New role is music to professor’s ears
BEFORE moving to Townsville to take up his role as Dean of the College of Business, Law and Governance at JCU, Stephen Boyle had been to the city only once – and that was for the job interview.
“I went out to dinner and that sold it to me,” he said.
“It’s a lovely city with friendly, welcoming people.”
Born and bred in Adelaide, Professor Boyle worked as a professional musician for more than 10 years.
“I’m a trombone he said.
“During my music career, I played in a range of environments including orchestras, and backing international guests, including Shirley Bassey, Liberace, and Jerry Lewis.”
From there, he moved into music management before doing an MBA and then a PHD in cultural economics.
“Some people don’t realise but the creative industries are a huge contributor to the economy,” he said.
“The challenge is measuring the value. It’s not just a monetary figure – they offer community engagement and enhancement as well.”
Professor Boyle’s current research area is around arts festivals, and he has worked with the Hong Kong Arts Festival and jazz festivals in Adelaide. “Festivals … have a unique aspect to them and the most successful ones are those that have a link to the place they’re presented.”
His goals as dean are to develop and maintain strong connections between the college and the community.
“There’s an exciting opportunity to enrich educational experience as well as the community through things such as internships,” he said. “A number of our students do Work Integrated Learning with local businesses and not-for-profits, including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, which is very exciting.” player,”