Richard C. Gipson came to TCU in 2002, serving first as Director of and professor in the School of Music (2002-2018), and then as Dean of the College of Fine Arts (2018-2022). That followed a 26-year career at the University of Oklahoma, primarily in his teaching and creative roles as a percussionist but also in administrative positions of note. During his tenure as TCU School of Music director enrollments doubled, faculty size doubled, the physical facilities expanded significantly, and the university ultimately embraced the goal of creating a world-class facility to serve the School and it’s trajectory. He continued to teach and conduct his entire tenure as director. As Dean of the TCU College of Fine Arts he oversaw the planning and construction of two major buildings (with significant attendant fundraising), the planning of a complete renovation of Ed Landreth Hall, the maintenance (and in fact increase) of enrollment throughout the pandemic, and the general collegiality, well-being and high levels of productivity on the part of both the faculty and students in the College of Fine Arts.

From 1976-2002 he was Professor of Percussion at the University of Oklahoma, where he also held several administrative positions, including Director of the School of Music (six years), Executive Assistant to the President (two years), and Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (one year). Dr. Gipson performed as timpanist and percussionist for more than 30 years with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Oklahoma Symphony, and the Austin and Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestras.

He holds a doctorate from Penn State University, and undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Texas. In addition to TCU and OU, he taught percussion at the University of Texas, Central Missouri State University, Susquehanna University, and Penn State University. His more than 30 original compositions and arrangements for marimba and percussion ensemble are published by Southern Music Company, Studio 4 Productions, Columbia Pictures Publications, Keyboard Percussion Publications, and the OU Percussion Press, and his four commercial compact disc recordings with the OU Percussion Orchestra helped set the standard for performance and recording in that genre. He commissioned and/or premiered more than three dozen works for percussion orchestra and ensemble, including some of the now iconic works for percussion. While at OU, the OU Percussion Orchestra was competitively selected to perform at the Percussive Arts Society’s International Conventions in 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2001.

In 2017 he received the Lifetime Achievement in Education Award from the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) and was named Music Administrator of the Year by the College Orchestra Directors Association. Dr. Gipson is a member of PAS and NASM, the National Association of Schools of Music, where he served on the Board of Directors and as a visiting evaluator chair.