Dr. Patricia J. Hoy has served as the Director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis for the past six years. During her tenure, she has guided signature initiatives that have aligned the school with strategic goals of the university, as well as developing a unique brand linked with the entrepreneurial spirit embodied in the indigenous music of Memphis area. Throughout her tenure, she has communicated the mission and vision of the School of Music broadly, capturing the imagination of a strategic and broad range of leaders in business, education, technology, and the performing arts. Her efforts to promote collaborative opportunities within the university and the community at large have yielded vital initiatives that will continue to unfold for many years to come. Her innovative team building structure has allowed the School of Music to operate in a collaborative, supportive, and respectful environment. While serving as director, her steady influence has allowed the school to reach heretofore unprecedented heights. For example, international programs have expanded and the balance of students is now spread among all areas in the school. This initiative has ensured a more diverse and vibrant community for the school, along with higher quality of performance experiences. Moreover, the increased number of undergraduate and graduate music majors has provided an appropriate critical mass to more effectively offer the breadth of degree offerings.

Prior to coming to Memphis, Dr. Hoy served for seventeen years as director of bands and professor of music at Northern Arizona University. While at NAU, she served as interim associate dean, as well as interim director of the school of performing arts. She was elected into membership in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and was awarded the Faculty Artist Award from the Northern Arizona University Chapter. Her wide ranging career has included studio, pop, jazz, freelance performance, orchestral performance, orchestral and wind conducting, along with teaching and administration. She received the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in performance from the University of Redlands and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in conducting from the University of Arizona. As an educator, Dr. Hoy was awarded the O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award presented by the Arizona Music Educators Association and the Tau Beta Sigma Outstanding Service to Music Award in recognition of her national contribution to music and music education. In 1996, she was elected into the exclusive membership of the American Bandmasters Association. As a guest conductor, Dr. Hoy has appeared with high school, college, semi-professional, and professional bands and orchestras in more than twenty states. Dr. Hoy's wind and chamber recordings of music by African-American composers often have been featured on broadcasts throughout the United States, in Canada, and on BBC radio.

Dr. Hoy is on leave during the 2008-09 academic year.