Dewar Named UA’s SEC Achievement Award Winner

Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, professor of interdisciplinary arts, was named the 2023 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award winner for The University of Alabama.

The SEC Faculty Achievement Award recognizes the exceptional teaching accomplishments and scholarly contributions of faculty at the conference’s member institutions.

Dewar is professor of interdisciplinary arts in UA’s New College, with a cross-appointment in the School of Music. He is a composer, soprano saxophonist, electronic musician, ethnomusicologist and arts organizer.

“Dr. Dewar is an incredible musician and world-renowned scholar in ethnomusicology,” said Dr. Jim Dalton, UA executive vice president and provost. “His creativity, talent and mentorship in music is an inspiration to students and listeners. UA is proud to recognize him as our nominee for SEC Professor of the Year.”

Dewar has performed internationally for more than 25 years, with over 200 performances and installations on five continents during his time at UA, including performances at the Venice Biennale di Musica, Berlin Jazzfest and Smithsonian Institution. His recordings as a composer and performer are available on numerous albums produced by record labels in the U.S. and Europe.

Dewar has presented his research at the annual meetings of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Society for American Music and American Musicological Society, as well as many international conferences. He’s been an invited lecturer at universities across the U.S., Canada, Greece, Sweden, and Germany.

Dewar has received grants and awards from numerous organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Chamber Music America, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others.

In 2019, Dewar was awarded the Robert M. Stevenson Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology, the premier award given by the society to composers who are also ethnomusicologists. He was awarded the UA President’s Research Award in May 2020. In 2021, he received a Fulbright Specialist Award to Bogotá, Colombia, and served as Fulbright Canada Research Chair at York University in Toronto, Canada, in 2022.