Texas Tech University

Janice Killian

Professor of Music
2002-2020
Janice Killian

Dr. Janice Killian served as Professor of Music Education in the School of Music at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas where she teached doctoral, masters, and undergraduate music education majors, and conducts music education research. A South Dakota native, she earned the Bachelor in Music Education at the University of Kansas, the MA at the University of Connecticut, and the PhD at The University of Texas-Austin.

Killian is an experienced public school educator focusing primarily on the junior high choral experience, teaching grades K-12 in Kansas, Connecticut, Minnesota and Texas as well as in higher education at the State University of New York-Buffalo, and Texas Woman's University, where she chaired the music department. She is recipient of numerous teaching and research awards, including the Mary Mason Lyons prize for outstanding teaching, research and service at Texas Woman's University, the 2010 Barnie E. Rushing, Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award from Texas Tech's College of Visual and Performing Arts, and in 2011 the prestigious Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching Award from Texas Tech.

Killian served as chair of the Society for Research in Music Education, chairs the Executive Committee for Music Education Research, the oversight body of all matters involving research for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). She is former head of the College Division of the Texas Music Educators Association.

Janice Killian was academic editor-in-chief of the Journal of Music Teacher Education, the premier journal in music education related to music teacher preparation. The editor of the Journal of Music Teacher Education authors an editorial for each issue, guides the nine-person editorial peer review board, and makes all final publication decisions involving the JMTE. The editor serves as liaison between NAfME and Sage Publications, publisher of all NAfME journals, acts as representative of JMTE to the National Executive Board of NAfME and sits on the Executive Board of the Society for Music Teacher Education, the governing body of JMTE. The JMTE editor serves a six-year term, and in this long-term leadership position, has both the opportunity and the responsibility to influence scholarship related to music teacher preparation for the entire music education profession.

Killian has served on numerous national and international editorial review boards including Journal of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, Music Education Research International, Psychology of Music, and Texas Music Education Research. She is an invited member of the International Symposium for Research in Music Behavior. Killian publishes frequently in major music education research journals including: Journal of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research for Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research on Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and Texas Music Education Research Reports as well as practitioner publications, on the topics of the adolescent voice and music educator preparation. She is co-author of Essential Elements for Choir, a textbook series for grades 6-12 choirs published by Hal Leonard, and senior author of the Teacher Resource Kit for Essential Elements for Choir.

Based on her extensive K-12 teaching experience, Killian is particularly well known for her ability to translate research results to music education practitioners. Thus she is in demand as a presenter at state, national and international music education venues. Most notably, due to the efforts of the music education team at Texas Tech, students graduating with music education degrees have achieved remarkable success as K-12 educators, church musicians, and university professors.