Jacqueline Leary-Warsaw is the founding dean of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art. In 2018, Dr. Leary-Warsaw was appointed dean of The Catholic University of America’s first school for the visual and performing arts. Since that time, she has overseen the development and expansion of the Rome School’s operating budget, programs, facilities, and faculty and staff, while increasing the profile of the school, known widely for its exceptional training in the arts. Dr. Leary-Warsaw has overseen facility expansions, updates, and renovations of classroom, performance, exhibition, and administrative spaces within the school’s three historic buildings. Under her leadership, the Rome School has introduced innovative new undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, drama, and art. 

Dr. Leary-Warsaw is a tenured Ordinary (Full) Professor of Music at Catholic University.  She is known as a leader in arts education, but audiences around the world will also recognize her as the host of the popular television series In Concert on EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. As the producer, writer, and on-air host of In Concert, she has worked with Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI, Italy), EuroArts (Germany) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS, United States), among others.  She previously served as the Chair of the Department of Music and Artistic Director of the Conservatory of Fine and Performing Arts at Birmingham-Southern College, where she taught for 18 years.  Dr. Leary-Warsaw has also served on the faculties of the College of Southern Maryland, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Montevallo. 

As a classical soprano, Dr. Leary-Warsaw has been heard in operatic, concert and recital performances throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Her scholarly interests focus on American French art song, vocal pedagogy, women composers, and sacred music.  Since 2013, she has been a regular contributor to Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, having published numerous reviews on books related to vocal performance and literature, musicology, composition, and aesthetics.  Her research and published writings include works about 19th-century French art song of New Orleans, vocal works by women composers, children’s opera, perfectionism in musicians, and sacred music of the Catholic Church.

Dr. Leary-Warsaw serves on the advisory boards of the American Federation Pueri Cantores, the Washington International Piano Festival, and the International Young Artist Piano Competition. She also serves as a mentor for the Given Institute.  Dr. Leary-Warsaw is a member of the Global Connections Committee of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans, the American Conference of Academic Deans, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.  She was awarded the National Society of Arts and Letters’ Medal of Honor for her work with famed conductor and opera director Sarah Caldwell as part of the NSAL Career Awards Competition.  Dr. Leary-Warsaw holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Louisville, a Master of Music degree from The Catholic University of America, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.