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>> This is James Newberry,

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and we're here again for
Part 2 of my interview with

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Dean Joseph Meeks and

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the founding Dean,
College of The Arts.

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This is Thursday August 24,

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2017 at the Sturgis Library.

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I'm glad to have you back.

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>> Thank you so much, James.

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>> So we're going to pick
up where we left off.

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And that really is

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your introduction to what
was then Kennesaw College.

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Can you tell me a
little bit about that?

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>> Yes.

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In 1974,

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I would have to say
that I had heard

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about Kennesaw Junior College

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prior to that time
because I had a friend

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who was teaching here,
but I had not been here.

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And so as I started
my journey away from

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Clark College to considering

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where my career would go next,

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I started to meet musicians in

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the Atlanta area as I moved over

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to Georgia State University
and started another degree.

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And one woman that I met,

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a singer of soprano,

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who was a graduate of
Northwestern University.

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Her name was Donna Angel.

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And Donna had heard me accompany

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a Georgia State student in

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her recital and she
wanted to work with me.

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So we started rehearsing

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and she was very talented

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and we enjoyed the relationship.

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And then she said,
I have been invited

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to sing a recital at
Kennesaw Junior College.

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Would you please come
and accompany me?

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So I readily accepted,
said, of course,

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because I was eager at

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this point to start
performing again,

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to be involved in
the music community.

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I felt as if I had been
in a isolation and

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had not had the opportunity
to perform as much.

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So I said, oh, yes.

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And of course, I had no idea

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anything about Kennesaw
Junior College.

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So our time arrived to
come and do the recital.

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And so I arrived at
this main campus,

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which was three small buildings
sitting in a pasture.

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There was no sense of entry or

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no sense of exit.
You just arrived.

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And these three
small buildings had,

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you could say three stories,

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but one pretty much
was underground.

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So they were small and then,

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of course, it was very rural,

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and this whole area was.

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What you see today is

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absolutely way beyond what
things looked like in 1974.

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So with this rural county,

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rural town, many friends
would say to me,

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I never go across the river.

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Or I don't go outside
the perimeter.

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So I was definitely
outside the perimeter and

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I had definitely
crossed the river.

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But it was one of the
best crossings I ever

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made because I arrived.

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We did the recital to

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about 150 people from

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the community who came
to hear this recital.

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There was a thirst
for the arts here.

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And in those days,

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the only place we had to perform

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was in the original
Student Center.

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That building is
still here on campus,

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and it served as a cafeteria,

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a place for meetings,

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lectures, and concerts
in the evening.

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So a lot had to take place

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that Linoleum tile had
to be scrubbed and

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polished and piano had
to be rented and brought

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in and chairs had to be

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assembled and you
did the recital.

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But what a wonderful
first experience,

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because Donna sang
beautifully and I

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enjoyed thoroughly accompanying
her in that recital.

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But it was the audience,

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the community, the engagement

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that took place that evening.

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Shortly after that, I was

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invited back to play
a solo recital,

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which I readily did again

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and I came and had
the same experience.

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A large population of the
community came to the recital.

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And so from then on,

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I was here a lot, playing,
accompanying, performing.

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And this really was
the beginning of my

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seeing a possibility of
being here to teach.

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Young people were coming up
to me after the concert,

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saying, I want to
study piano with you.

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Now, that would be wonderful.

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So very shortly after that,

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Dr. Wayne Gibson, who was
the program coordinator.

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You must know that

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in those days we didn't
have departments.

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We didn't have schools,
we didn't have colleges.

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We had programs, and there
was a music program.

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Dr. Wayne Gibson, graduate
from Northwestern University,

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PhD in music history,

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he was a musicologist,

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kept inviting me to
come and participate

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in the music that they were
making here in this campus,

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small campus at the time.

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Still sitting on 150 acres,

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which allowed us to grow.

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So he then invited me to
come and teach a part time.

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And so I agreed to do that.

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And I was amazed
at the number of

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students he assigned to me.

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There was a real
excitement about the fact

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that they were offering
music courses.

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Because when I
arrived, there was

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only one large room
dedicated to music.

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And in that large room,

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we had a college chorus,

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risers for them to stand
down and to rehearse.

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We had a piano that
had possibly been in

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a shipwreck because it was
so poorly put together.

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And the only thing

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that was being taught
was music appreciation,

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chorus, and students wanting
to study applied music.

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So I came, I started
teaching these students.

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And then Dr. Gibson
had the vision in 1974

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and '75 and '76 in
that time frame,

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that he wanted to design
a music curriculum,

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and I was very
excited about that.

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This was a wonderful opportunity

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to participate and be involved

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in something that was
beginning and would grow.

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The opportunity that
you have with that

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is that nothing has
been carved in stone.

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It hasn't had 100 years or

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50 years of just
getting put in place.

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So you had the opportunity
to create and to develop and

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to dream about what could
be for a music program.

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So I joined him in that effort

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and we would teach and
then in the evenings,

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we'd have dinner, and
then we would work on

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designing music curriculum

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till 2:00 and 3:00
in the morning.

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Because we wanted to expand,

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even though we were
still a junior college

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and we could offer an
associate's degree in music,

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we did not have a curriculum
to go beyond that.

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So we designed it and we
got approval to start

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offering music theory
1 and music theory 2,

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along with the music
appreciation classes

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and the applied lessons.

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We also started adding

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part time faculty to teach

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other instruments besides piano,

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for flute and for guitar,

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and so there was a real
excitement about all of this,

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for the community, for us.

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And in the present day,

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we talk about community
engagement a lot.

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But we were always about
community engagement.

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Had we not been engaged
in the community,

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we would not be here today.

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We would not have flourished
in the way that we did.

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And I believe that with
all of our programs,

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but particularly for those
of us who were in the arts.

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Those programs got accepted,

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and then because of the growth,

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they assigned us three
more classrooms.

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We grew from 1-4.

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And in those four classrooms,

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we taught private lessons,

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we taught classes, music theory,

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and all of this was housed in

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what was the original
humanities building,

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which is connected to what
university college is today.

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All of the humanities were
taught in that building,

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foreign languages,
English literature,

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art, one theater professor,

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one art professor, maybe one
part time person in art.

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And so we were one
big happy family.

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It was a young college,
a young faculty,

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and a closeness that we all

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enjoyed in the
friendships that we

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made and the support we were
able to give each other,

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which became the catalyst
to move even further.

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So that was going quite well.

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And I was on the
part time faculty,

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and Dr. John Grider was

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the chair of the
Humanities Division.

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We did have divisions,

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as I mentioned earlier, not

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colleges and schools
and departments,

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but we had the
Humanities Division and

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within that division,
these different programs.

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So Dr. Grider was

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a wonderful leader and very

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supportive of what we
were doing in music.

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And he just was so excited
about what we were doing.

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And of course,

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we're dreaming bigger and
bigger and the opportunity

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came for us to

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inherit the old and the
original maintenance building,

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which is still there.

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Still houses some of the
music faculty and classes.

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It's a small building,

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what was the original
maintenance building.

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We renovated it, gutted it,

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created classrooms, music
studios that were soundproof,

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did an addition on the back that

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would serve as a
large classroom,

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rehearsal room, which we

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then were able to
do concerts there.

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Now, in that transition
from moving from

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the student center to having

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our own space in this renovated
maintenance building.

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In the James Carmichael
student center,

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there was a conference
room upstairs,

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and it was a place for
meetings for all gatherings.

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But it was large
enough for us to

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start doing some
of our concerts.

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So once again, we'd
put out the chairs,

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pull the drapery
across the wall,

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put a piano in the room and
we'd start doing concerts.

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So the program continued to

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grow in terms of having
faculty recitals,

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guest artists recitals, and
we were gaining visibility,

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which was critical
to our growth.

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So once we moved into

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the renovated maintenance
building and put

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the sign out music and
that we had our own place,

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we had put down a stake
that was significant for us

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that we had studios
that were soundproof,

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practice rooms for the students,

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classrooms and a place
to rehearse and perform.

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And so that was really the
beginnings of our becoming,

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our moving towards being
a music department.

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>> And when were you
hired full time?

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>> I was hired full time
in January of 1975.

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>> So what would you say

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your goals were for the
program at that time?

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>> The goals for me
at that program was

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to have someone like Dr. Gibson

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who was excited about building

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something and the opportunity

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that I could be a part of that.

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I felt that I had
been stagnating.

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I felt that I had not been
able to contribute in a way

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that would fulfill my
soul as a musician.

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So at that moment,

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when he and I would talk,

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we both could just get so
excited about what we could do.

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And I will have to say
that unless you have

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upper administration supporting
your goals and dreams,

261
00:14:40,510 --> 00:14:42,130
you don't get very far.

262
00:14:42,130 --> 00:14:46,570
And we have been really
blessed at Kennesaw to have

263
00:14:46,570 --> 00:14:49,060
had a president from

264
00:14:49,060 --> 00:14:51,460
the first president,
Dr. O'Hara Sturgis,

265
00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:52,660
to our second president,

266
00:14:52,660 --> 00:14:56,065
Dr. Betty Siegel, to
our third president,

267
00:14:56,065 --> 00:14:57,910
Dr. Daniel Pap and

268
00:14:57,910 --> 00:15:01,360
now our current president
President Sam Olens

269
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,690
who were supportive of the arts,

270
00:15:04,690 --> 00:15:06,580
who applauded what we were

271
00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:10,105
doing and wanted us to succeed,

272
00:15:10,105 --> 00:15:11,950
not holding us back.

273
00:15:11,950 --> 00:15:18,970
Dr. Sturgis and his wife
attended every concert we did.

274
00:15:18,970 --> 00:15:20,380
In the first year I was here,

275
00:15:20,380 --> 00:15:25,015
I did 15 faculty concerts.

276
00:15:25,015 --> 00:15:29,080
We had a community
orchestra and it was

277
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:34,430
called the Cobb
Symphony Orchestra.

278
00:15:34,470 --> 00:15:37,795
Betty Bennett was the conductor.

279
00:15:37,795 --> 00:15:41,350
She had started in her living
room with that orchestra.

280
00:15:41,350 --> 00:15:44,425
She was a flutist or floutist,

281
00:15:44,425 --> 00:15:46,690
whichever you prefer, and she

282
00:15:46,690 --> 00:15:49,585
started to teach
private lessons for us.

283
00:15:49,585 --> 00:15:51,700
She involved the orchestra.

284
00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:55,165
We developed a partnership
with the community orchestra.

285
00:15:55,165 --> 00:16:00,040
I performed several concertos
with the orchestra.

286
00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:01,690
They would come on the campus,

287
00:16:01,690 --> 00:16:03,715
and when we built the
new student center,

288
00:16:03,715 --> 00:16:05,965
James Carmichael Student Center.

289
00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:07,960
We clear out the floors after

290
00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,375
the cafeteria and
in the evenings,

291
00:16:10,375 --> 00:16:11,410
we'd put in the seats,

292
00:16:11,410 --> 00:16:15,440
bring in the piano and
we'd play concerts there.

293
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,345
But Dr. Sturgis was
very supportive.

294
00:16:19,345 --> 00:16:23,710
When he retired he and
his wife went abroad for

295
00:16:23,710 --> 00:16:26,275
the first time and

296
00:16:26,275 --> 00:16:29,680
my faculty recital
fell during that time.

297
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,005
The minute he was back,

298
00:16:32,005 --> 00:16:35,275
he called me on the
phone and he said, Joe,

299
00:16:35,275 --> 00:16:39,370
I just want you to know
that how sorry Sue and

300
00:16:39,370 --> 00:16:43,735
I were that we were not able
to attend your recital,

301
00:16:43,735 --> 00:16:45,445
but we had never been abroad,

302
00:16:45,445 --> 00:16:47,890
and we had this opportunity.

303
00:16:47,890 --> 00:16:51,010
And so that support and

304
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:56,875
that advocacy made
you want to be here.

305
00:16:56,875 --> 00:17:00,595
So Dr. Sturgis had retired and

306
00:17:00,595 --> 00:17:05,875
then we launched a search
for the next president.

307
00:17:05,875 --> 00:17:09,625
And so in that search,

308
00:17:09,625 --> 00:17:13,945
Dr. Betty Siegel applied
for the position.

309
00:17:13,945 --> 00:17:18,625
She took the search committee,

310
00:17:18,625 --> 00:17:22,420
the Board of Regents,
all by storm.

311
00:17:22,420 --> 00:17:26,900
She was vibrant, dynamic,

312
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,325
a change maker or change agent,

313
00:17:33,325 --> 00:17:39,100
you might say, never met
a stranger, a big smile.

