Department of Music

Dissertation: "Signing On: U.S. College Rock Radio and the Popular Music Industry, 1977-1983"

Placement: Visiting Lecturer of Media Studies, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)

Bio Information:

In May 2010 Nick graduated from UVA’s Critical and Comparative Studies in Music Ph.D program; his dissertation examines the period in which college radio stations emerged in public discourse as a distinct broadcast sector. This work develops a necessary foundation for future investigations of “alternative” and “indie” music cultures by examining the complex ideological origins of college radio in multiple analytical contexts, including social networks, media practices, and industrial relations. Prior to his studies at UVA, Nick received the Bachelor’s degree in European History from the University of Pennsylvania, and the Master’s degree in History from the University of Vermont. Nick’s research and teaching interests are interdisciplinary, and at UVA Nick has designed and taught courses in three departments, including Music (“History of Rock and Roll”); Media Studies (“Popular Music and Media”); and Sociology (“Sociology of Music”). While a graduate student, Nick received the Music Department’s Graduate Teaching Award, the Fickensher-Pace Fellowship, and a Music Department Fellowship. He also received two Huskey Travel fellowships as a subsidy to present papers at national and international conferences. His paper at the 2008 meeting of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music U.S. chapter, “‘Your Better Alternative’: College Radio and the Popular Music Industry,” won first runner-up for the Graduate Student Paper Prize. Complementary service and leadership activities support Nick’s research and teaching; he has worked in a variety of capacities at various college and community radio stations and NPR affiliates. In Charlottesville, he has served UVA community station WTJU as Program Director, Music Director, Service Coordinator, and DJ, and has served on UVA’s Advisory Committee for WTJU since 2005, including two years as Committee Chair. He reviewed Sterling and Keith’s Sounds of Change: A History of FM Broadcasting in America, for the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and has contributed to several music blogs and newspapers, including Spinning Indie, Cville Muse (now defunct), wtjurock, and The Declaration.