University names Shelley new dance executive director

Amanda Kohutek NEWS EDITOR

On Feb. 13, President Kenneth Evans announced that Melanie Shelley will take over as the executive director of the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment, after serving as interim dean over the program since the recent departure of Chair Jo Rowan and Dean John Bedford.

“Melanie has worked tirelessly to advance the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment forward into the next generation,” Evans said in an email sent to students, faculty, and staff.

“I am excited to see how she continues to position the school as the nation’s preeminent destination for dance students.”

Shelley has worked at OCU since 1987, serving as a costumer, choreographer, stage manager, and company manager for the American Spirit Dance Company, an academic advisor, and then the dance school’s associate dean before taking her interim position over the school.

“The Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment is home to me, and the students and faculty are like family,” Shelley said. Her term as executive director began March 1, where she’ll continue her work of guiding the dance program.

“As the university continues to emerge from the pandemic, Shelley has placed a focus on expanding performance and event management opportunities for students beyond traditional main-stage productions; developed a new leadership structure at the school to focus on increased collaboration; and overseen successful in-person auditions in October and January that now see the dance school poised for one of its largest incoming classes to date,” the OCU Communications Office said in an email announcement.

Shelley has garnered multiple awards over the years, including OCU’s Exemplary Teacher of the Year, the Distinguished Service Award from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Ann Lacy Dance school’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

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