Provost's Senior Staff

Lester Monts

Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Professor of Music (Ethnomusicology)

Dr. Lester P. Monts has served as an academic administrator and Professor of Music at the University of Michigan since 1993. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from Arkansas Polytechnic College, the Master of Music degree in trumpet performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Musicology from the University of Minnesota. He has served on the faculties of Edinboro University, University of Minnesota, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. From 1988-93, he served as Dean of Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Letters and Science, and in that role, directed Santa Barbara's Undergraduate Honors Program.

Dr. Monts has focused his scholarly research on the musical and cultural systems among the Vai people of Liberia and is regarded as one of the world's leading scholars on music and culture in the Guinea coast region of West Africa. His book, Vai Musical Language, is published by the Societe d'Etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France; it explores Vai folk etymologies related to the intersection between music and other linguistic phenomena. He is currently working on another book that examines the influence of Islam on the continuity and change of music in funerary rituals among the Vai. He has published in numerous scholarly journals, such as Anthropos: International Review of Ethnology and Linguistics, Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, African Arts, and the Liberian Studies Journal. He has presented his research at the conferences of many national and international learned societies, including the Society for Ethnomusicology, the African Studies Association, and American Anthropological Association.

As an orchestral trumpeter, Dr. Monts has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Omaha Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, the Santa Barbara Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. Over a fifteen year period, he served as principal trumpet for the Allegheny Summer Music Festival and the Music Festival of Arkansas. Specializing in music of the Baroque era, Dr. Monts has performed as a recitalist throughout the nation. His major trumpet teachers include Robert Bright (Arkansas Polytechnic College), Dennis Schneider (University of Nebraska), Bernard Adelstein (Cleveland Orchestra), and Charles Schlueter (Boston Symphony).

As the Senior Vice-Provost, Dr. Monts assists the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs on matters related to budget, tenure and promotion, enrollment, and a broad range of academic issues. Dr. Monts oversees the operation of several academic units, including Arts at Michigan Program, the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, the Office of New Student Programs, the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, Office of Examinations and Evaluations, Office of the Registrar, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Office of Financial Aid, Student Information Systems, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Officers Training Programs.

Dr. Monts holds active memberships in the African Studies Association, the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Liberian Studies Association, and the College Music Society. He has traveled extensively in parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to conduct research and to represent the University of Michigan at international conferences. Dr. Monts has served as a consultant to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the American Council on Education (ACE), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Tubman Center of African Culture (Robertsport, Liberia), and the Steven Spielberg/Dreamworks production of the movie Amistad. He is the past chair of the Governing Board of the University of Michigan International Institute, a member of the Governing Board and Research Associate of the International Centre for African Music and Dance (Legon/Accra, Ghana), chair of the Senior Administrators for Diversity Panel of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), and a member of the Advisory Board for the School of Education at Eastern Michigan University and the Visiting Committee for the Department of Music at Harvard University. He was recently elected to the Academic Assembly Council of the College Board.

PROVOST'S SENIOR STAFF