Dr. Tiffany Naiman, Ph.D. appointed director as center broadens partnerships, career pathways and interdisciplinary initiatives
Los Angeles, CA | October 13, 2026
The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is expanding its role as a hub for industry engagement, scholarship and student career development with an ambitious slate of new programming for 2026–27. The center will welcome leading artists and executives to campus, launch new public events and strengthen professional pathways for students under the leadership of newly appointed director Dr. Tiffany Naiman.
“As an industry leader, Berry Gordy has always believed in opening doors for the next generation of creative talent,” said Carol Perrin, CEO of Berry Gordy companies. “Tiffany understands that vision and has the experience to build lasting connections between students and the music industry.”
The center supports The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s robust music industry program.
The appointment builds on the music industry program’s decade-long development under founder Robert Fink, who designed the undergraduate curriculum from the ground up, combining critical scholarship with direct engagement from artists, executives, producers, and entrepreneurs. Fink, a professor of musicology and scholar of popular music and technology, has chaired the program since its inception, shaping it into one of the country’s most distinctive interdisciplinary offerings in the field, and will continue in that role as Naiman takes on the center’s directorship.
“Dr. Naiman has years of experience in the entertainment industries, critical and theoretical training in cultural studies, and the vision and leadership to take the Berry Gordy Music Industry Center into its next chapter,” said Fink. “It will be an invaluable source of scholarship, enrichment, and connection that will have a profound impact on student success.”
Naiman will continue as director of undergraduate programs in music industry. She created the program’s senior capstone showcase and established its multi-day career fair. She has brought numerous industry professionals to campus, including Nabil Ayers, LP Giobbi, Peanut Butter Wolf, Sudan Archives, Nick Launay, David Zedeck, JoJamie Hahr, and Madame Gandhi.
“Naiman’s goals for the center align with our educational mission,” said Michael Beckerman, Dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. “We want to prepare our students to address the defining challenges of our time, from artificial intelligence and rapidly evolving technologies to environmental sustainability, mental health, and ethical leadership.”
This coming year, the center’s speaker series will welcome Jon Platt, Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Publishing, among other guests. The center will also partner with Gender Amplified on a two-day celebration of that organization’s twentieth anniversary.
For Earth Day 2027, it will convene leaders from music, touring, and environmental science to examine the industry’s environmental impact.
“Education transformed my own life, and that’s part of why Berry Gordy’s philosophy resonates with me,” Naiman said. “The center should be a place where the music industry comes to think, where scholarship informs practice and where students develop both the skills and the imagination to shape the industry’s future.”
ABOUT THE UCLA HERB ALPERT
The school of music prepares students for twenty-first century music careers. Home to renowned musical scholars, music industry experts and world-class musicians, educators and composers within one institution, the school of music offers students an interdisciplinary education that prizes music performance and scholarship while also emphasizing active engagement in the greater Los Angeles community. Esteeming all musical traditions as vital expressions of an evolving global society, the school of music boasts over 40 ensembles performing music from around the world. Founded in 2008 with a naming gift of $30 million from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the school of music was formally established as UCLA’s 12th professional school by the UC Regents in 2016. The school originally comprised the departments of ethnomusicology, music and musicology, and has since added interdisciplinary programs in global jazz studies and music industry, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance. School of music graduates and faculty members are recipients of prestigious MacArthur fellowships, Grammy Awards, and Emmy Awards, and are leaders as composers, musicians, and innovators in the music industry. Learn more at https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu
ABOUT THE BERRY GORDY MUSIC INDUSTRY CENTER
The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music brings together education, scholarship and direct engagement with the professional music community. Through academic programs, public events, mentorship and industry partnerships, the center prepares students to build meaningful careers and help shape the future of music. https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/resources/berry-gordy-music-industry-center/
ABOUT TIFFANY NAIMAN
Tiffany Naiman earned her Ph.D. in musicology from UCLA and has published widely on popular music, aging, disability, race, and cultural identity, with particular expertise in the music of David Bowie. A seasoned industry professional from a young age, she began her undergraduate education at 35 as a transfer student from Santa Monica College, earning four degrees from UCLA and teaching at Stanford, before returning to Westwood. https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/tiffany-naiman/