By Chenxin Han, MA student in Music Education

The Department of Music Teaching and Learning was honored to welcome esteemed alumna Colleen Conway ’88E, ’92E (MA) back to campus on October 16, 2025. Dr. Conway had lunch with several doctoral students, presented trends in music education research to the graduate student colloquium, and shared recommendations from her research on early career music teacher needs with our current student teachers. Her visit concluded with a dinner with faculty, including Professor Emeritus Richard Grunow, who was Dr. Conway’s advisor as an undergraduate student.

During a break in Dr. Conway’s schedule, she graciously agreed to be interviewed by current graduate student Chenxin Han. Here are highlights of her interview.

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During her recent visit to Eastman, Dr. Colleen Conway—professor of music education at the University of Michigan—shared her journey from a curious undergraduate horn player to one of today’s leading scholars in music teacher education. Her conversation offered Eastman students and faculty a window into how an Eastman education can continue shaping one’s professional and personal philosophy decades later.

Finding Eastman

Growing up in Springfield, MA, Conway’s early musical world was modest but full of curiosity. “My parents weren’t musicians, and there was no internet,” she recalled. “You were really led by whatever you knew about.” As a young horn player, she became aware of Eastman through works by Professor Emeritus Vern Reynolds, a renowned horn teacher at the school. When friends in her youth orchestra began applying to music schools on the East Coast, Eastman appeared on her radar.

“I had this feeling that it might introduce something that regional universities wouldn’t offer,” she said. Encouraged by an Eastman alum who told her the school would “open up your world in ways you can’t quite put your finger on when you’re 17,” Conway convinced her parents to support her dream. She started at Eastman in the fall of 1984—an experience that would expose a whole new world for her.

MENTOR AND STUDENT: Colleen Conway enjoyed reuniting with her undergraduate advisor, Professor Emeritus Richard Grunow.

As a dual major in horn performance and music education, Conway was shaped by influential mentors, including Dr. Richard Grunow and former Eastman dean of students Paul Burgett ’68E, ’72E (MA), ’76E (PhD), who pushed her to think expansively about what was possible. “Paul Burgett was a huge force in getting me to think beyond tomorrow,” she said. “He’d always remind us, ‘This is Eastman—you can do anything!’”

Beyond academics, Conway also immersed herself in student life. She served as student association president and was invited to serve on the architect selection committee for Eastman’s new residence hall—an experience that taught her the value of institutional trust and student voice. “The fact that students were part of that process said something powerful about Eastman,” she reflected. “It told us that our perspectives mattered.”

Musically, Conway remembers Eastman as a place of collaboration rather than competition. “It was competitive to be here, but not competitive against each other,” she said. “At other schools, the system can make you resent people in your studio because you’re always competing with them. Eastman didn’t do that—it encouraged us to support one another.”

FACULTY DINNER: Dr. Conway and her husband Tom Hodgman ’96E (DMA) were joined by MTL faculty at dinner. From left to right: Alden Snell, Christopher Azzara, Hodgman, Sangmi Kang, Lisa Caravan, Richard Grunow, Dr. Conway, and Mara Culp.

After a few years of teaching, Conway returned to Eastman in the summers to pursue her master’s degree in music education. A turning point came when she took ‘Introduction to Research’ with Professor Emeritus Donna Brink Fox—a class that, at the time, felt entirely new. “I didn’t even know what a thesis was supposed to look like,” she laughed. “But I wanted to be like Dr. Fox, someone who knew what was happening in the field, and I trusted that I could figure it out.”

Her curiosity deepened through those summers, which she described as “a time to put on the researcher hat.” By the time she finished her thesis in 1992, she knew she was “hooked.” Soon after, she began mentoring student teachers, realizing how deeply she enjoyed teacher education. This path eventually led her to Teachers College at Columbia University for her doctoral studies—a transition she felt “completely prepared for because of Eastman.”

“The Eastman master’s program was designed so that if you wanted another degree, you were ready for it—and if you didn’t, you’d still come out a better teacher,” she said. “That balance between practitioner and researcher is something I’ve carried with me into my work at Michigan.”

Teaching with Heart

Dr. Conway’s philosophy today centers on teaching children first and music second. “Students often come into music schools thinking only about the music,” she noted. “But children are people first. Our job is to understand them, to make sure they feel safe, and to use music to teach them about themselves and the world.”

She believes that social-emotional learning (SEL) must be foundational to all music teaching. “We’re not teaching music—we’re using music to teach children,” she emphasized. “That mindset changes everything.”

Conway also advocates for getting undergraduate students into classrooms and community settings as early as possible. “You can’t learn about teaching children just by talking about it. You need to see them, interact with them, and understand their physical, cognitive, and emotional development.”

FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING: Dr. Conway spent time speaking to student teachers at Eastman (left) and enjoyed a nearby lunch with MTL doctoral students who had the opportunity to ask questions and share stories (right).

When asked what advice she’d give to students interested in teaching or academia, Conway offered two words: curiosity and grit. “You have to have things you’re curious about—questions that you genuinely want to explore,” she said. “And you have to have thick skin.”

She shared a candid look at her own research career: “Every article I’ve ever published started at the Journal of Research in Music Education. I have ten articles there, but I’ve been rejected from that journal literally a hundred times. You learn to take the feedback, make the work better, and try again.”

For those starting out as teachers, she reminded them that the first few years are always challenging. “It’s really hard in the beginning,” she said. “It takes a few years to find your way, and sometimes you have to move around to find your fit.”

Dr. Conway’s visit reminded current students of Eastman’s enduring spirit—a place that encourages curiosity, humility, and connection. “Eastman gets you thinking about things you’ve never thought about because of who you meet and what’s offered here,” she said. “That’s something that stays with you forever.”