ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Students at the Univeristy of Michigan will get the opportunity to be taught by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chris Vrenna this fall.
The former Nine Inch Nails drummer and Grammy-winning musician joins the university’s faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts Technology.
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“It is both exciting and humbling to be joining the renowned faculty at the University of Michigan as an assistant professor of music in the PAT department,” Vrenna said in a statement.
“My father is a Michigan alumnus. He and I would spend Saturday afternoons watching Michigan football, so I grew up a Wolverines fan. This opportunity to become a professor at Michigan and move to Ann Arbor feels like a homecoming for me.”
Vrenna is known as a former drummer of Nine Inch Nails but has also performed with Guns N’ Roses and Gnarls Barkley. He has worked with internationally known musicians including Evanescence, Hole, Rob Zombie, U2 and Weezer.
His musical compositions can also be heard in numerous video games like Call of Duty: ExoZombies and Doom 3.
Vrenna holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Ohio and a master’s degree in music technology from Southern Utah University.
He has previously been a faculty member at Athens State University, Calhoun College, the Madison Media Institute, Southern Utah University and University of Alabama.
Department of Performing Arts Technology department chair Sile O’Modhrain said Vrenna will bring a lifetime of experiences with him. He will help restructure undergraduate recording curriculum and will add new courses to the university’s repertoire.
“I cannot wait for the fall semester to start, and I am looking forward to meeting the faculty, staff, and students in August,” Vrenna said in a statement. “Go Blue!”