An internationally recognized musicologist who studies the composition of Renaissance music will become dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at UC Davis.

Jessie Ann Owens, a professor of music and former dean of arts and sciences at Brandeis University, and currently a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University, will assume her new responsibilities on July 1.

During Owens' nearly 30-year career as a professor and university dean she has amassed significant teaching, research, national service and administrative experience, the combination of which made her a prime candidate for the dean's position at UC Davis, said campus officials.

"I believe Dr. Owens is an ideal fit for the division," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "I am especially impressed with the breadth of her knowledge and experience, her analytical approach to problems and, perhaps most of all, her academic accomplishments and ability to lead by example."

Owens will oversee an academic division that includes 29 departments teaching approximately 2,100 students in 26 majors. She succeeds Patricia Turner, who has served as interim dean since August 2004. Turner will return to her position as vice provost for undergraduate studies during the 2006-07 academic year.

"I would like to thank interim dean Pat Turner who has done a fine job leading the division the past two years. We are all in her debt," Vanderhoef said.

Owens saidshe is looking forward to her new role on campus.

"It is an honor to be invited to serve as dean at UC Davis, where there is already an incredible record of achievement and a distinguished faculty in the humanities, arts and cultural studies," she said. "It's also exciting to join a university with the outstanding commitment to the arts represented by the Mondavi Center.

"I look forward to the challenge of building on this success and working with the division to help make the humanities, arts and cultural studies matter — to students, to the university and to the larger public the university serves," Owens added. "We need to show that research and teaching in these disciplines has an impact on all aspects of university life. I see my job as dean as working with faculty and staff colleagues to spell out the division's priorities and hone the message of our mission both internally and externally."

Owens began her career as a fellow and lecturer in music at Columbia University. She later became an assistant professor of musicology at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.

In 1984, Owens became an associate professor at Brandeis University, and was promoted to dean of the college and associate dean of faculty in 1987. She became a full professor in 1994, and Louis, Frances and Jeffrey Sachar Professor of Music in 2001. From 2000 to 2003, Owens served as dean of Arts and Sciences, managing a $35 million budget. She was responsible for the Schools of Creative Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Owens has earned numerous academic honors, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is author of Composers at Work: The Craft of Musical Composition 1450-1600, and co-editor of Music in Renaissance Cities and Courts. She has served as series editor for books on British music theory and criticism of early music, and has published numerous articles on Renaissance music. Her most recent publication is Noyses, sounds and sweet aires: Music in Early Modern England, the catalog for an exhibition at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. (June 2-Sept. 9, 2006).

Among many professional activities, she has served as president of the American Musicological Society and the Renaissance Society of America, and is on the Visiting Committee for Music and Theater Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Owens received her bachelor's degree in Latin cum laude from Barnard College, and her master's and doctorate, both in musicology, from Princeton University.

As dean at UC Davis, Owens will earn an annual salary of $185,000.