Biography
Dr. Sharon Prado has more than twenty years of experience in higher education at private and public universities. She holds a PhD and MM in music history from the College-Conservatory of the University of Cincinnati and a BM in Piano Performance, summa cum laude, from Gordon College (Wenham, MA). She earned a certificate in management in higher education from the HERS New England Management Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration (Wellesley), and has enjoyed successes launching university-wide start-up initiatives dedicated to improving the student experience at major research-intensive universities. Her unique experience that bridges university teaching, departmental administration, executive and non-profit leadership, enables her to understand the roles, responsibilities, assets, deficits and challenges across a wide array of constituent groups in order to build partnerships. She is future-centric and a visionary leader with a broad view of university design, the mission and future challenges faced by higher education and the P-20 continuum.
Her research interests span film music, aesthetics and music criticism, the keyboard music of CPE Bach, cognitive musicology, STEM education reform, experiential education, global citizenship, innovation and university engagement. She has contributed to the international bibliographic music database project RISM (Répertoire International e des Sources Musicales) while at Harvard University, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and is recipient of the 2003 John S. Perkins Distinguished Service Award by the Boston University Faculty Council. She has been recipient of grants from federal and local agencies and private foundations. She enjoys music, museums, biking, golf and making a difference.
Current and recent past positions
Director of Strategic Academic Initiatives, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Executive Director of Strategic Research Alliances and Special Projects, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Executive Director of the Foothills Community Foundation, Carefree, Arizona
Chief Academic Officer, Western International University (Apollo Group, Inc.), Phoenix, Arizona
Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
