Robert T. Townsend is a professor in the School of Educational Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is also a musician and composer/arranger. Dr. Townsend’s duties include teaching, mentoring and supervising pre-service teachers in education and graduate students.

His teaching credentials are from Western Michigan University where he majored in music and received the  Michigan All Grade license in music and all subjects’ endorsement for grades 7 and 8. After moving to the Indianapolis area, he attended Indiana University-Bloomington and completed the Master of Music Education degree. There he studied conducting under Prof. Jan Harrington and Prof. Robert Porco. He completed the Ph.D. in Education (Secondary) at the University of Illinois. His advisors included Dr. Joe Grant, Dr. Eve Harwood, and the late Dr. Eunice Boardman.

Dr. Townsend has 15 years of public and  private school (P-12) experience and over 11 years of university teaching experience. He serves as Founder and board member of The Performing Arts Conservatory; an after-school pro-gram helping youth to perfect their gifts and talents in the performing arts (www.tpacindy.org). The organization is working toward opening a performing arts secondary school in the Indianapolis Metropolitan area.