Office of the dean

John Masserini
Interim Dean, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

John Masserini holds the rank of Professor in the School of Music and serves as the Interim Dean of SBS. Previous administrative positions at NAU include Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (2018-2020), Associate Dean of the Graduate College (2014-2018) and Associate Director of the School of Music (2011-2014).

Dr. Masserini is an executive academic leader dedicated to placing student success at the core of his work, with a specific focus on those that are underrepresented and underserved. This involves finding solutions to providing meaningful access to higher education, working to close achievement and engagement gaps, and creating intentional programming and robust resources for academic success, in all its forms. A large part of his daily work is spent collaborating with units in SBS and across campus to develop, maintain, assess, and improve student success initiatives at Northern Arizona University.

John serves in many leadership and service roles through professional academic organizations including AASCU’s Frontier Set; as Board Member (Treasurer) of the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS); and as presenter, panelist, and moderator at several professional conferences. He has received specialized administrative and accreditation training and participated in several university leadership programs including, most currently, the 2020-2021 “Becoming a Provost Academy” cohort cosponsored by AASCU and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI).

Regarding his academic discipline, he is a respected classical clarinetist and a sponsored performing artist with D’Addario Woodwinds. He has appeared on stage in several international and national venues as a recitalist, concerto soloist, collaborative chamber musician, avant-garde performing artist, and theater musician for national Broadway tours. Notable past international invitations include the International Clarinet Association Conferences (ClarinetFest^®) in 2003 (Salt Lake City, Utah), 2005 (Tokyo, Japan), 2006 (Atlanta, Georgia), 2009 (Porto, Portugal), 2012 (Lincoln, Nebraska), 2013 (Assisi, Italy), and 2015 (Madrid, Spain). His clarinet/saxophone duo Velocity² released the CD Flux under the Centaur Records label.

In addition to his more “traditional” work in the field, Masserini has completed several grant-funded performance projects with longtime collaborator Melanie Kloetzel, Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Calgary, which combines music, dance/movement, and various forms of media. International and national invitations to showcase their work include performances at the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) 2011 Annual Conference: “Moving Music / Sounding Dance” (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Collision 2006: A Symposium on Interarts and Interdisciplinary Practices (Vancouver, British Columbia); and a main-stage appearance at the 2006 On the Boards – Northwest New Works Festival (Seattle, Washington).

John earned a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Michigan State University where he studied with renowned performer and pedagogue Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, and a Bachelor of Music from University of New Mexico where he studied with Keith Lemmons.