Franklin College Dean Named To Indianapolis Opera Board of Directors

Release date: June 30, 2010

David Brailow, vice president of academic affairs and dean at Franklin College, was recently named to serve on the Indianapolis Opera board of directors.

Brailow was nominated to serve on the board by retiring board member John K. Bradburn. He was formally invited to serve on the board by Garry Fredericksen, president of the board of directors for the Indianapolis Opera, and John Pickett, executive director of the Indianapolis Opera.

"This is particularly meaningful service for me not only because of my love for opera and the performing arts generally, but also because of my aunt, Martha Lipton, who was a Metropolitan Opera star in the fifties and taught at the IU School of Music for thirty years. I am serving the board in her memory," Brailow said. "I am also looking forward to forging closer relationships between the college and the IO and other Indianapolis arts organizations."

Brailow joined Franklin College in 2001. Before coming to Franklin, he taught and served as an administrator at McKendree College in southwestern Illinois for 19 years. He attended Amherst College for his undergraduate degree. He also holds a master's degree and a doctorate in English from the University of Oregon. His first full-time teaching position was at Wake Forest University.

The Indianapolis Opera Ensemble is the only professional opera company in Indiana. Founded in 1975, it has presented over 100 operatic productions. The company of five professional artists is chosen through national auditions. They perform classic European operas and more recent American works. Indianapolis Opera is a member of OPERA America, Inc., the support organization for professional opera companies. For more information about the Indianapolis Opera, visit www.indyopera.org.

Founded 175 years ago in 1834, Franklin College is a residential four-year undergraduate liberal arts institution with a scenic, wooded campus located 20 minutes south of downtown Indianapolis. The college prepares men and women for significant careers through the liberal arts, offering its 1,047 students 36 majors, including biology, business, education and journalism. In 1842, the college began admitting women, becoming the first coeducational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA.