The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces that Mica Harrison Loosemore is joining the school as assistant dean of admissions, financial aid & enrollment management. Loosemore is a passionate arts advocate and administrator who brings to the role an impressive record of experience and success in performing arts admissions and financial aid.
Previously serving as the director of recruitment at Carnegie Mellon University’s Office of Admission, Loosemore’s professional background is in arts recruitment with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts; residential life; and leadership development, with a focus on mentorship.
“I am excited to welcome Mica to the SMTD community and look forward to working closely with her as she fills a position that is critical to the success of the school,” shared David Gier, dean and Paul Boylan Collegiate Professor of Music. “Mica will lead our outstanding admissions team as they support faculty in the recruitment of talented students, working closely with prospective students and their families as they navigate the college decision process. She is a strategic thinker with a collaborative mindset and will be a great partner in our work across the school.”
Before joining CMU’s Office of Admission, Loosemore served for four years as the inaugural director of recruitment and enrollment in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama. There, she expanded enrollment initiatives, developed a strategic plan for institutional funding and financial aid, and led and facilitated national efforts and community conversations promoting equity and access in the arts. Loosemore is a founding member of the Musical Theater Common Prescreen Requirements and presented on those efforts at the 2021 NACAC National Conference, the 2022 Musical Theatre Educators Association Conference, and the 2022 Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit. Prior to her post at Carnegie Mellon, she served for seven years at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan with positions in Academy Residence Life, Admissions, and the Costume Department. While there, she led admission initiatives for high school camp programs including music, dance, and theatre.
“The University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance offers a world-renowned education in the performing arts, and I am thrilled to join the team. The opportunities presented for students through the intense study with the professional artists and educators are inspiring,” said Loosemore. “At the heart of it, we are storytellers who shed light through music, dance, and theatre on the human experience. I look forward to partnering with the SMTD community to find and nurture the future generations of Wolverine performing artist storytellers.”
A professional fiber artist, Loosemore has exhibited at Jordan River Arts Council, Crooked Tree Arts Center (Traverse City) and Higher Art Gallery in Michigan; SOFA Gallery and the Lodge in Indiana; and Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Vermont. In 2022, she was awarded a residency at Orien Arts. Commissions include a permanent exhibition at Farm Bloomington and costumes for Winged Messenger with Martha Councell-Vargas at Western Michigan University School of Music.
She has collaborated with Parallel 45 Theatre, the Traverse City Dance Project, Interlochen Shakespeare Festival, IU Summer Theatre (previously Indiana University Festival Theatre), and Cardinal Stage Company. Costume designs include The Alphabet Experience, A Christmas Carol in Prose (2012 & 2016), Media, Cyrano, and The Shrew. She served as the costume director on Traverse City Treefort Collective’s film Thaw of the Dead, which won Best Feature Film and Best Feature Screenplay at the 2017 Terror Film Festival.
Loosemore holds a master of arts in design from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on user experience and transition design, and a bachelor of fine arts in fiber arts and a bachelor of arts in art history with a minor in Spanish from Indiana University, Bloomington.