Hunter March, professor emeritus and former associate dean of UTeach Fine Arts in the College of Fine Arts, passed away Oct. 17, 2023 at the age of 85.
March taught graduate and undergraduate courses in music education for 31 years at the Butler School of Music. He also served as the graduate advisor in the school for 17 years. In 2009, March was appointed to the newly created role of associate dean for arts education leading the Music, Theatre, Art and Dance teacher education programs throughout the College of Fine Arts. He served in that role until his retirement from the university in 2018. As an associate dean, he almost doubled enrollments in the college’s teacher education programs and led the program through a rebrand under the new name UTeach Fine Arts.
“First and last, Hunter was a devoted, joyful and much-beloved teacher. He built bridges across disciplines and departments. He created a proud and respected community of faculty and student educators in our college,” said Doug Dempster, former dean of the College of Fine Arts. “With his strong focus on placing student teachers in underserved schools, Hunter’s good work expanded equitable access to high-quality arts education across Texas.”
March was inspired by the education reform movement of the 1960s and began his career as an award-winning middle school teacher in the schools of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. While teaching in the Ann Arbor public schools, his choirs performed for the Music Educators National Conference and with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and the University of Michigan choirs. He was recognized as the statewide Music Teacher of the Year and received the UT College of Fine Arts Teaching Excellence Award.
March wrote three music textbooks published by Silver Burdett Ginn that are widely used throughout the United States. He held leadership roles in the Music Educators National Conference, the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas Alliance for Arts Education, in addition to presenting workshops for teachers in the U.S. and Europe.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice Austin or the Hunter C. March Scholarship in Fine Arts Teacher Education, which was established in May 2016 to honor March’s legacy and to help support future generations of arts teachers.