Dr. Joyce Griggs

Dr. Joyce Griggs teaches the Global Conservatoire course “Cultivating Artistic Leadership from the Inside Out ”

Dr. Joyce Griggs joined Manhattan School of Music in July 2018 as the Executive Vice President and Provost. Deeply devoted to promoting the power of higher education as a catalyst for individual’s access to opportunity and personal advancement, Dr. Griggs’ 25-year career reflects a blend of expertise in instruction/pedagogy, performance, and administration. Her passion for working in an education environment, and specifically performing arts education, grew from her earliest musical experience studying violin and her subsequent study of the saxophone, which remains her primary instrument to this day.

Her musical passions led to collaborations with living composers resulting in the commission and/or premier of nearly a dozen works. Joyce was a featured soloist with the Orquesta de Cámara de la UADY (Mexico) and has performed as a chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and the UK. As a member of the Red Onion Saxophone Quartet, she earned the Silver Medal in the 2001 Fischoff International Chamber Competition, and her research and NAXOS recording of Grainger’s music for saxophones led to her selection for the Percy Grainger Medallion, of which she is one of only 25 recipients. In 2023, Dr. Griggs was selected to serve a three-year term as a Fulbright Specialist, completing two, three-week residencies with the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen in summer and autumn 2024.

As Executive Vice President and Provost, she serves as the Chief Academic Officer at Manhattan School of Music and provides academic and artistic leadership within the context of a premier American Conservatory for Precollege and College aged students with an enrollment of approximately 1,600 in both divisions. As an academic leader and saxophonist, she works closely with faculty on academic and artistic programming, ensuring compliance with all federal regulations and accreditation standards. In her five years at MSM, Dr. Griggs has hired nearly 100 faculty through her visioning of the “Faculty of the Future” plan, she has unified the core academic areas of study by creating five Divisions overseen by Academic Deans, implemented the Cultural Inclusion Policy and Initiative, led the launch of the Global Conservatoire with four European schools, and established the Center for Student Success. Dr. Griggs’ collaborative style with colleagues also created a cohesive artistic planning process that celebrates cross-disciplinary collaboration, promotes new works, and champions the performance of a canon that is more diverse and representative of current society.

Prior to joining Manhattan School of Music, Dr. Griggs served the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a faculty member and higher education administrator. At the University of Illinois, among many accomplishments, she developed and taught college-level career preparation courses and partnered with the College of Business to support arts-focused, entrepreneurial projects. She created collaborative precollege programs while at the Cleveland Institute of Music with the Cleveland School for the Arts and The Cleveland Orchestra, securing over $500,000 from major foundations to seed these initiatives. Dr. Griggs primary saxophone teachers were Debra Richtmeyer and James Riggs. She earned a Bachelor Music Education with Honors as well as the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Music from the University of North Texas.

Dr. Griggs enjoys serving as a mentor to young professionals, as well as participating as a panelist at national conferences, and consulting on strategic planning within higher education and arts nonprofits.