Alumni Connections

Dr. Joan Ashcraft was named the College of Fine Arts 2025 Alumni of the Year by the University of Arizona Alumni Association.  She holds a Bachelor of Music, a Master of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts all from the University of Arizona School of Music. Dr. Ashcraft serves as the director of Fine and Performing Arts for the Tucson Unified School District where she oversees art educators and teaching artists, provides training and mentoring, supervises multicultural resources, provides musical instruments for students, and administers the Arizona Seal of Arts Proficiency for qualified high school seniors.  She is the co-creator and director of Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA), recognized nationally for its integration research and student achievement results.  The model has been featured in several national publications and was awarded the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination, the Professional Development in Arts Education, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers Federal Grants.  OMA Schools have been observed by numerous institutions, as well as visiting educators from China.

Under her leadership, TUSD Fine Arts received significant funds to pilot the Smart Music program and she was selected to tour as a presenter for the US Department of Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative.

Dr. Ashcraft has received numerous awards including the University of Arizona Faculty of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Award, the Music Educator of the Year and the Music Administrator of the Year Awards presented by the Arizona Music Educators Association, the Governor’s Arts in Education Award, the Tucson/Pima Arts Council’s Arts Education Award.  She has served on the Advisory Board for Partners in Education at the John F. Kennedy Center and is a member of the America Society for Curriculum Development, the Arts Education Partnership, Music Educators National Conference, American Choral Directors Association, and the Alliance for Arts Education.

The School of Music is fortunate to collaborate with Dr. Ashcraft on numerous projects and receive her partnership in mentoring future educators who forge pathways for careers in music.

Distinguished Alumni Award

In Fall of 2024, we established the Distinguished Alumni Award to formally acknowledge and celebrate distinguished contributions.

Our inaugural recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2024-2025 were Dr. Kimberly Van Weelden and Dr. J. Edmund Hughes.

Dr. Kimberly Van Weelden, nominated by Dr. Matt Williams, has an extensive record of scholarship. She is recognized as one of the leading researchers on students with special needs in music education and scholarly exploration related to geriatric vocal pedagogy and wellness, bias related to conductor race, and repertoire recognition of preservice music teachers and music therapists. Her reputation extends internationally, evident through her service as a former Commissioner and Chair of the Special Music Education and Music Therapy Commission for the International Society for Music Education and National Chair of the Children with Exceptionalities Special Research Interest Group of the National Association for Music Education. As a teacher of some of our own faculty at the University of Arizona, she is also known as a kind, encouraging, and generous mentor to many doctoral students who have gone on to successful collegiate teaching careers. Her work in teaching, scholarship, and service is influential and impactful. The School of Music is proud to honor this distinguished record of teaching, scholarship, and service of Dr. Van Weelden with this award.

Dr. J. Edmund Hughes, nominated by Dr. Betsy Schauer, is recognized for his long and distinguished career in support of the choral profession and his continued championing of the University of Arizona.  His vision and leadership in the profession, passion for choral music, and caring, kind heart all reflect the intention of this award.  His leadership has been influential through his involvement in Arizona Music Educators Association, Choral Directors of Arizona, and Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.  In recognition of his extensive record of service and teaching, he was awarded the Arizona ACDA Outstanding Choral Educator Award, the AMEA Music Educator of the Year Award, the AMEA/ChoDALifetime Achievement Award, and the University of Arizona School of Music Lifetime Achievement Award. His support of choral music in the state of Arizona continues to be felt here at “home” but his impact resonates across the country as an invited clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and composer.  He continues to be a generous and kind mentor and colleague.  The School of Music is so proud to recognize his musical gifts and distinguished achievements with this award.