- Erica Muhl, 61, left her post at the prestigious school without explanation in July
- Since then claims she bullied staff and was rarely seen on campus have surfaced
- Her lawyer refuted the rumors and defended her $250,000 inaugural concert
The first female boss of one of America’s top musical schools has been accused of bullying and profligacy after she mysteriously quit just two years into the role.
Erica Muhl, 61, left her post at Boston’s world-renowned Berklee College of Music without explanation earlier this year with the millionaire California native and her former employer both remaining tight-lipped.
But a damaging investigation by the Boston Globe alleges Muhl – who was paid $362,000-a-year – was an ‘abrasive, domineering bully’ and that during her brief tenure 11 staffers quit.
She was also accused of rarely being on campus, with some co-workers also angered by a lavish $250,000 concert held at one of Boston’s most prestigious venues to welcome her to the school. It was one of two ‘welcome’ concerts – the other of which cost an estimated $25,000 – which saw critics slam Muhl’s arrival as akin to a ‘coronation.’
Despite the cost, the event is said to have been poorly-attended – although music icon Gloria Estefan was among audience members.
The California-born composer, who hails from a family of giants in the art and music world, has now sold her new-build $3 million Massachusetts mansion to return to her home state.
In the three months since her departure was announced, anonymous Berklee staff members have spoken about alleged bullying – while students say Muhl was seldom seen on campus despite raking in a $362,675 salary.
In response to claims she bullied staff, Muhl told the newspaper through her attorney that ‘leadership styles vary, and change of any kind engenders different responses’.
Muhl began at Berklee in June 2021, pledging to ‘disrupt the status quo’ as she took the mantle from her predecessor Roger Brown, who had led the college for 17 years.
She was hired despite question marks over her handling of a 2015 incident at the USC Roski School of Art and Design, when she was dean.
The entire graduate class from the fine arts program quit in protest over what they called the ‘sheltering of a highly paid administrator (Muhl) who has operated unethically by breaking funding and curricular promises to students’ in a petition.
Muhl’s lawyer H James Hartley disputed the students’ characterization of her actions, telling the Globe she ‘enjoyed a highly successful 30-year career at USC’.
Berklee trustees were reportedly impressed by Muhl’s vision for the school and her fundraising after she created a cutting-edge program at USC endowed by a $70 million donation from record exec Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop artist Dr Dre.
But her anonymous critics told the Globe she was ‘dismissive,’ ‘domineering,’ and ‘bullying’ in staff meetings.
Although Berklee staff members were reluctant to discuss Muhl on the record and the college still hasn’t outlined a reason for her departure, in an echo of her experience at USC, students had a lot to say.
Pianist and singer Marco Tewlow, a junior at the school, said pupils are becoming ‘increasingly upset’ about the ‘lack of transparency’ especially given the $48,830 price-tag for a year’s tuition.
‘Honestly, Erica is a specter that still seems to haunt the school,’ he told the Globe.
Berklee senior Simon Safran said many students are ‘frustrated and angry’, while blasting the eye-watering cost of Muhl’s inaugural concert.
‘There are a lot of places that money could have been used instead of celebrating a person who was gone after two years,’ Safran said to the Globe.
In response, Muhl said welcome concerts are ‘common academic ceremonies, akin to commencements,’ and the events at Symphony Hall and MGM Music Hall showcased the talents of Berklee students and faculty.
Speaking at the inauguration event, which took place earlier this year, Muhl said: ‘Our work ahead will not be easy, but disrupting the status quo never is…
‘But this is a community of defiant groundbreakers who are no strangers to opposition, and together we will grab that momentum and harness its power.’
However, it seems the ‘opposition’ she was envisaging was brewing against Muhl herself, and two months later she was gone.
Although an employee reshuffle is customary when a new boss takes the helm, she faced a mass exodus of at least 11 senior staff members.
Those who departed included senior VP of strategy and innovation Panos Panay, VP for technology resources David Gregory, Andy Vores, vice president for academic affairs/chief academic officer, and chief financial officer Richard Hisey.
Senior director at the Boston Conservatory Dana Grider, VP of academic strategy Carin Nuernberg, and VP for enrollment management and marketing Mike King followed.
Also among the deserters were assistant VP Mike Magee, senior VP and executive director of Boston Conservatory Cathy Young, and VP for technology resources David Gregory.
Addressing the departures in her statement to the Globe, Muhl said: ‘Many individuals thrive during times of change and others take the opportunity to leave an organization.’
She also refuted the claim made by several faculty and students that she was rarely on campus, with her attorney H James Hartley saying that she may not have been recognized amid crowds on the densely-populated college grounds.
‘Berklee’s Boston campus is an urban one, which makes it less likely to be seen or noticed while moving about,’ Hartley wrote in an email to the paper.
‘Muhl was sometimes recognized by students and faculty, sometimes not.’
She has now sold her $3 million home in Newton, an affluent city approximately seven miles west of downtown Boston, to move back to Los Angeles.
DailyMail.com has contacted Muhl’s lawyer and Berklee for comment.