314
00:17:39,100 --> 00:17:42,760
Mary Tyler Moore smile she
could light up a room.

315
00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:47,560
And she came and wow.

316
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,625
She just blew everybody
out of the water.

317
00:17:51,625 --> 00:17:58,885
But it was a change
because she would become

318
00:17:58,885 --> 00:18:02,200
the first woman president

319
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,360
of a college or

320
00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:07,390
university in the University
system of Georgia.

321
00:18:07,390 --> 00:18:12,880
And there was so much
excitement around that.

322
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:19,915
Everyone was so impressed with
her delivery of her dream,

323
00:18:19,915 --> 00:18:23,095
her vision for this college.

324
00:18:23,095 --> 00:18:29,845
She engaged with everyone

325
00:18:29,845 --> 00:18:31,810
with whom she met
during that time,

326
00:18:31,810 --> 00:18:34,620
the community, and internally

327
00:18:34,620 --> 00:18:37,590
with the faculty staff
and the students.

328
00:18:37,590 --> 00:18:40,635
So with great support,

329
00:18:40,635 --> 00:18:46,705
she was hired as

330
00:18:46,705 --> 00:18:47,875
the second president of

331
00:18:47,875 --> 00:18:52,675
Kennesaw State University and
she hit the ground running.

332
00:18:52,675 --> 00:18:54,790
No grass grew under her feet

333
00:18:54,790 --> 00:18:56,810
and no grass better
grow under your feet,

334
00:18:56,810 --> 00:19:01,610
she was going to keep us
moving. She had a vision.

335
00:19:01,610 --> 00:19:05,240
She was an art enthusiast,

336
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:10,460
an arts advocate and
always a supporter.

337
00:19:10,580 --> 00:19:13,060
Now with the second President,

338
00:19:13,060 --> 00:19:14,880
the arts have a friend,

339
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,485
and Betty Siegel
was that friend.

340
00:19:17,485 --> 00:19:20,930
And for the next 25 years,

341
00:19:21,820 --> 00:19:24,900
her leadership was sustained and

342
00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:29,140
revolutionary for the 25
years that she was here.

343
00:19:29,140 --> 00:19:34,460
And she wanted the arts

344
00:19:34,460 --> 00:19:38,380
to be a part of the
fabric at Kennesaw.

345
00:19:38,380 --> 00:19:42,220
And so she was behind anything

346
00:19:42,220 --> 00:19:46,340
that we did to advance
our visions and

347
00:19:46,340 --> 00:19:49,060
our dreams for creating

348
00:19:49,060 --> 00:19:53,840
arts programs and so

349
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,220
that's why we made it to
where we are today as well.

350
00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:03,850
She became such a good friend,

351
00:20:03,850 --> 00:20:07,260
a friend to the community,
a friend to the campus,

352
00:20:07,260 --> 00:20:10,020
a friend to me personally,

353
00:20:10,020 --> 00:20:12,580
a friend to the arts.

354
00:20:12,580 --> 00:20:17,200
She would oftentimes go
to something in Atlanta,

355
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,040
she'd have dinner with someone

356
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,515
and she'd come
back the next day.

357
00:20:20,515 --> 00:20:22,015
She'd call me on the phone.

358
00:20:22,015 --> 00:20:23,920
And she's owe a letter.

359
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,300
I have maybe three folders of

360
00:20:26,300 --> 00:20:31,055
just treasures of letters
that she sent to me.

361
00:20:31,055 --> 00:20:33,720
And she say, Joe, last night,

362
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,460
I met a wonderful
couple in Buckhead,

363
00:20:36,460 --> 00:20:38,320
and they love the arts,

364
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,720
and I think we should
have them to the campus.

365
00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,680
And so what do you think?
I think we should.

366
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:44,560
Let's have them up for

367
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,280
a concert and have
them for dinner,

368
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,955
and let's get connected
and I said absolutely.

369
00:20:49,955 --> 00:20:53,055
We would invite these people

370
00:20:53,055 --> 00:20:57,105
and bring them to the
campus, to the concerts.

371
00:20:57,105 --> 00:20:59,895
We'd sit down and have
dinner with them,

372
00:20:59,895 --> 00:21:02,580
and again, that engagement,

373
00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:05,430
and she loved to sit
at the table and

374
00:21:05,430 --> 00:21:09,090
almost play that game of
six degrees of separation.

375
00:21:09,090 --> 00:21:11,535
She loved to put
12 people together

376
00:21:11,535 --> 00:21:15,430
and watch all the
connections take place.

377
00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,120
This inspired us.

378
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,260
And she was really
enthusiastic about this,

379
00:21:22,260 --> 00:21:26,835
that we start a concert series

380
00:21:26,835 --> 00:21:31,740
and one that would bring
in renowned artist,

381
00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:35,730
national, international
artists to this campus.

382
00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:39,165
And she felt that by doing that,

383
00:21:39,165 --> 00:21:41,520
it would bring us
high visibility with

384
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,160
the Atlanta community and
the communities around

385
00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,040
us that we could

386
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,595
engage them in what
we wanted to do here.

387
00:21:50,595 --> 00:21:54,315
She felt that if we
could bring patrons

388
00:21:54,315 --> 00:22:00,330
and friends,
politicians, musicians,

389
00:22:00,330 --> 00:22:02,565
anybody in the community,

390
00:22:02,565 --> 00:22:04,800
and have them sit with us for

391
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,370
a concert and to
have dinner with us,

392
00:22:08,370 --> 00:22:10,050
break bread together,

393
00:22:10,050 --> 00:22:13,770
that that was going to
advance our dreams,

394
00:22:13,770 --> 00:22:16,440
our vision for this university.

395
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,300
>> And did you see that happen?

396
00:22:18,300 --> 00:22:20,940
>> Yes. It happened.

397
00:22:20,940 --> 00:22:26,715
It was the catalyst that moved

398
00:22:26,715 --> 00:22:32,580
us far into the
future at that point.

399
00:22:32,580 --> 00:22:38,290
In the meantime, we were
developing a strong curriculum.

400
00:22:38,750 --> 00:22:41,010
When Betty Siegel came,

401
00:22:41,010 --> 00:22:44,745
we had become a
four-year college

402
00:22:44,745 --> 00:22:54,360
in 1976.

403
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:55,785
And our name change,

404
00:22:55,785 --> 00:22:57,390
in 1977, from

405
00:22:57,390 --> 00:23:00,970
Kennesaw Junior College
to Kennesaw College.

406
00:23:01,610 --> 00:23:04,920
Now that we were a
four-year institution,

407
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,895
we were able to design
a baccalaureate degree.

408
00:23:08,895 --> 00:23:12,300
And the music program was one of

409
00:23:12,300 --> 00:23:14,625
the first six
baccalaureate degrees

410
00:23:14,625 --> 00:23:17,580
that was approved
for this college.

411
00:23:17,580 --> 00:23:21,720
So having a
baccalaureate degree,

412
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,990
having inherited a
maintenance building

413
00:23:24,990 --> 00:23:27,045
that was now a music building,

414
00:23:27,045 --> 00:23:28,945
our own music building,

415
00:23:28,945 --> 00:23:30,800
we were really on a roll.

416
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,210
We were moving forward.

417
00:23:32,210 --> 00:23:34,190
We were adding more faculty,

418
00:23:34,190 --> 00:23:37,355
more talented
students were coming.

419
00:23:37,355 --> 00:23:39,380
The community was becoming

420
00:23:39,380 --> 00:23:41,575
more involved with
what we were doing.

421
00:23:41,575 --> 00:23:45,030
So we were off and running.

422
00:23:45,030 --> 00:23:48,225
>> Well, tell me about
your trajectory.

423
00:23:48,225 --> 00:23:52,050
You were a full-time faculty,
and how did you progress.

424
00:23:52,050 --> 00:23:55,455
>> Well, I became
full-time faculty.

425
00:23:55,455 --> 00:23:57,975
And of course, with that,

426
00:23:57,975 --> 00:24:00,570
when you think about
how few members

427
00:24:00,570 --> 00:24:01,965
of the faculty we had,

428
00:24:01,965 --> 00:24:04,695
everything fell on
the three of us,

429
00:24:04,695 --> 00:24:06,060
and then the four of us,

430
00:24:06,060 --> 00:24:09,765
and then the five of us;
committee assignments,

431
00:24:09,765 --> 00:24:13,815
teaching, performing,

432
00:24:13,815 --> 00:24:17,625
engaging in the community,
making presentations.

433
00:24:17,625 --> 00:24:19,590
All of those things,

434
00:24:19,590 --> 00:24:21,600
oh my goodness, how exciting.

435
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,910
I was suddenly in a
whole new world that I

436
00:24:23,910 --> 00:24:26,415
just loved every minute of it.

437
00:24:26,415 --> 00:24:27,885
Many friends would say,

438
00:24:27,885 --> 00:24:29,880
Joe is the only
person I know who

439
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,495
really loves his job and
loves what he's doing.

440
00:24:33,495 --> 00:24:36,810
Because it was inspiring.

441
00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:40,050
It was just very
inspiring to be in

442
00:24:40,050 --> 00:24:44,820
the midst of that energy
that was taking place.

443
00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:47,370
So we have the
baccalaureate degree,

444
00:24:47,370 --> 00:24:48,615
we have the music building,

445
00:24:48,615 --> 00:24:54,090
and I came as an
assistant professor.

446
00:24:54,090 --> 00:24:59,340
And then within a short
time, I guess, five years,

447
00:24:59,340 --> 00:25:01,950
I was promoted to
associate professor,

448
00:25:01,950 --> 00:25:04,500
but those kinds of things
and those kinds of titles

449
00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:07,050
don't really mean
that much to me.

450
00:25:07,050 --> 00:25:09,405
I know it's a marker for people,

451
00:25:09,405 --> 00:25:11,505
but the fact is,
what are you doing?

452
00:25:11,505 --> 00:25:12,975
Are you doing it?
Are you enjoying it?

453
00:25:12,975 --> 00:25:15,040
Are you making a difference?

454
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:20,165
So we were making a difference

455
00:25:20,165 --> 00:25:22,775
and we were really interested

456
00:25:22,775 --> 00:25:26,315
in being able to offer
professional degrees.

457
00:25:26,315 --> 00:25:28,955
We were in that time period,

458
00:25:28,955 --> 00:25:31,145
a liberal arts college,

459
00:25:31,145 --> 00:25:34,415
but having come from
major music schools,

460
00:25:34,415 --> 00:25:36,200
all of us, we knew

461
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,060
that professional
degrees had to become

462
00:25:38,060 --> 00:25:44,310
a part of that enterprise.

463
00:25:44,310 --> 00:25:47,220
So we wanted to
offer the bachelor

464
00:25:47,220 --> 00:25:50,160
of music degree and performance.

465
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,500
Now, what we had done when we

466
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:54,615
created the bachelor
of arts degree,

467
00:25:54,615 --> 00:25:57,030
we disguised a bachelor of

468
00:25:57,030 --> 00:26:00,135
music degree within that
bachelor of arts degree.

469
00:26:00,135 --> 00:26:03,195
So our students were
working very hard to meet

470
00:26:03,195 --> 00:26:07,720
all those assignments and
all those requirements.

471
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,170
People on this campus,

472
00:26:10,170 --> 00:26:13,845
people in charge of the
curriculum committees would say,

473
00:26:13,845 --> 00:26:16,910
no, we're not going

474
00:26:16,910 --> 00:26:20,000
to have professional
degrees on this campus.

475
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,250
We're a liberal arts college.

476
00:26:22,250 --> 00:26:24,095
That will not happen.

477
00:26:24,095 --> 00:26:27,030
Oh ye of little faith.

478
00:26:28,100 --> 00:26:30,825
Don't say what we can't do.

479
00:26:30,825 --> 00:26:33,510
Let's talk about what we can do.

480
00:26:33,510 --> 00:26:35,580
To make a long story short,

481
00:26:35,580 --> 00:26:38,805
we moved forward and got

482
00:26:38,805 --> 00:26:40,545
a bachelor of music degree

483
00:26:40,545 --> 00:26:43,065
eventually approved so that we,

484
00:26:43,065 --> 00:26:45,330
not only offered the
liberal arts degree for

485
00:26:45,330 --> 00:26:47,760
those students who
did not want to

486
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:53,115
pursue the heavily performance
component of a degree,

487
00:26:53,115 --> 00:26:59,770
but to remain with the
traditional liberal arts degree.

