.
Mark Lane
When asked what he sees as the major challenges music education will face during his term as president, Lane said, “Music education has always had to advocate for its place in the core curriculum. This will not change, and we must continue to be proactive in our efforts to educate decision makers at all levels. The urgency rises as tough economic times continue.”
In the Southwestern Division, president-elect South said: “I am excited and humbled to be chosen to represent the tremendous music educators in our division. I am passionate about music, and I am passionate that music should be a part of the education of every student in every school. I look forward to helping MENC to make that possible, even in difficult times.”
James South
South is chair of the department of music and director of bands at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, Oklahoma. A past-president of the Oklahoma Music Educators Association, he served on the OMEA Board for nine years. He represented the Southwestern Division on the most recent MENC Strategic Plan revision team. He has adjudicated or conducted in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as in Canada and Taiwan.
South’s prior teaching positions were in public schools in Irving, Texas; at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Emporia State University in Kansas.
—Roz Fehr, March 25, 2011. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Photos courtesy of Frampton, Lane and South
