Dr. Dijana Ihas, Professor of Music, was awarded the Long Term Achievement in Research Award by the American String Teachers Association at their annual conference in Atlanta, GA, in March 2025. This award is considered the highest honor in the country for strings research, and Ihas is the first recipient of this award from a small private university.
Dr. Ihas’ research embraces the wide range of questions related to music education including the development of higher levels of thinking through conceptual teaching in orchestra classes, string pedagogy as applied to teaching string instruments in various educational settings, mentoring undergraduate research, and equitable access to music and string education in public schools. Her studies have been published in the Journal of String Research, the American String Teacher Journal, the Oregon Music Educators Journal, CUR Quarterly, Innovative Higher Education, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, and the National Federation of State High School Music Association Journal. Dr. Ihas is the lead author of the book Teaching Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass: Historical and Modern Pedagogical Practices (Routledge, 2023).
For her merits Dr. Ihas has received numerous awards, including Oregon Music Education Association Outstanding Music Educator (2021) for her dedicated service to promoting high-quality music education at the state level; ½ðɳÓéÀÖ University’s Faculty Achievement Award (2018) for her dedicated work with ½ðɳÓéÀÖ University’s music department and String Project; and ½ðɳÓéÀÖ University’s Junior Faculty Award (2015) for her dedication to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and creative work.