488
00:26:59,990 --> 00:27:06,030
We then in the early 80s
decided that we needed to

489
00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:10,170
have an accrediting agency

490
00:27:10,170 --> 00:27:12,840
to approve and to
guide us and to

491
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,170
advise us in how
we move forward.

492
00:27:16,170 --> 00:27:22,635
The historic National
Association of Schools of Music

493
00:27:22,635 --> 00:27:26,670
was established in 1925.

494
00:27:26,670 --> 00:27:29,640
It became the organization

495
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,920
that gave you the
stamp of approval,

496
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,860
the good housekeeping stamp
of approval you might say,

497
00:27:34,860 --> 00:27:37,785
that you were meeting
all the standards

498
00:27:37,785 --> 00:27:39,465
and you were delivering

499
00:27:39,465 --> 00:27:41,460
what you said you
were delivering.

500
00:27:41,460 --> 00:27:45,165
So we became individual members

501
00:27:45,165 --> 00:27:47,490
of the National Association
of Schools of Music,

502
00:27:47,490 --> 00:27:48,645
Dr. Gibson and I.

503
00:27:48,645 --> 00:27:50,820
And we would go to
the annual meetings,

504
00:27:50,820 --> 00:27:52,680
and we started learning

505
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,130
and reading about what
we would have to do to

506
00:27:56,130 --> 00:28:02,220
advance the music program
here to be a member.

507
00:28:02,220 --> 00:28:06,045
So following the guidelines,

508
00:28:06,045 --> 00:28:10,030
we created a degree.

509
00:28:10,220 --> 00:28:12,585
To have NASM,

510
00:28:12,585 --> 00:28:14,565
we had to do a self study

511
00:28:14,565 --> 00:28:19,080
to address every facet

512
00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,720
of a program and what
would need to be there.

513
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:28,395
So we prepared,

514
00:28:28,395 --> 00:28:31,545
finished our self study,

515
00:28:31,545 --> 00:28:32,820
which ends up being

516
00:28:32,820 --> 00:28:35,520
a very large document
if you've ever been

517
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:40,065
involved with accreditation
requirements.

518
00:28:40,065 --> 00:28:43,290
Then of course, the final
thing is that you have

519
00:28:43,290 --> 00:28:44,910
an outside review team that

520
00:28:44,910 --> 00:28:47,280
comes to see what you're doing.

521
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,350
At this point, we don't

522
00:28:49,350 --> 00:28:54,780
have the bachelor of music
and performance degree.

523
00:28:54,780 --> 00:28:57,495
We have just the
bachelor of arts degree.

524
00:28:57,495 --> 00:29:00,310
So they come,

525
00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:03,075
we meet every standard.

526
00:29:03,075 --> 00:29:06,300
They're very pleased
about what we're doing.

527
00:29:06,300 --> 00:29:11,430
And of course,

528
00:29:11,430 --> 00:29:16,995
we're evaluating it within
a liberal arts focus.

529
00:29:16,995 --> 00:29:20,160
So they made recommendations

530
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:22,200
as well for what we
would have to do to

531
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:30,435
grow to keep the program vital
and relevant and so forth.

532
00:29:30,435 --> 00:29:36,690
So we received our
first accreditation

533
00:29:36,690 --> 00:29:39,495
and we're now official members

534
00:29:39,495 --> 00:29:42,645
of the National Association
of Schools of Music.

535
00:29:42,645 --> 00:29:46,935
We have our bachelor of
arts degree in music,

536
00:29:46,935 --> 00:29:48,435
we have our building,

537
00:29:48,435 --> 00:29:51,820
and we have national
accreditation.

538
00:29:53,570 --> 00:29:57,240
That was a joy because you want

539
00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,090
to be able to advertise that you

540
00:30:00,090 --> 00:30:01,620
are a member because all of

541
00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:06,795
our sister colleges
were members.

542
00:30:06,795 --> 00:30:08,700
They had been
around much longer,

543
00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:11,925
University of Georgia, Georgia
State, the other places.

544
00:30:11,925 --> 00:30:15,915
And so we were
joining that group

545
00:30:15,915 --> 00:30:20,010
of distinguished schools
and becoming a member.

546
00:30:20,010 --> 00:30:23,640
And we could now advertise and

547
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,230
market ourselves
saying that we're

548
00:30:25,230 --> 00:30:27,540
a member of the National
Association of Schools of Music.

549
00:30:27,540 --> 00:30:29,340
But for me, that goes

550
00:30:29,340 --> 00:30:31,560
back to reach the goal
that goes back to

551
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:38,085
my teachers to Flori Dan and
before I went to college,

552
00:30:38,085 --> 00:30:42,690
Edwin Kashevski and
Bruce Simons at Yale.

553
00:30:42,690 --> 00:30:45,975
Flori Dan said to me,

554
00:30:45,975 --> 00:30:48,420
you cannot go to a
school that's not

555
00:30:48,420 --> 00:30:52,380
accredited by the National
Association of Schools of Music,

556
00:30:52,380 --> 00:30:55,230
which is the reason I
ended up at Converse,

557
00:30:55,230 --> 00:30:57,060
which was a charter member of

558
00:30:57,060 --> 00:30:59,340
the National Association
of Schools of Music in

559
00:30:59,340 --> 00:31:03,765
the first 17 schools approved
in the United States.

560
00:31:03,765 --> 00:31:07,635
And so that was always
ringing in my ear.

561
00:31:07,635 --> 00:31:10,155
If it was required of me,

562
00:31:10,155 --> 00:31:12,600
I want this for our
students as well.

563
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,600
And so that was another
milestone that we

564
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,150
reached with developing and

565
00:31:20,150 --> 00:31:24,065
growing the music
program here at state.

566
00:31:24,065 --> 00:31:25,985
>> And you were also seeking

567
00:31:25,985 --> 00:31:28,155
department status,
is that right?

568
00:31:28,155 --> 00:31:30,705
>> Yes. And we had received
department status.

569
00:31:30,705 --> 00:31:32,985
And when Doctor Siegel came,

570
00:31:32,985 --> 00:31:35,760
she decided that the
academic architecture

571
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:37,440
ought to expand more and so

572
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,525
she wanted to create colleges

573
00:31:39,525 --> 00:31:42,075
and departments within colleges.

574
00:31:42,075 --> 00:31:44,070
So we ended up with

575
00:31:44,070 --> 00:31:47,355
the College of Humanities
and Social Sciences,

576
00:31:47,355 --> 00:31:50,970
which later became when
the arts kept growing,

577
00:31:50,970 --> 00:31:53,550
it became the College of Arts

578
00:31:53,550 --> 00:31:56,445
Humanities and Social Sciences.

579
00:31:56,445 --> 00:32:00,555
And so within that
we had departments,

580
00:32:00,555 --> 00:32:02,640
and then we started
to have schools

581
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,625
within the college like
the School of Nursing.

582
00:32:05,625 --> 00:32:09,930
So the whole academic
architecture

583
00:32:09,930 --> 00:32:13,035
started to change to
what we have today.

584
00:32:13,035 --> 00:32:14,580
I believe we have 13,

585
00:32:14,580 --> 00:32:17,500
maybe we have more
than 13 colleges now.

586
00:32:17,500 --> 00:32:21,260
>> Well, let's transition
a bit and talk

587
00:32:21,260 --> 00:32:24,875
about the effort to build a
performing arts center at KS.

588
00:32:24,875 --> 00:32:27,370
Can you tell me when
that first began?

589
00:32:27,370 --> 00:32:30,900
>> Well, the desire
was always there,

590
00:32:30,900 --> 00:32:35,295
of course, but you have to
take baby steps to get there.

591
00:32:35,295 --> 00:32:42,030
And so we were making progress,

592
00:32:42,030 --> 00:32:45,705
but we also knew
that we did not have

593
00:32:45,705 --> 00:32:48,060
a place that was

594
00:32:48,060 --> 00:32:52,785
designed specifically for
the performance of music.

595
00:32:52,785 --> 00:32:56,235
Oftentimes, if I
may just jump back,

596
00:32:56,235 --> 00:33:00,030
I've often said in
my storytelling

597
00:33:00,030 --> 00:33:02,640
that we went from
two music stands to

598
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,610
six music stands to
a full orchestra.

599
00:33:05,610 --> 00:33:07,785
That's literally the truth.

600
00:33:07,785 --> 00:33:11,985
When I came, we had two music
stands and that one room.

601
00:33:11,985 --> 00:33:16,170
Then at the end of the year
when we would get funding,

602
00:33:16,170 --> 00:33:17,880
Doctor Grider started saying,

603
00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,950
Joe, what would you
like for us to buy?

604
00:33:19,950 --> 00:33:21,765
I have a little money to spend.

605
00:33:21,765 --> 00:33:24,645
Can we have six music stands?

606
00:33:24,645 --> 00:33:28,515
He said, of course. We
went to six music stands.

607
00:33:28,515 --> 00:33:31,230
And so after we had

608
00:33:31,230 --> 00:33:35,115
the department and I
became department chair,

609
00:33:35,115 --> 00:33:38,820
we still didn't have the
performance facility

610
00:33:38,820 --> 00:33:40,590
and we knew that it was going

611
00:33:40,590 --> 00:33:42,690
to be critical
that we have that.

612
00:33:42,690 --> 00:33:47,535
Now, a mentor whom I respect
very much said to me,

613
00:33:47,535 --> 00:33:51,345
don't you dare create
a strain program,

614
00:33:51,345 --> 00:33:54,285
don't you dare
create an orchestra.

615
00:33:54,285 --> 00:33:55,770
It's expensive.

616
00:33:55,770 --> 00:33:57,930
You'll have to have
lots of scholarships,

617
00:33:57,930 --> 00:34:01,390
and it just won't work.

618
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,440
I paid no attention.

619
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:08,805
I've moved right ahead with
beginning a string program.

620
00:34:08,805 --> 00:34:10,620
Starting at an orchestra.

621
00:34:10,620 --> 00:34:13,740
And then today, if you
want go to the stage of

622
00:34:13,740 --> 00:34:17,070
the Bailey Performance
Center at Morgan Hall,

623
00:34:17,070 --> 00:34:20,190
to hear our orchestra,
it is outstanding.

624
00:34:20,190 --> 00:34:26,460
So, I've always been a builder.

625
00:34:26,460 --> 00:34:29,475
I'm entrepreneur
early in spirit.

626
00:34:29,475 --> 00:34:32,190
I'm a risk taker,

627
00:34:32,190 --> 00:34:36,455
and so I just kept
moving forward

628
00:34:36,455 --> 00:34:40,955
with the vision that
I had for that.

629
00:34:40,955 --> 00:34:46,830
So doctor Gibson was
also very much on

630
00:34:46,830 --> 00:34:53,770
board with the building of a
concert hall of distinction.

631
00:34:54,020 --> 00:34:57,510
So we had begun that effort in

632
00:34:57,510 --> 00:35:02,280
the early 90s and we
were dreaming big

633
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,985
then that we were
going to build a 16.5

634
00:35:05,985 --> 00:35:10,560
million dollar
performance building.

635
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,020
Well, the college
had no history of

636
00:35:13,020 --> 00:35:15,405
ever raising more
than $1 million.

637
00:35:15,405 --> 00:35:19,890
So to raise 16.5 million
was rather large.

638
00:35:19,890 --> 00:35:23,190
But Doctor Siegel, being our
advocate, our supporter,

639
00:35:23,190 --> 00:35:25,200
and enthusiastic
about everything

640
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:26,595
that had to do with the arts,

641
00:35:26,595 --> 00:35:28,230
she wanted it to happen.

642
00:35:28,230 --> 00:35:32,070
So we engaged architects.

643
00:35:32,070 --> 00:35:34,680
We designed a beautiful brochure

644
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,935
with this $16.5
million building.

645
00:35:37,935 --> 00:35:41,910
And off we went.

646
00:35:41,910 --> 00:35:43,860
That's when I transitioned

647
00:35:43,860 --> 00:35:46,335
into the Department
chair position.

648
00:35:46,335 --> 00:35:48,870
Doctor Siegel said
to Doctor Gibson,

649
00:35:48,870 --> 00:35:51,930
I want you just to work mainly

650
00:35:51,930 --> 00:35:57,270
on getting the funding
for this building.

651
00:35:57,270 --> 00:36:00,480
I received a call
that said, Joe,

652
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:02,190
and this is from Doctor Ed Rugg,

653
00:36:02,190 --> 00:36:06,255
who was the Vice President
of Academic Affairs.

