Joe Searle

Dr. Joe Searle has served as director of the Governor's Honors Program since March 1, 1996. This appointment followed his 27 month tenure as Music Consultant for the Georgia Department of Education. Before joining the Department, he served as Dean and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music (Chicago, IL); Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Instrumental Music Education at Shenandoah College and Conservatory (Winchester, VA); and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).

Dr. Searle holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in music education from The University of Michigan (1985), a Master of Music Education Degree from VanderCook College of Music (1978), and a Bachelor of Music degree from Berry College (1974). He was an instrumental music teacher in the Georgia Public Schools from 1974 to 1982. Dr. Searle was a Governor's Honors Program participant himself in the area of music. In 2002, Dr. Joe received the Georgia Assocciation for Gifted Children's Margaret Bynum Award, at the association's annual conference. The Award is presented to an organization or an individual who has made an outstaning contribution to gifted education in the State of Georgia. Margaret Bynum was the first director of GHP.