Crane School of Music Dean Named to National Accreditation Commission

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Dr. Michael Sitton, the dean of The Crane School of Music, has been named to the National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation.

POTSDAM, NY (12/23/2016)(readMedia)-- Dr. Michael Sitton, the dean of SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, has been elected to the board overseeing accreditation for music programs at institutions of higher education across the nation.

Sitton was elected to the National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation at the organization's annual meeting, held in November. He will hold one of the positions representing master's degree-granting institutions, and will serve a three-year term, alongside 17 other members of the board.

"Being elected to the NASM Commission on Accreditation is both an honor and an opportunity to serve the country's only accrediting body for schools of music. While this is a personal honor, I count it more as a measure of the esteem in which The Crane School is held by its peer institutions across the nation, and an indication of Crane's place in the national conversation on music in higher education," Sitton said.

Sitton has served as an accreditation visitor for NASM since 2014, and in that capacity, has traveled to other schools of music as part of a team, to review their programs and submit a report to the Commission on Accreditation.

The National Association of Schools of Music was founded in 1924 to secure a better understanding among institutions of higher education engaged in work in music, to establish a more uniform method of granting credit and to develop and maintain basic, threshold standards for the granting of degrees and other credentials.

NASM is a sister organization to three other arts accrediting organizations, the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and the National Association of Schools of Dance.

The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam has been an accredited institutional member of NASM since 1957.

The duties of the NASM Commission on Accreditation are to apply the accreditation and membership standards for baccalaureate and graduate institutions and programs, and for independent postsecondary non-degree-granting institutions.

The commission receives applications and determines the qualifications of institutions seeking membership and, after thorough examination in accordance with NASM procedures, takes action. The commission also has the power to investigate the maintenance of standards and the observance of published commitments in any member institution under its jurisdiction. To learn more about NASM, visit nasm.arts-accredit.org.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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