654
00:36:06,255 --> 00:36:09,180
Doctor Siegel and I would
like for you to step

655
00:36:09,180 --> 00:36:12,450
into the interim
chair position for

656
00:36:12,450 --> 00:36:15,390
the Department of Music while
Doctor Gibson steps away

657
00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:19,485
and focuses on building
a concert hall.

658
00:36:19,485 --> 00:36:23,550
And the same place where our
current concert hall is now.

659
00:36:23,550 --> 00:36:29,625
And so he left and I took
over as interim chair.

660
00:36:29,625 --> 00:36:34,545
Of course, I was
resistant to this.

661
00:36:34,545 --> 00:36:37,290
I did not want to go
into administration.

662
00:36:37,290 --> 00:36:39,780
I wanted to teach, I
wanted to perform.

663
00:36:39,780 --> 00:36:44,730
So I went into it
reluctantly because

664
00:36:44,730 --> 00:36:49,830
I thought my life will become
just going to meetings,

665
00:36:49,830 --> 00:36:54,060
writing letters, taking
care of problems,

666
00:36:54,060 --> 00:36:57,735
putting out fires, and
I thought, Oh, my.

667
00:36:57,735 --> 00:36:59,760
But anyway, I said,

668
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,345
okay, this is going to be
a one-year appointment.

669
00:37:03,345 --> 00:37:06,435
At the end of one year,

670
00:37:06,435 --> 00:37:08,310
they said Doctor Gibson is going

671
00:37:08,310 --> 00:37:10,140
to stay away another year,

672
00:37:10,140 --> 00:37:11,655
and we are asking that you

673
00:37:11,655 --> 00:37:14,550
continue in the
interim position.

674
00:37:14,550 --> 00:37:19,545
So in the summer of 1995,

675
00:37:19,545 --> 00:37:23,130
we started putting
some efforts into how

676
00:37:23,130 --> 00:37:27,480
we were going to cultivate
friends and funds.

677
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,760
So Doctor Siegel hosted
12 dinners in her home in

678
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:42,160
the summer of 19
what did I say 1995.

679
00:37:42,770 --> 00:37:45,510
And we would go.

680
00:37:45,510 --> 00:37:47,610
We would invite 25 people,

681
00:37:47,610 --> 00:37:49,515
prominent people
from the community,

682
00:37:49,515 --> 00:37:52,440
people we thought we
could count on to be

683
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,260
advocates and excited about

684
00:37:55,260 --> 00:37:57,810
the community and
having a concert hall.

685
00:37:57,810 --> 00:37:59,490
Dr. Oral Moses, who.

686
00:37:59,490 --> 00:38:01,560
Was on the voice faculty
and I would show

687
00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:04,485
up and we would perform
for our guests.

688
00:38:04,485 --> 00:38:05,925
Everybody would eat and go home.

689
00:38:05,925 --> 00:38:08,805
We did 12 of those that summer.

690
00:38:08,805 --> 00:38:14,190
Trying to cultivate
to get the funds.

691
00:38:14,190 --> 00:38:17,805
So we continued and

692
00:38:17,805 --> 00:38:21,675
we weren't getting very
far with this effort.

693
00:38:21,675 --> 00:38:23,490
So Dr. Gibson,

694
00:38:23,490 --> 00:38:27,585
when we got into the third
year of his being away,

695
00:38:27,585 --> 00:38:30,585
he decided to retire,

696
00:38:30,585 --> 00:38:35,445
and then they did an
internal search for chair,

697
00:38:35,445 --> 00:38:41,470
and I was appointed as
chair of the department.

698
00:38:41,780 --> 00:38:45,795
So Dr. Gibson retired,

699
00:38:45,795 --> 00:38:47,520
I was now the chair,

700
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:51,195
and I'm looking and
thinking, my goodness,

701
00:38:51,195 --> 00:38:53,085
we've got so much to do,

702
00:38:53,085 --> 00:38:57,000
because in 1996, we had
our accreditation visit.

703
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:01,035
And ASM came, we
wrote our self-study.

704
00:39:01,035 --> 00:39:04,530
The external reviewers came in

705
00:39:04,530 --> 00:39:06,720
and you've got to
know now that we

706
00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:09,510
have a performance degree.

707
00:39:09,510 --> 00:39:11,730
But to go with a
performance degree,

708
00:39:11,730 --> 00:39:14,910
you've got to have the
facility for the students in

709
00:39:14,910 --> 00:39:19,500
the faculty to perform in
to support that degree.

710
00:39:19,500 --> 00:39:23,700
So while we passed in 1996,

711
00:39:23,700 --> 00:39:26,895
and we had a 10
year time period,

712
00:39:26,895 --> 00:39:29,880
they made it very clear
that when they returned

713
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:34,350
10 years later that if
that was not in place,

714
00:39:34,350 --> 00:39:37,500
we might get put on probation.

715
00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:40,785
Who knows? We may have
lost our accreditation.

716
00:39:40,785 --> 00:39:44,025
So I knew that the
clock was ticking

717
00:39:44,025 --> 00:39:47,385
and we had to get things going.

718
00:39:47,385 --> 00:39:51,360
So at that point in 1996,

719
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:55,980
97, I decided, we need to
start having fundraisers.

720
00:39:55,980 --> 00:39:58,560
We need to start raising funds.

721
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,600
We cannot depend on the state to

722
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,030
provide us with everything.

723
00:40:03,030 --> 00:40:04,815
Particularly in the arts,

724
00:40:04,815 --> 00:40:07,020
we're not going to be
the favorite one on

725
00:40:07,020 --> 00:40:10,095
the list to get the
funding sent to you.

726
00:40:10,095 --> 00:40:12,435
I had my first fundraiser.

727
00:40:12,435 --> 00:40:14,070
I had a Tango event.

728
00:40:14,070 --> 00:40:17,355
I invited Tango artists
from Argentina.

729
00:40:17,355 --> 00:40:19,365
I had been there to visit,

730
00:40:19,365 --> 00:40:20,970
had heard these performers,

731
00:40:20,970 --> 00:40:22,650
a singer and a guitarist.

732
00:40:22,650 --> 00:40:24,540
I invited them up. I created

733
00:40:24,540 --> 00:40:28,320
two fabulous evenings and
invited the community.

734
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,810
We had a sit-down dinner
at the Jolly Lodge for

735
00:40:30,810 --> 00:40:33,855
50 people and I had the
Tango people perform,

736
00:40:33,855 --> 00:40:37,020
and then I had started
to study Tango and so I

737
00:40:37,020 --> 00:40:40,170
studied Argentine
tango for three years.

738
00:40:40,170 --> 00:40:42,165
I had my teachers
come and dance.

739
00:40:42,165 --> 00:40:44,100
It was a lovely evening.

740
00:40:44,100 --> 00:40:49,185
We had a real draw from some
of the Hispanic community.

741
00:40:49,185 --> 00:40:51,330
The second night, I had

742
00:40:51,330 --> 00:40:55,860
a college friend with whom
I had stayed in touch,

743
00:40:55,860 --> 00:40:57,390
who was a music major.

744
00:40:57,390 --> 00:40:58,665
She and her husband had built

745
00:40:58,665 --> 00:41:01,690
a magnificent home in Buckhead.

746
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:06,900
They became the host for the
second night and entertained

747
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:12,345
150 people in their home and
their veranda with dinner,

748
00:41:12,345 --> 00:41:15,480
dancing, and the performance by

749
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:20,400
the Argentine tango singer.

750
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:25,380
And we made the appeal for

751
00:41:25,380 --> 00:41:27,900
funds for endowments for

752
00:41:27,900 --> 00:41:31,905
endowed scholarships
and it was amazing.

753
00:41:31,905 --> 00:41:34,275
It started to happen.

754
00:41:34,275 --> 00:41:37,425
And so that was my
first fundraiser.

755
00:41:37,425 --> 00:41:39,210
It was very successful with

756
00:41:39,210 --> 00:41:42,300
two nights where I hosted
between the two nights,

757
00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:46,125
200 people from the
community to come and

758
00:41:46,125 --> 00:41:51,940
listen to what we wanted to
create here at Kennesaw.

759
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:58,620
But still we 1996,

760
00:41:58,620 --> 00:42:03,435
we've got 10 years to
build this concert hall.

761
00:42:03,435 --> 00:42:05,340
But it's not happening fast.

762
00:42:05,340 --> 00:42:07,800
We're not getting
the approval from

763
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,670
the Board of Regents
to get funding.

764
00:42:11,670 --> 00:42:17,610
So as we got closer to time,

765
00:42:17,610 --> 00:42:20,620
I knew that time
was running out.

766
00:42:20,750 --> 00:42:31,200
So I had begun to appeal
to every pot of money that

767
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:35,025
I could and so

768
00:42:35,025 --> 00:42:41,790
by 2006,

769
00:42:41,790 --> 00:42:44,050
get the date straight here.

770
00:42:46,070 --> 00:42:49,590
I felt that we were moving
in the right direction,

771
00:42:49,590 --> 00:42:50,730
and we were getting enough

772
00:42:50,730 --> 00:42:52,200
interest in what
we were trying to

773
00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:55,620
do that with various pots of

774
00:42:55,620 --> 00:43:01,020
money that Dr. Siegel and
the upper administration and

775
00:43:01,020 --> 00:43:05,415
deans started agreeing to

776
00:43:05,415 --> 00:43:07,140
if we had one
building that we were

777
00:43:07,140 --> 00:43:09,360
building with state funding,

778
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:10,860
could we take a piece of

779
00:43:10,860 --> 00:43:14,860
that money and put it
towards a concert hall?

780
00:43:15,890 --> 00:43:18,300
The deans had a meeting with

781
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:21,810
the vice presidents and
each dean was asked to make

782
00:43:21,810 --> 00:43:26,100
a presentation
about our programs

783
00:43:26,100 --> 00:43:30,765
and what we envision
those programs to be?

784
00:43:30,765 --> 00:43:36,645
I created a little brochure
in house, just regular paper.

785
00:43:36,645 --> 00:43:39,855
I called it points of pride.

786
00:43:39,855 --> 00:43:43,455
And in that presentation I made,

787
00:43:43,455 --> 00:43:48,465
I made a very passionate talk

788
00:43:48,465 --> 00:43:51,480
about what we had accomplished,

789
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:55,515
but what we were going to need
to accomplish in order to

790
00:43:55,515 --> 00:44:02,950
advance not only the
arts, but the university.

791
00:44:05,420 --> 00:44:08,955
Again, the things that
I've said all along,

792
00:44:08,955 --> 00:44:11,610
we had achieved
department status.

793
00:44:11,610 --> 00:44:14,145
We had the professional degrees

794
00:44:14,145 --> 00:44:15,855
and a liberal arts degree.

795
00:44:15,855 --> 00:44:18,900
We had our own music building,

796
00:44:18,900 --> 00:44:21,750
member of the National
Association of Schools of Music.

797
00:44:21,750 --> 00:44:24,510
So we had all the
things in place.

798
00:44:24,510 --> 00:44:26,670
But we were not
going to be able to

799
00:44:26,670 --> 00:44:28,665
keep going without it.

800
00:44:28,665 --> 00:44:31,650
So that was a turning point.

801
00:44:31,650 --> 00:44:35,055
The vice president of
academic affairs, the deans,

802
00:44:35,055 --> 00:44:37,230
they were all behind

803
00:44:37,230 --> 00:44:39,885
the project and wanted
to see it happen.

804
00:44:39,885 --> 00:44:42,585
We finally had the
money together.

805
00:44:42,585 --> 00:44:45,030
And I don't know

806
00:44:45,030 --> 00:44:46,890
if you've looked online
recently but there's

807
00:44:46,890 --> 00:44:48,900
a picture of me sitting there in

808
00:44:48,900 --> 00:44:51,690
the woods with my
foot on a stake.

809
00:44:51,690 --> 00:44:53,700
And I was looking
out the window of

810
00:44:53,700 --> 00:44:55,260
my office when they came out

811
00:44:55,260 --> 00:44:56,310
and put the stake in

812
00:44:56,310 --> 00:44:58,680
the ground and a little
pink ribbon on it.

813
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:00,780
And I said to someone,

814
00:45:00,780 --> 00:45:02,160
grab the camera,

815
00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:08,190
I want proof that they've done
it and we can't stop now.

816
00:45:08,190 --> 00:45:09,600
So I went out of the woods,

817
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,190
put my foot on the
stake and it's

818
00:45:11,190 --> 00:45:14,310
online right now if you
look at the school music.

