Gary Gottlieb resigns from audio department

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Less than three months after professor Gary Gottlieb was named chair of the newly created Department of Audio Aesthetics & Technology, he submitted his resignation.
Gottlieb resigned July 15 after nine years at Webster University to focus on a nonprofit organization he will be starting.
Julian Williams, a senior audio production major, said Gottlieb will be hard to replace.
“He was one of the first people I met in the department, the first to give me hands-on experience in music recording,” Williams said. “I was shocked (to hear of Gottlieb’s resignation). He was really involved with his students. He really made you get involved. He didn’t let you just sit in the back.”
In July, Gottlieb offered another motivation behind his resignation through a post he submitted to a Yahoo group message board for audio majors. There, Gottlieb identified “a series of contentious meetings with administration this summer” as a contributing factor in his departure.
Gottlieb, who led efforts to create the Department of Audio Aesthetics & Technology, described disagreements between himself and administration over department resources.
In his Yahoo post entitled “Rumors and innuendo,” Gottlieb addressed rumors he said he’d heard from students regarding “financial malfeasance.” Gottlieb denied that any wrongdoing led to his departure from Webster, saying students should feel confident in the audio department resources.
“I can assure you that all accounts were carefully examined,” Gottlieb said in the online post.
Senior audio major Luke Arens said he believes the academic program will continue to thrive.
“I think the faculty will be able to pick up the slack,” Arens said. “I think it’s going to be a change. It’s tough to regain what (Gottlieb) brought to the school. He brought a huge passion for audio that you don’t really see at other schools.”
Gottlieb had been slated to teach three summer courses beginning in June. Gottlieb did not teach the courses. Audio Production I for non-majors, which Gottlieb was scheduled to instruct, was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. The remaining courses were taught by adjunct faculty members. His scheduled courses for the fall semester will be taught by part-time and full-time faculty.
Victoria Meyer, an assistant professor, has replaced Gottlieb as chair of Audio Aesthetics & Technology. Meyer declined to comment for this story. Gottlieb expressed faith in Meyer’s ability to lead the department.
Gottlieb will be spending his time on his nonprofit organization, which has been under development for two years.

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