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Biography

Faculty Member Since 2008

Paula Grissom-Broughton, Ph.D., is a distinguished scholar, musician, and educator whose work explores the intersections of music, race, and gender. She currently serves as assistant professor of music at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½, where she previously chaired the Department of Music. At Spelman, she teaches courses on women, race, and music, fostering critical conversations on identity, culture, and representation in the arts. A proud alumna of ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½, she also holds a Master of Music from Northwestern University and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University. 

Before returning to her alma mater, Dr. Grissom-Broughton taught piano, music history, and music theory at Winston-Salem State University. During her tenure in North Carolina, she was a featured performer for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Focus on Piano Conference and at the Winston-Salem Delta Arts Center, where she presented works by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer George Walker. A former winner of the Atlanta Steinway Piano Competition, she remains an active collaborative pianist, performing across the country as a versatile musician, guest clinician, and presenter. 

Her scholarship has been showcased at local, national, and international conferences, including the National Association for Music Education and the Society for Music Theory, where she has advanced conversations on race and gender in the music classroom. Her newly released book, , examines the unique pedagogies, cultural assets, and historical legacies of music programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Grissom-Broughton’s contributions to music education extend well beyond the college campus. She has served as a music specialist and choral instructor for Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools, where she also designed and taught innovative music courses for After-School Development Programs throughout the district. Whether on stage, in the classroom, or in community settings, she continues to inspire through her artistry, scholarship, and commitment to cultivating spaces where music affirms identity and empowers lives.

Paula A. Grissom-Broughton Curriculum Vitae

Education

• D.M.A., Boston University

• M.M., Northwestern University

• B.A., ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½

Courses Taught

• Class Piano (SMUS 124)

• Women and Music (SMUS 130)

• Fundamentals of Music (SMUS 100)

• Intro to Music Technology (SMUS 200)

• Survey of African-American Music (SMUS 240)

• Survey of Music Business and Entrepreneurship (SMUS 203)

• Materials and Methods of Teaching Music (SMUS/SEDU 346)

• Glee Club Accompanist

Select Publications

• Grissom-Broughton, P. (2025). Beyond the notes: Teaching and learning music at historically Black colleges and universities. Emerald Publications.

• Grissom-Broughton, P. (2025). In her voice: (Re)visioning race and gender in the music classroom through the lens of Black feminist pedagogy. In C. Cayari, J. Thompson, & R. Rajan (Eds.). If colors could be heard, they’d paint wondrous tunes: Narratives about music education, race, ethnicity, and identity (pp. 28-38). The University of Chicago Press.

• Grissom-Broughton, P. (2023). (Re)imagining jazz education through the lens of Black feminist pedagogy. Women & Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture, 27, pp. 51-61.  

• Grissom-Broughton, P. (2021). (Re)visioning race & gender in music theory and composition: The role of music educators. Theory and Practice, 46, pp. 119-124.

• Grissom-Broughton, P. (2020). A matter of race and gender: An examination of an undergraduate music program through the lens of feminist pedagogy and Black feminist pedagogy. Research Studies in Music Education, 42(2), 160–176.

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