The UIUC Director of Orchestras, Dr. Carolyn Watson, was hired by the university in 2022 and immediately granted tenure. Since then, her students and TAs have experienced abuse, intimidation, and retaliation at her hand. For over a year, students tried to go through university channels to correct this abusive behavior, including Title IX, HR, OAE (Office of Access and Equity), and two School of Music Directors. Despite their efforts, this pattern of abusive behavior continued.

We, the UIUC Musicians for a Better Orchestra (UMBO), are a collective of students from across the orchestra department and the School of Music at large. We have come together with the common goals of creating a safer working / learning environment and restoring integrity in the program, and we believe that the only way to accomplish that is to call for the University of Illinois' College of Fine and Applied Arts to remove Dr. Watson from her role as the Director of Orchestras.

Exploitation of TA Labor: Dr. Watson has consistently failed to adequately prepare or do the necessary work to effectively run her programs, forcing her TAs to pick up her slack and work 40+ hours a week on top of their academics. Labor grievances have been filed through GEO (Graduate Employee's Organization).

Academic and Professional Retaliation: Dr. Watson has responded to TAs and administration who disagree with her by retaliating against them both academically and professionally. This includes unfair grading practices and semester reviews, and comments made to prospective students and colleagues framing her TAs as bad students and difficult to work with.

Disrespect for Student Feedback and Privacy: Dr. Watson has repeatedly dismissed and disrespected student feedback and privacy, and has used her power as a faculty member and conductor to humiliate and intimidate students who disagree with her musical interpretations or program decisions.

We, the UIUC Musicians for a Better Orchestra, are relieved to hear that Dr. Carolyn Watson will not be returning to the podium and will be on leave for the 2024-2025 academic year. We demonstrated the power of collective action by collecting over a thousand signatures calling for her removal, marching to deliver the petition to the Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, meeting collectively with University Administration, filling labor grievances through the Graduate Employees’ Organization and complaints through the Office of Access and Equity, and sharing our story with the media.

Together with our allies on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community, we were able to improve our working and learning conditions. However, we will not accept Dr. Watson’s return in the Fall of 2025 and will continue to organize against it throughout the year. Even though many of us might have graduated from our respective programs by the end of this academic year, we believe it is imperative to advocate for those that come after us. Unfortunately, the abuse that we endured is not uncommon in academia and the music industry, and we encourage others to also take a stand and demand to be treated with respect and dignity.

Read more about our campaign here!