819
00:45:14,310 --> 00:45:19,695
We took that picture with
my foot propped up saying,

820
00:45:19,695 --> 00:45:22,380
we're claiming this land.

821
00:45:22,380 --> 00:45:24,820
Is this going to happen?

822
00:45:26,660 --> 00:45:28,920
And all of those pictures,

823
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:30,840
you see these
wonderful pictures as

824
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:32,910
we built that building
and the mud and

825
00:45:32,910 --> 00:45:38,190
the clay and the
efforts that were made.

826
00:45:38,190 --> 00:45:42,165
So we were able to put
together about $9.5

827
00:45:42,165 --> 00:45:46,620
million to build the
Bailey Performance Center.

828
00:45:46,620 --> 00:45:48,780
Now in the meantime,

829
00:45:48,780 --> 00:45:52,440
I've been doing
fundraisers now from

830
00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:57,970
2001 until I retired in 2013.

831
00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:03,085
In that community engagement

832
00:46:03,085 --> 00:46:05,995
with raising funds
and at this point,

833
00:46:05,995 --> 00:46:08,560
having raised over all this time

834
00:46:08,560 --> 00:46:10,690
$3 million just on our own

835
00:46:10,690 --> 00:46:13,930
out of the College of the Arts.

836
00:46:13,930 --> 00:46:19,480
We started to make friends
who could make a difference.

837
00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:24,055
One of those people
was Dr. Bobbie Bailey.

838
00:46:24,055 --> 00:46:30,280
I had tried to get to know
her in the earlier days,

839
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,155
but she was a very busy,

840
00:46:32,155 --> 00:46:38,275
very successful, very important
entrepreneur herself,

841
00:46:38,275 --> 00:46:41,815
very much involved in music.

842
00:46:41,815 --> 00:46:44,710
She was the executive
producer of

843
00:46:44,710 --> 00:46:49,030
the Georgia Music Hall
of Fame Awards Show.

844
00:46:49,030 --> 00:46:51,850
She had done some recordings.

845
00:46:51,850 --> 00:46:56,080
She had recorded very
famous the platters.

846
00:46:56,080 --> 00:47:01,855
She was on the board
of the Grammys.

847
00:47:01,855 --> 00:47:05,215
So she was very involved.

848
00:47:05,215 --> 00:47:07,270
But when I first met her,

849
00:47:07,270 --> 00:47:09,700
doctor Siegel invited
me to lunch with her,

850
00:47:09,700 --> 00:47:11,320
she didn't give me
the time of day.

851
00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:12,850
She didn't even look at me.

852
00:47:12,850 --> 00:47:15,700
And so no matter what I said,

853
00:47:15,700 --> 00:47:17,900
she didn't seem interested.

854
00:47:20,190 --> 00:47:25,390
And I suppose she had so
many things going on.

855
00:47:25,390 --> 00:47:27,400
She was supporting
so many things that

856
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:29,635
she wasn't really red
take on something else,

857
00:47:29,635 --> 00:47:31,180
and she had already
become involved

858
00:47:31,180 --> 00:47:32,830
here at Kennesaw State.

859
00:47:32,830 --> 00:47:36,385
She had met Dr.
Siegel and of course,

860
00:47:36,385 --> 00:47:39,370
they both were highly

861
00:47:39,370 --> 00:47:41,080
respectful of each other

862
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:44,665
because they were both
successful women.

863
00:47:44,665 --> 00:47:47,320
Then Dr. Siegel
invited her to become

864
00:47:47,320 --> 00:47:50,110
a trustee of the university.

865
00:47:50,110 --> 00:47:53,590
She lived in Atlanta
and in midtown,

866
00:47:53,590 --> 00:47:55,570
in the Ansley Park area,

867
00:47:55,570 --> 00:47:58,675
and she was a very busy,
very much involved.

868
00:47:58,675 --> 00:48:04,165
When I got this building and
it came out of the ground,

869
00:48:04,165 --> 00:48:06,430
we invited her to come.

870
00:48:06,430 --> 00:48:08,305
She was so excited.

871
00:48:08,305 --> 00:48:11,170
She just absolutely was

872
00:48:11,170 --> 00:48:13,405
just blown away with
the beauty of it.

873
00:48:13,405 --> 00:48:16,090
We asked her if she'd
like to name it,

874
00:48:16,090 --> 00:48:19,435
and she said, "Absolutely."

875
00:48:19,435 --> 00:48:22,615
And with that, she created
the large endowment

876
00:48:22,615 --> 00:48:26,755
that has made a difference
for the school of music.

877
00:48:26,755 --> 00:48:28,750
Naming it the Dr.

878
00:48:28,750 --> 00:48:30,880
Bobbie Bailey and Family
Performance Center,

879
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:33,535
showing again, her
love for family,

880
00:48:33,535 --> 00:48:37,070
including the family
and the naming.

881
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:40,540
So all of a sudden,

882
00:48:40,540 --> 00:48:42,850
my relationship
with her changed.

883
00:48:42,850 --> 00:48:44,470
She was calling me on the phone,

884
00:48:44,470 --> 00:48:47,590
she was excited about
what we were doing,

885
00:48:47,590 --> 00:48:49,270
she wanted to know
what we were doing.

886
00:48:49,270 --> 00:48:52,765
So I have a story where I say,

887
00:48:52,765 --> 00:48:56,185
"Hello, Elvis, hello, Bobby."

888
00:48:56,185 --> 00:48:58,210
I had gone up to Memphis.

889
00:48:58,210 --> 00:49:00,070
I'd never been to
Memphis before,

890
00:49:00,070 --> 00:49:02,590
the home of Elvis Presley.

891
00:49:02,590 --> 00:49:04,645
I was there with a friend,

892
00:49:04,645 --> 00:49:06,070
and I thought, "Well,
while I'm here,

893
00:49:06,070 --> 00:49:07,300
I need to go to Graceland."

894
00:49:07,300 --> 00:49:10,705
So I went out to Graceland and

895
00:49:10,705 --> 00:49:14,410
I bought my ticket to go
over to the house to see it.

896
00:49:14,410 --> 00:49:16,870
I was in the line
ready to step on

897
00:49:16,870 --> 00:49:19,450
the van and my cell phone rang,

898
00:49:19,450 --> 00:49:22,105
and I looked down and
it was Bobbie Bailey.

899
00:49:22,105 --> 00:49:25,060
So I got out of the line
and I said, "Hello."

900
00:49:25,060 --> 00:49:27,370
And she said, Joe,

901
00:49:27,370 --> 00:49:28,960
this is Bobbie Bailey, which

902
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:31,180
is what she always said.
Joe, this is Bobby.

903
00:49:31,180 --> 00:49:34,540
She said, "You're going to

904
00:49:34,540 --> 00:49:36,550
need a new concert grand piano

905
00:49:36,550 --> 00:49:38,125
for that hall, aren't you?"

906
00:49:38,125 --> 00:49:41,095
I said, "Well, yes, I am."

907
00:49:41,095 --> 00:49:43,060
"Well, I want to
buy one," she said,

908
00:49:43,060 --> 00:49:47,860
"I want to dedicate it to
my mother, Mary Bailey.

909
00:49:47,860 --> 00:49:50,080
She loved the piano.

910
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:51,700
She can only play by ear,

911
00:49:51,700 --> 00:49:55,135
just hymns, and she
never owned a piano.

912
00:49:55,135 --> 00:49:57,100
So I want to buy it."

913
00:49:57,100 --> 00:49:59,140
I said, "Well, that's great.

914
00:49:59,140 --> 00:50:01,975
But it has to be
a Steinway piano,

915
00:50:01,975 --> 00:50:04,810
and we have to go to
New York to select it

916
00:50:04,810 --> 00:50:08,560
and you have to go with
me and you have to help."

917
00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:10,705
That'd be great. Let's do it.

918
00:50:10,705 --> 00:50:12,070
When we going?

919
00:50:12,070 --> 00:50:14,545
I said, we'll make
the arrangements.

920
00:50:14,545 --> 00:50:16,135
So she said great.

921
00:50:16,135 --> 00:50:18,970
You should have heard the
excitement in her voice.

922
00:50:18,970 --> 00:50:21,205
She was excited that we
were going to do the piano,

923
00:50:21,205 --> 00:50:23,050
but she was just as excited
that we were going to make

924
00:50:23,050 --> 00:50:24,250
this trip to New York and

925
00:50:24,250 --> 00:50:25,915
that she was going
to be involved.

926
00:50:25,915 --> 00:50:29,225
So we made all the arrangements,
went up to New York.

927
00:50:29,225 --> 00:50:32,100
The Steinway factory invited us.

928
00:50:32,100 --> 00:50:34,320
We had a room. They
have a selection room.

929
00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:36,570
There were 12
concert grand pianos

930
00:50:36,570 --> 00:50:38,415
for us to choose from,

931
00:50:38,415 --> 00:50:42,755
so she had rented a
limousine to pick us up.

932
00:50:42,755 --> 00:50:45,190
Take us everywhere. She said,

933
00:50:45,190 --> 00:50:47,020
"We have to stay over,
we have to go to a show.

934
00:50:47,020 --> 00:50:48,910
We have to do all that."
So she wanted to do

935
00:50:48,910 --> 00:50:51,790
New York as well as buy a piano.

936
00:50:51,790 --> 00:50:59,045
So we went in and Steinway
people welcomed us.

937
00:50:59,045 --> 00:51:00,790
But of course, when
you're about to

938
00:51:00,790 --> 00:51:02,410
spend that kind of money,

939
00:51:02,410 --> 00:51:06,710
I'm sure they're very
excited to see you.

940
00:51:06,710 --> 00:51:09,310
So we sat down in
the selection room.

941
00:51:09,310 --> 00:51:11,690
Bobby would sit next to me.

942
00:51:11,910 --> 00:51:15,340
We would play in the meantime,

943
00:51:15,340 --> 00:51:18,415
I had invited David Watkins
who was on the music faculty

944
00:51:18,415 --> 00:51:20,290
to fly up to New
York to be there

945
00:51:20,290 --> 00:51:22,960
with me because he
taught piano here,

946
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:27,220
unless he could be a
part of that selection.

947
00:51:27,220 --> 00:51:32,590
We would play and the whole
idea in the selecting is you

948
00:51:32,590 --> 00:51:34,960
play one and if you decide
that you don't want that

949
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:36,070
when you put the fall board

950
00:51:36,070 --> 00:51:37,885
down and cover up the keyboard.

951
00:51:37,885 --> 00:51:39,610
So she'd sit there and she'd

952
00:51:39,610 --> 00:51:41,440
listen and she'd look
at me and she'd say,

953
00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:43,495
"I don't like that one, do you?

954
00:51:43,495 --> 00:51:46,810
Sounds too tiny." I say,

955
00:51:46,810 --> 00:51:48,160
"Yeah, you're absolutely right."

956
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:52,135
She had a good ear. She sound
meant something to her.

957
00:51:52,135 --> 00:51:54,610
So we'd go on to the next
piano and after a while,

958
00:51:54,610 --> 00:51:56,050
David and I had tried them and

959
00:51:56,050 --> 00:51:57,610
we'd moved them
around and moved them

960
00:51:57,610 --> 00:51:59,605
next to each other and we'd play

961
00:51:59,605 --> 00:52:03,100
all the repertory that
you could think of.

962
00:52:03,100 --> 00:52:05,335
We were down to two.

963
00:52:05,335 --> 00:52:07,750
Finally, we made the decision.

964
00:52:07,750 --> 00:52:11,470
She was just so
excited about it.

965
00:52:11,470 --> 00:52:13,945
So we spent the whole day there,

966
00:52:13,945 --> 00:52:17,020
and so we were sitting in

967
00:52:17,020 --> 00:52:19,000
a big conference room after

968
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:22,825
lunch and I was
there all by myself.

969
00:52:22,825 --> 00:52:25,645
Where's Bobby? Where did she go?

970
00:52:25,645 --> 00:52:27,625
I waited, wait,
wait she come back.

971
00:52:27,625 --> 00:52:29,050
After a while, she
came back into

972
00:52:29,050 --> 00:52:30,340
the room with a big smile,

973
00:52:30,340 --> 00:52:33,760
just so happy and
full of energy.

974
00:52:33,760 --> 00:52:37,240
So we then prepared

975
00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:39,970
to head to the airport
to return to Atlanta.

976
00:52:39,970 --> 00:52:42,895
But what was so
exciting about that?

977
00:52:42,895 --> 00:52:45,490
You just had to
sit there thinking

978
00:52:45,490 --> 00:52:48,295
about where we were
at this point.

