Dr Paul Lehman, Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Music, has had a most distinguished career in music education both nationally and internationally. Music educators in the United States consider Paul Lehman our "national music education treasure", but his contributions have been worldwide. Since 1984 he has given more than 200 addresses in 44 states of the U.S. and in Britain, Canada, Australia, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, Korea, Japan, Finland, Singapore, and South Africa. He has to his credit more than 150 articles, reviews, books, and chapters in books on education reform, curriculum, teacher education, and measurement and evaluation, including works translated into German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
His contributions to the International Society for Music Education have been extraordinary. Dr Lehman attended his first ISME conference in 1966 and since that time has attended all but six world conferences. In addition to the conferences, he has been very active in the commissions. He was invited to give a paper at the first seminar of the first ISME Commission, the Research Commission in1968, and since that time has participated in the activities of five of the seven commissions.
Dr Lehman served on the ISME Board of Directors for two terms from 1988 to 1992. He drafted the ISME Declaration of Beliefs, chaired the ISME Constitution Revision Committee, and most recently served as a member of the Committee to Review the ISME Commission Structure. He also served as national president of MENC, ISME's national affiliate in the United States from 1984-86. The esteem in which Dr Lehman is held internationally is evidenced by his being nominated as a candidate for President of ISME in 1998.
While Paul Lehman is considered to be one of the most significant contributors to American music education in the past three decades, his accomplishments and dedication to our profession cross all borders and boundaries.