979
00:52:48,295 --> 00:52:53,515
We had a wonderful friend
who liked what we were doing

980
00:52:53,515 --> 00:52:56,185
and wanted to endorse
that by making

981
00:52:56,185 --> 00:52:59,485
a large gift to that
dream that we had.

982
00:52:59,485 --> 00:53:05,365
And we had a new
Steinway piano coming,

983
00:53:05,365 --> 00:53:13,360
and so we waited for the day

984
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:14,770
for the piano to be delivered to

985
00:53:14,770 --> 00:53:16,210
the hall so that we could have

986
00:53:16,210 --> 00:53:21,190
the opening in October 6, 2007.

987
00:53:21,190 --> 00:53:24,890
So after we got back to Atlanta,

988
00:53:25,350 --> 00:53:29,860
she invited me to come down
and meet her for coffee at

989
00:53:29,860 --> 00:53:34,600
Ansley Mall in the midtown area.

990
00:53:34,600 --> 00:53:38,050
One Friday afternoon, we
sat there all afternoon.

991
00:53:38,050 --> 00:53:39,880
And we talked and
we talked and she

992
00:53:39,880 --> 00:53:41,380
talked about the
pianos and she talked

993
00:53:41,380 --> 00:53:45,250
about Steinway and all this,

994
00:53:45,250 --> 00:53:49,430
and then the subject of all
Steinway school came up.

995
00:53:49,650 --> 00:53:52,300
She had picked up on it
when we were sitting in

996
00:53:52,300 --> 00:53:55,090
the conference room because
the various schools,

997
00:53:55,090 --> 00:53:59,365
universities were on the wall,

998
00:53:59,365 --> 00:54:02,260
naming all Steinway
school, Oberlin College,

999
00:54:02,260 --> 00:54:06,175
and whatever, so she wanted
to know what that was about.

1000
00:54:06,175 --> 00:54:09,430
She talked to me about
it and she said,

1001
00:54:09,430 --> 00:54:10,750
"Let me call Georgia State."

1002
00:54:10,750 --> 00:54:11,935
So she picks up her phone.

1003
00:54:11,935 --> 00:54:13,330
So she calls Georgia State,

1004
00:54:13,330 --> 00:54:15,955
School of Music. She said, "Hi.

1005
00:54:15,955 --> 00:54:17,455
This is Bobbie Bailey.

1006
00:54:17,455 --> 00:54:20,365
Are you all in all
Steinway school?

1007
00:54:20,365 --> 00:54:24,745
You aren't. Okay. Well,
would you like to be?

1008
00:54:24,745 --> 00:54:26,320
Oh, you would.

1009
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:28,015
Well, thank you very much."

1010
00:54:28,015 --> 00:54:30,385
She hung up the phone.

1011
00:54:30,385 --> 00:54:35,980
She made these calls to see
how people would react like,

1012
00:54:35,980 --> 00:54:39,110
"Oh, yes, we'd love to
be a Steinway school.

1013
00:54:39,300 --> 00:54:41,785
Then without my knowing it,

1014
00:54:41,785 --> 00:54:44,350
she called the schools
where donors had

1015
00:54:44,350 --> 00:54:47,125
made that happen
to ask the donor,

1016
00:54:47,125 --> 00:54:49,490
why did you do it?

1017
00:54:49,620 --> 00:54:52,975
She was good at
doing her research.

1018
00:54:52,975 --> 00:54:55,750
She didn't just
hand out her money

1019
00:54:55,750 --> 00:54:59,170
without doing the
research because

1020
00:54:59,170 --> 00:55:02,200
she wanted to make sure

1021
00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:05,575
that it made a difference
in people's lives.

1022
00:55:05,575 --> 00:55:07,495
In this case, for faculty,

1023
00:55:07,495 --> 00:55:09,880
the staff, and the students.

1024
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:12,070
Making a difference in

1025
00:55:12,070 --> 00:55:15,860
people's lives was
primary with her.

1026
00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:19,645
I thought why is she asking

1027
00:55:19,645 --> 00:55:22,450
all these questions and why
is she doing all of this,

1028
00:55:22,450 --> 00:55:25,760
and so we had a
lovely afternoon.

1029
00:55:25,890 --> 00:55:30,550
Then we came up and had a
celebration with the arrival of

1030
00:55:30,550 --> 00:55:34,990
the big piano,
this concert hall.

1031
00:55:34,990 --> 00:55:38,995
We were all there, Bobbie
Bailey, everybody.

1032
00:55:38,995 --> 00:55:45,530
As it rolled in and they
took it into the stage,

1033
00:55:46,920 --> 00:55:49,240
I guess the student

1034
00:55:49,240 --> 00:55:51,925
knew that it was going
to be dedicated to

1035
00:55:51,925 --> 00:55:56,260
Mary Bailey. I think
I need some water.

1036
00:55:56,260 --> 00:55:56,620
>> Need some water?

1037
00:55:56,620 --> 00:55:57,800
>> Yeah.

1038
00:56:03,770 --> 00:56:06,150
When you use your
voice that much.

1039
00:56:06,150 --> 00:56:09,300
[NOISE]

1040
00:56:09,300 --> 00:56:12,400
>> Here we can take a breather.

1041
00:56:18,410 --> 00:56:19,935
>> Ready to go?

1042
00:56:19,935 --> 00:56:21,130
>> Yeah.

1043
00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:28,325
>> As the piano was
being rolled backstage,

1044
00:56:28,325 --> 00:56:31,640
she overheard one of
the students say,

1045
00:56:31,640 --> 00:56:34,680
they were all wanting
to see this instrument.

1046
00:56:36,530 --> 00:56:40,690
"Can I see Miss Mary?"

1047
00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:47,700
And so that is when Dr.
Bailey got inspired,

1048
00:56:47,700 --> 00:56:50,535
she was so excited
about that moment.

1049
00:56:50,535 --> 00:56:54,930
And she said, "We're going
to name it Miss Mary."

1050
00:56:54,930 --> 00:56:59,655
So with that,

1051
00:56:59,655 --> 00:57:03,000
she was so inspired by the
naming of the instruments.

1052
00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:06,345
She wanted to name
more instruments.

1053
00:57:06,345 --> 00:57:09,600
So at the opening, the
night of the opening,

1054
00:57:09,600 --> 00:57:11,580
the faculty and the
staff and the students

1055
00:57:11,580 --> 00:57:14,505
did a glorious concert.

1056
00:57:14,505 --> 00:57:18,165
Standing room only, you've never

1057
00:57:18,165 --> 00:57:22,870
seen such excitement
and enthusiasm.

1058
00:57:23,480 --> 00:57:26,430
There's also a picture
that you'll see

1059
00:57:26,430 --> 00:57:29,010
online where my
arms are like this.

1060
00:57:29,010 --> 00:57:31,740
I was so excited
that we had reached

1061
00:57:31,740 --> 00:57:35,055
this milestone that when
I walked to the podium,

1062
00:57:35,055 --> 00:57:38,160
I said, "Hallelujah,
we're here."

1063
00:57:38,160 --> 00:57:44,985
[LAUGHTER] And it was
just an amazing evening.

1064
00:57:44,985 --> 00:57:48,930
So of course, protocol is
that you thank everybody,

1065
00:57:48,930 --> 00:57:51,150
you thank the
construction people

1066
00:57:51,150 --> 00:57:53,580
and the technology people,

1067
00:57:53,580 --> 00:57:57,510
and everybody, and the
president is there,

1068
00:57:57,510 --> 00:58:03,030
and [NOISE] so it's
an exciting time.

1069
00:58:03,030 --> 00:58:09,450
And then we invited Dr.
Bailey to come to the stage.

1070
00:58:09,450 --> 00:58:10,740
I've got to stop again.

1071
00:58:10,740 --> 00:58:16,930
[NOISE] Excuse me.

1072
00:58:24,200 --> 00:58:27,510
We invited Dr.
Bailey to the stage.

1073
00:58:27,510 --> 00:58:29,460
And of course, she
took the microphone.

1074
00:58:29,460 --> 00:58:32,140
She wanted to say a few words.

1075
00:58:33,830 --> 00:58:36,300
She thanked everybody and how

1076
00:58:36,300 --> 00:58:38,805
excited she was, and she said,

1077
00:58:38,805 --> 00:58:46,030
"Dr. Pat, Joe, I have one
more thing I want to do.

1078
00:58:46,420 --> 00:58:53,060
I want to make Kennesaw State
an all-Steinway school."

1079
00:58:53,060 --> 00:58:58,950
[NOISE] This is going
to be terrible.

1080
00:59:00,860 --> 00:59:04,830
The audience went crazy.

1081
00:59:04,830 --> 00:59:10,275
Standing ovation, the
acoustics were absolutely,

1082
00:59:10,275 --> 00:59:12,420
it tested them to see

1083
00:59:12,420 --> 00:59:15,450
just what they could
handle in terms of sound.

1084
00:59:15,450 --> 00:59:18,360
It was a brilliant moment

1085
00:59:18,360 --> 00:59:21,480
and she could not
have been happy.

1086
00:59:21,480 --> 00:59:24,330
I have wonderful pictures of

1087
00:59:24,330 --> 00:59:27,795
that time when that
moment happened.

1088
00:59:27,795 --> 00:59:31,410
The thing that you
realize about donors

1089
00:59:31,410 --> 00:59:35,970
is while it means
so much to you to

1090
00:59:35,970 --> 00:59:39,300
receive and to get
that endorsement and

1091
00:59:39,300 --> 00:59:41,520
that gift but then you

1092
00:59:41,520 --> 00:59:45,690
realize that it's just as
meaningful in the other way.

1093
00:59:45,690 --> 00:59:49,575
She was just as thrilled with

1094
00:59:49,575 --> 00:59:55,210
giving as we were in the
receiving of the gift.

1095
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:58,050
So with that, we had to make

1096
00:59:58,050 --> 01:00:00,850
another trip back to New York.

1097
01:00:01,430 --> 01:00:03,930
And of course, that thrilled

1098
01:00:03,930 --> 01:00:05,490
her that we were going traveling

1099
01:00:05,490 --> 01:00:09,330
again to select the
other pianists.

1100
01:00:09,330 --> 01:00:12,960
What an exciting
moment it was when Dr.

1101
01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:16,050
Bailey came from
the audience and

1102
01:00:16,050 --> 01:00:21,390
stepped to the podium to
greet the applause that

1103
01:00:21,390 --> 01:00:28,855
the audience was giving her
for the gifts she had made.

1104
01:00:28,855 --> 01:00:31,740
And then she took

1105
01:00:31,740 --> 01:00:34,125
the podium to speak
and she was not one,

1106
01:00:34,125 --> 01:00:36,195
she was not long-winded
in that way.

1107
01:00:36,195 --> 01:00:38,310
She might be in a
conversation with you,

1108
01:00:38,310 --> 01:00:41,790
but not when she got to a
podium in a microphone.

1109
01:00:41,790 --> 01:00:43,980
But she took the microphone.

1110
01:00:43,980 --> 01:00:48,135
And she said, "Dr. Pat and Joe,

1111
01:00:48,135 --> 01:00:51,990
I have one more
thing I want to do."

1112
01:00:51,990 --> 01:00:55,095
And we're all just
staring at her.

1113
01:00:55,095 --> 01:00:56,940
And with a big smile,

1114
01:00:56,940 --> 01:00:59,625
she turned around and
looked at us and she said,

1115
01:00:59,625 --> 01:01:05,520
"I want to make Kennesaw State
an all-Steinway school."

1116
01:01:05,520 --> 01:01:10,055
And the audience
just went crazy.

1117
01:01:10,055 --> 01:01:13,730
And the audience
standing ovation.

1118
01:01:13,730 --> 01:01:18,680
The sound was just
deafening and you've

1119
01:01:18,680 --> 01:01:21,365
never seen a more joyous time

1120
01:01:21,365 --> 01:01:23,775
than we were having
that evening.

1121
01:01:23,775 --> 01:01:25,455
Not just the opening of a hall,

1122
01:01:25,455 --> 01:01:28,335
but now we're going to be
an all-Steinway school.

1123
01:01:28,335 --> 01:01:30,540
>> Well, I want to
talk a little bit

1124
01:01:30,540 --> 01:01:32,040
about the construction process,

1125
01:01:32,040 --> 01:01:35,235
[NOISE] the Bailey Center.

1126
01:01:35,235 --> 01:01:37,860
Talk to me about that process,

1127
01:01:37,860 --> 01:01:39,030
your involvement in it,

1128
01:01:39,030 --> 01:01:42,370
and how you tried to
keep standards high.

1129
01:01:42,680 --> 01:01:46,230
>> As you all know, we
talked earlier about

1130
01:01:46,230 --> 01:01:48,630
the first effort to build

1131
01:01:48,630 --> 01:01:51,970
a concert hall which
did not materialize.

1132
01:01:52,430 --> 01:01:56,010
Once we put the
various pots of money

1133
01:01:56,010 --> 01:01:59,625
together to build the
current concert hall,

1134
01:01:59,625 --> 01:02:03,490
The Dr. Bobbie Bailey &
Family Performance Center,

1135
01:02:04,280 --> 01:02:07,560
we had to pretty
much start over with

1136
01:02:07,560 --> 01:02:10,410
the architects because
we had been in and out,

1137
01:02:10,410 --> 01:02:11,760
the architects would design

1138
01:02:11,760 --> 01:02:13,380
something and we'd talk about it

1139
01:02:13,380 --> 01:02:16,470
and we'd think we'd be able
to move and raise the money,

1140
01:02:16,470 --> 01:02:19,090
but then it wouldn't
materialize.

1141
01:02:22,010 --> 01:02:26,850
Now, we hired an architect,

1142
01:02:26,850 --> 01:02:32,055
John Abbott, and he was
wonderful to work with.

1143
01:02:32,055 --> 01:02:37,905
And he started working
with us on a design.

1144
01:02:37,905 --> 01:02:41,025
And a lot of times you'll
hear the expression,

1145
01:02:41,025 --> 01:02:42,975
a shoe box hollow,

1146
01:02:42,975 --> 01:02:44,715
a shoe box theater,

1147
01:02:44,715 --> 01:02:47,940
meaning just a rectangular-shaped
box which you've seen

1148
01:02:47,940 --> 01:02:51,060
so many times when you've
walked into an auditorium.

1149
01:02:51,060 --> 01:02:53,025
It's just one of these.

1150
01:02:53,025 --> 01:02:55,695
And that one is that as well.

1151
01:02:55,695 --> 01:02:58,125
But what we did inside,

1152
01:02:58,125 --> 01:03:00,660
we did an asymmetrical design

1153
01:03:00,660 --> 01:03:03,420
so that you don't
sense the shoe box.

1154
01:03:03,420 --> 01:03:09,510
[NOISE] So he designed

1155
01:03:09,510 --> 01:03:13,090
this beautiful
asymmetrical concert hall

1156
01:03:13,190 --> 01:03:17,230
with those beautiful
wood finishes.

1157
01:03:19,310 --> 01:03:26,250
But the main thing from day
1 was not the building,

1158
01:03:26,250 --> 01:03:29,070
not how it was going to
look on the outside or

1159
01:03:29,070 --> 01:03:32,160
the inside, but the acoustics.

1160
01:03:32,160 --> 01:03:37,935
The number 1 goal was
to create a space

1161
01:03:37,935 --> 01:03:40,860
that was as acoustically
perfect as we

1162
01:03:40,860 --> 01:03:44,205
could have for the
performance of music.

1163
01:03:44,205 --> 01:03:47,640
And we were willing to
sacrifice whatever,

1164
01:03:47,640 --> 01:03:49,290
almost the seats,

1165
01:03:49,290 --> 01:03:51,390
just come sit on the floor to

1166
01:03:51,390 --> 01:03:54,735
get the acoustics
that we wanted.

1167
01:03:54,735 --> 01:03:57,825
So with that design,

1168
01:03:57,825 --> 01:04:03,345
then we invited David Kahn
from Poughkeepsie, New York.

1169
01:04:03,345 --> 01:04:05,400
At that time, his company was

1170
01:04:05,400 --> 01:04:07,605
known as Acoustic Dimensions,

1171
01:04:07,605 --> 01:04:09,390
and then later on that name was

1172
01:04:09,390 --> 01:04:12,420
changed to Acoustic
Distinctions.

1173
01:04:12,420 --> 01:04:15,990
So that company is
still in existence,

1174
01:04:15,990 --> 01:04:19,770
but they changed from
Dimensions to Distinctions.

1175
01:04:19,770 --> 01:04:27,580
[LAUGHTER] David Kahn was
a stickler for perfection.

1176
01:04:27,740 --> 01:04:33,210
I was so blessed to have
Peter Wilde as the chair of

1177
01:04:33,210 --> 01:04:35,910
the music department at
that time because he and

1178
01:04:35,910 --> 01:04:39,120
I were in total agreement
of what we wanted.

1179
01:04:39,120 --> 01:04:42,090
And with my serving as
dean over all of the arts,

1180
01:04:42,090 --> 01:04:47,130
Peter was very much
hands-on with me as we put

1181
01:04:47,130 --> 01:04:51,105
together the Performance Center

1182
01:04:51,105 --> 01:04:53,550
and working with David Kahn.

1183
01:04:53,550 --> 01:04:55,560
And you can imagine
the number of

1184
01:04:55,560 --> 01:04:58,050
meetings you have to
have as you're going

1185
01:04:58,050 --> 01:05:01,020
through meeting
with the architects

1186
01:05:01,020 --> 01:05:03,760
and the acousticians
and whatever.

1187
01:05:04,370 --> 01:05:07,545
David is a friendly
and nice man,

1188
01:05:07,545 --> 01:05:10,785
but he's not warm and
fuzzy if you're not doing

1189
01:05:10,785 --> 01:05:14,940
what he asked you to do
or what he has designed.

1190
01:05:14,940 --> 01:05:21,270
Oftentimes people are
satisfied with 80%,

1191
01:05:21,270 --> 01:05:24,780
85%. This is good.

1192
01:05:24,780 --> 01:05:27,180
This is great. But we were

1193
01:05:27,180 --> 01:05:30,975
never satisfied with just good.

1194
01:05:30,975 --> 01:05:32,430
We wanted to get as

1195
01:05:32,430 --> 01:05:34,560
close to perfection
as we possibly could,

1196
01:05:34,560 --> 01:05:36,990
and we had David
Kahn on our side.

1197
01:05:36,990 --> 01:05:38,595
So he would fly down,

1198
01:05:38,595 --> 01:05:40,125
he'd take a look.

1199
01:05:40,125 --> 01:05:41,445
He would look up and say,

1200
01:05:41,445 --> 01:05:43,035
you still haven't done this.

1201
01:05:43,035 --> 01:05:45,495
You still haven't done that.
The sound's not right.

1202
01:05:45,495 --> 01:05:46,980
We have to do this.
We have to do that.

1203
01:05:46,980 --> 01:05:48,865
And he wasn't nice about it.

1204
01:05:48,865 --> 01:05:52,790
He was very firm
because his name as

1205
01:05:52,790 --> 01:05:54,650
the acoustician was going

1206
01:05:54,650 --> 01:05:56,390
to be attached to this building.

1207
01:05:56,390 --> 01:05:59,105
It was important that
it reached that level.

1208
01:05:59,105 --> 01:06:01,490
And Peter was adamant
and so was I.

1209
01:06:01,490 --> 01:06:04,620
[NOISE] So we worked

1210
01:06:04,620 --> 01:06:07,365
together with the administration

1211
01:06:07,365 --> 01:06:09,360
and with the people on campus,

1212
01:06:09,360 --> 01:06:13,350
the architects, the project
manager, and whatever,

1213
01:06:13,350 --> 01:06:15,570
to make sure that we got

1214
01:06:15,570 --> 01:06:18,690
the best product we
could possibly get.

1215
01:06:18,690 --> 01:06:21,420
And of course, when you
build something like this,

1216
01:06:21,420 --> 01:06:23,490
you've got all of
these subcontractors.

1217
01:06:23,490 --> 01:06:27,405
So you're constantly
having to watch for

1218
01:06:27,405 --> 01:06:31,890
some inferior quality
product that gets put in.

1219
01:06:31,890 --> 01:06:34,335
For example, the thresholds.

1220
01:06:34,335 --> 01:06:37,020
We have to have pretty strong
thresholds because you're

1221
01:06:37,020 --> 01:06:39,690
rolling these grand
pianos over these things.

1222
01:06:39,690 --> 01:06:42,105
Well, the first ones they
put in, they were just 10,

1223
01:06:42,105 --> 01:06:46,720
and when you roll over
them, they just collapse.

1224
01:06:46,820 --> 01:06:51,150
The other thing was
the air conditioning

1225
01:06:51,150 --> 01:06:53,640
and the air return
in the building.

1226
01:06:53,640 --> 01:06:56,010
In order to have the
right acoustics,

1227
01:06:56,010 --> 01:06:58,260
you can't hear air blowing

1228
01:06:58,260 --> 01:07:00,855
the air conditioning
of the heating system,

1229
01:07:00,855 --> 01:07:03,180
that completely
destroys and takes

1230
01:07:03,180 --> 01:07:07,485
away the acoustics that
you want to achieve.

1231
01:07:07,485 --> 01:07:14,685
We had to have the
large return duct work

1232
01:07:14,685 --> 01:07:16,650
so that you didn't have

1233
01:07:16,650 --> 01:07:18,210
air blowing around and

1234
01:07:18,210 --> 01:07:19,665
there and you could
hear in the hall.

1235
01:07:19,665 --> 01:07:22,875
We had to build it so
that acoustically,

1236
01:07:22,875 --> 01:07:25,065
we didn't hear the
planes going over.

1237
01:07:25,065 --> 01:07:27,840
So putting the air
conditioning units

1238
01:07:27,840 --> 01:07:29,130
or whatever that finally decided

1239
01:07:29,130 --> 01:07:30,300
to putting them on the roof,

1240
01:07:30,300 --> 01:07:32,520
at first, we had a
problem with the sound

1241
01:07:32,520 --> 01:07:36,675
coming through these vents.

1242
01:07:36,675 --> 01:07:41,145
We had to build sound
chambers around the hall.

1243
01:07:41,145 --> 01:07:43,200
So that we had a rehearsal hall,

1244
01:07:43,200 --> 01:07:45,180
so that we had these
sound chambers

1245
01:07:45,180 --> 01:07:46,845
between that and
the concert hall.

1246
01:07:46,845 --> 01:07:48,660
So that a whole different
concert could be

1247
01:07:48,660 --> 01:07:50,910
going on in the rehearsal
hall or rehearsal,

1248
01:07:50,910 --> 01:07:53,220
and nobody could hear
it in the concert hall.

1249
01:07:53,220 --> 01:07:55,170
These were all the things
we had to consider.

1250
01:07:55,170 --> 01:07:57,240
We had to consider about
where we're going to put

1251
01:07:57,240 --> 01:08:00,465
these concert grand pianos.

1252
01:08:00,465 --> 01:08:02,610
The next thing that was

1253
01:08:02,610 --> 01:08:05,790
one of the most
critical things is,

1254
01:08:05,790 --> 01:08:09,795
it had to be climate controlled.

1255
01:08:09,795 --> 01:08:12,000
It had to be environmentally

1256
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:15,930
appropriate at all times for
the musical instruments.

1257
01:08:15,930 --> 01:08:20,430
You can't have high humidity
and freezing cold weather.

1258
01:08:20,430 --> 01:08:21,960
It had to have
something that was

1259
01:08:21,960 --> 01:08:24,975
consistent to provide the
right amount of humidity,

1260
01:08:24,975 --> 01:08:27,700
in the right amount of dryness.

1261
01:08:28,610 --> 01:08:30,885
With all of those things,

1262
01:08:30,885 --> 01:08:32,400
it took a lot of conversations,

1263
01:08:32,400 --> 01:08:33,420
it took a lot of effort,

1264
01:08:33,420 --> 01:08:36,780
a lot of work, to make
sure we achieved that.

1265
01:08:36,780 --> 01:08:39,510
And in terms of the acoustics,

1266
01:08:39,510 --> 01:08:43,875
if you bring in a performance
group like a band,

1267
01:08:43,875 --> 01:08:46,275
that's a lot of sound.

1268
01:08:46,275 --> 01:08:48,030
So when there's
all of that sound,

1269
01:08:48,030 --> 01:08:50,430
what are you going to do to
take away some of the sound.

1270
01:08:50,430 --> 01:08:52,890
So along the walls
in Morgan Hall,

1271
01:08:52,890 --> 01:08:54,660
you'll see these
heavy draperies,

1272
01:08:54,660 --> 01:08:57,570
that we can pull or close.

1273
01:08:57,570 --> 01:09:01,215
Up around the stage,
we have draperies.

1274
01:09:01,215 --> 01:09:03,390
There're black draperies
that go around

1275
01:09:03,390 --> 01:09:06,375
the stage that can
be opened or closed.

1276
01:09:06,375 --> 01:09:08,190
What you're doing is creating

1277
01:09:08,190 --> 01:09:10,935
hard surfaces and soft surfaces.

1278
01:09:10,935 --> 01:09:13,170
So that the acoustics can

1279
01:09:13,170 --> 01:09:16,890
adjust to whatever the ensemble.

1280
01:09:16,890 --> 01:09:21,645
If you've just got a singer
in a piano on the stage,

1281
01:09:21,645 --> 01:09:23,910
then you don't want
those curtains to absorb

1282
01:09:23,910 --> 01:09:26,325
the sounds so they
get pulled back.

1283
01:09:26,325 --> 01:09:27,765
But if you go all the way up,

1284
01:09:27,765 --> 01:09:30,810
and while we don't
have a balcony,

1285
01:09:30,810 --> 01:09:35,040
the space that we have there
is equal to Carnegie Hall,

1286
01:09:35,040 --> 01:09:38,895
even though we don't have
all the balconies going up.

1287
01:09:38,895 --> 01:09:40,650
And so if you go up there,

1288
01:09:40,650 --> 01:09:42,690
there are also draperies
that you can't even

1289
01:09:42,690 --> 01:09:45,960
see that work with the sound.

1290
01:09:45,960 --> 01:09:50,175
So David Kahn and Peter and I,

1291
01:09:50,175 --> 01:09:52,170
we were a great team in

1292
01:09:52,170 --> 01:09:56,520
achieving a space that has
now become known as one

1293
01:09:56,520 --> 01:10:00,600
of the best places
acoustically in

1294
01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:03,150
the Atlanta area
in the Southeast

1295
01:10:03,150 --> 01:10:06,990
and probably for most
places across the country.

1296
01:10:06,990 --> 01:10:08,820
We were really lucky

1297
01:10:08,820 --> 01:10:11,640
because when you
start out to do that,

1298
01:10:11,640 --> 01:10:13,440
I don't know, say we're lucky.

1299
01:10:13,440 --> 01:10:15,660
I think we planned it that way,

1300
01:10:15,660 --> 01:10:22,890
but at least the outcome was
what we wanted to achieve.

1301
01:10:22,890 --> 01:10:26,235
Because people build
beautiful halls

1302
01:10:26,235 --> 01:10:30,270
every day and spend a lot
more money than we did,

1303
01:10:30,270 --> 01:10:32,340
and then to only realize

1304
01:10:32,340 --> 01:10:34,350
that the acoustics
are not right.

1305
01:10:34,350 --> 01:10:36,900
And they spend the rest
of their lives fixing

1306
01:10:36,900 --> 01:10:39,885
this and fixing that and
trying to achieve it.

1307
01:10:39,885 --> 01:10:42,285
David still comes down.

1308
01:10:42,285 --> 01:10:44,955
If he goes all over the country

1309
01:10:44,955 --> 01:10:48,360
designing the acoustics
for concert halls.

1310
01:10:48,360 --> 01:10:51,540
If his airplane
lands in Atlanta,

1311
01:10:51,540 --> 01:10:54,045
and he looks to see
if there's a concert,

1312
01:10:54,045 --> 01:10:59,460
it's not surprising to
suddenly have him tap you on

1313
01:10:59,460 --> 01:11:01,860
the shoulder and he's sitting
in the hall because he's so

1314
01:11:01,860 --> 01:11:05,085
pleased with the outcome here.

1315
01:11:05,085 --> 01:11:09,630
And so he'll stay over,

1316
01:11:09,630 --> 01:11:11,790
just to come to a concert in

1317
01:11:11,790 --> 01:11:16,050
Morgan Hall to see the work that

1318
01:11:16,050 --> 01:11:18,660
we did and the design that he

1319
01:11:18,660 --> 01:11:20,580
created that brought us

1320
01:11:20,580 --> 01:11:23,130
the fine acoustics that
we have in that hall.

1321
01:11:23,130 --> 01:11:27,510
>> Wonderful. Well, I want
to talk about two things.

1322
01:11:27,510 --> 01:11:30,750
The first one will require
us to backtrack just a bit,

1323
01:11:30,750 --> 01:11:35,930
and that is talking about 2001.

1324
01:11:35,930 --> 01:11:38,450
A big year for you.

1325
01:11:38,450 --> 01:11:40,670
Can you tell me the position you

1326
01:11:40,670 --> 01:11:42,680
were in at the time and about

1327
01:11:42,680 --> 01:11:44,990
the national search
for a dean of

1328
01:11:44,990 --> 01:11:48,355
the school of Arts at that time?

1329
01:11:48,355 --> 01:11:58,400
>> In 1998,

1330
01:11:58,400 --> 01:12:02,900
Dr. Siegel, actually,
prior to that,

1331
01:12:02,900 --> 01:12:08,215
in 1996, she was a
theme president.

1332
01:12:08,215 --> 01:12:09,660
She liked to have

1333
01:12:09,660 --> 01:12:12,210
initiatives and she
liked to have themes.

1334
01:12:12,210 --> 01:12:15,600
I have to tell you this
part to get to that.

1335
01:12:15,600 --> 01:12:19,860
And so each year she
would declare what

1336
01:12:19,860 --> 01:12:21,270
that theme was going to be for

1337
01:12:21,270 --> 01:12:23,985
the entire campus
for that whole year.

1338
01:12:23,985 --> 01:12:27,345
So in 1996, she chose the theme,

1339
01:12:27,345 --> 01:12:29,250
the year of the Arts.

1340
01:12:29,250 --> 01:12:32,325
Okay. And she said to me,
Joe, what do you think?

1341
01:12:32,325 --> 01:12:35,115
Let's just celebrate
the arts all year.

1342
01:12:35,115 --> 01:12:38,790
And I think she had

1343
01:12:38,790 --> 01:12:40,500
gone somewhere like
Wake Forest and they

1344
01:12:40,500 --> 01:12:42,555
had had a year of the
arts and she came home.

1345
01:12:42,555 --> 01:12:44,010
Because she'd get
real excited if she

1346
01:12:44,010 --> 01:12:45,600
went somewhere and
they were doing

1347
01:12:45,600 --> 01:12:50,110
something that was getting
some really wonderful results.

1348
01:12:50,570 --> 01:12:53,265
But she wanted the whole campus

1349
01:12:53,265 --> 01:12:55,230
involved in the
year of the arts.

1350
01:12:55,230 --> 01:12:56,775
So every department,

1351
01:12:56,775 --> 01:13:01,710
every college had to look
at their creativity,

1352
01:13:01,710 --> 01:13:06,330
and what could they do
to celebrate creativity.

1353
01:13:06,330 --> 01:13:08,220
The major focus of course,

1354
01:13:08,220 --> 01:13:10,725
was for those of us on the arts.

1355
01:13:10,725 --> 01:13:13,965
But she wanted everybody.

1356
01:13:13,965 --> 01:13:17,520
It was something that
was campus wide.

1357
01:13:17,520 --> 01:13:21,315
And so it was a year of
just celebrating the arts.

1358
01:13:21,315 --> 01:13:22,890
But it was the catalyst.

1359
01:13:22,890 --> 01:13:25,440
It was the catalyst
that then moved

1360
01:13:25,440 --> 01:13:28,230
us to the point that she said,

1361
01:13:28,230 --> 01:13:32,440
Joe, I think we need
a School of the Arts.

1362
01:13:32,450 --> 01:13:35,865
And I said, yes we do.

1363
01:13:35,865 --> 01:13:41,460
And she said, we need
to move forward.

1364
01:13:41,460 --> 01:13:44,160
Well, she and I were maybe

1365
01:13:44,160 --> 01:13:47,250
the only two thinking that way.

1366
01:13:47,250 --> 01:13:49,830
Others were saying, we
don't want to do that.

1367
01:13:49,830 --> 01:13:51,390
We don't want to
leave humanities and

1368
01:13:51,390 --> 01:13:53,520
social sciences. What
about our funding?

1369
01:13:53,520 --> 01:13:56,040
We can't exist on our own.

1370
01:13:56,040 --> 01:13:59,805
But she and I kept
moving forward.

1371
01:13:59,805 --> 01:14:03,810
So in June of 1998,

1372
01:14:03,810 --> 01:14:05,955
I was out of town,

1373
01:14:05,955 --> 01:14:12,480
and Dr. Siegel appealed
to the Board of Regents,

1374
01:14:12,480 --> 01:14:17,325
for a separate school,

1375
01:14:17,325 --> 01:14:19,920
a School of the Arts.

1376
01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:24,940
And in 1998, they approved it.

1377
01:14:25,640 --> 01:14:29,100
I got a call saying,

1378
01:14:29,100 --> 01:14:32,235
the Board of Regents
has just approved

1379
01:14:32,235 --> 01:14:36,570
to creating a
School of the Arts.

1380
01:14:36,570 --> 01:14:38,640
Now, we chose School of the
Arts because we thought it

1381
01:14:38,640 --> 01:14:41,010
had the right sound.

1382
01:14:41,010 --> 01:14:44,340
We didn't realize what that
was going to mean for us.

1383
01:14:44,340 --> 01:14:48,705
Because we're always trying
to make ourselves relevant,

1384
01:14:48,705 --> 01:14:51,720
and that our degrees
in music were just as

1385
01:14:51,720 --> 01:14:56,040
relevant as a degree in history
or a degree in English.

1386
01:14:56,040 --> 01:14:59,295
They were always taken
all the other degrees,

1387
01:14:59,295 --> 01:15:02,370
whether it was business
or English or history as

1388
01:15:02,370 --> 01:15:06,390
being the way to success,

1389
01:15:06,390 --> 01:15:09,465
the way for financial security.

1390
01:15:09,465 --> 01:15:11,370
Anybody choosing the arts,

1391
01:15:11,370 --> 01:15:15,040
you were just setting yourself
up for no career at all.

1392
01:15:15,380 --> 01:15:17,715
So they approved it,

1393
01:15:17,715 --> 01:15:20,640
and I had a call that said,

1394
01:15:20,640 --> 01:15:23,310
they wanted me to
call in on Tuesday

1395
01:15:23,310 --> 01:15:26,070
because it was June
and I was out of town,

1396
01:15:26,070 --> 01:15:28,965
wanted me to call Dr. Rugg,

1397
01:15:28,965 --> 01:15:32,650
the Vice President of
Academic Affairs and Dr. Sue.

1398
01:15:32,750 --> 01:15:35,475
So I called, I didn't
know what they wanted,

1399
01:15:35,475 --> 01:15:37,170
and they told me

1400
01:15:37,170 --> 01:15:39,705
that it had been
approved and they said,

1401
01:15:39,705 --> 01:15:42,210
we would like for
you to serve as

1402
01:15:42,210 --> 01:15:46,480
interim dean of this
new School of the Arts.

1403
01:15:50,840 --> 01:15:53,010
And so then I started
thinking about,

1404
01:15:53,010 --> 01:15:56,415
well I've had four years
as department chair,

1405
01:15:56,415 --> 01:15:59,340
and I've survived and
I've done all right.

1406
01:15:59,340 --> 01:16:02,910
And maybe I need something new.

1407
01:16:02,910 --> 01:16:05,580
A new project.

1408
01:16:05,580 --> 01:16:09,420
And I said well, I'll do it.

1409
01:16:09,420 --> 01:16:12,000
And then they said,

1410
01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:14,760
but we want you to remain as

1411
01:16:14,760 --> 01:16:17,520
chair of the
Department of Music.

1412
01:16:17,520 --> 01:16:21,610
And we will launch a
search for the Dean.

1413
01:16:22,340 --> 01:16:27,105
You've done such a good
job as Department chair.

1414
01:16:27,105 --> 01:16:30,210
You've increased
graduation rates.

1415
01:16:30,210 --> 01:16:32,250
The department's moving forward.

1416
01:16:32,250 --> 01:16:34,785
We'd like for you to do that,

1417
01:16:34,785 --> 01:16:36,050
but then create

1418
01:16:36,050 --> 01:16:40,200
this whole new school
college, if you will.

1419
01:16:40,420 --> 01:16:42,815
I must have lost my mind,

1420
01:16:42,815 --> 01:16:49,890
I agreed. Oh my goodness.

1421
01:16:51,400 --> 01:16:54,780
So I thought, "Well,

1422
01:16:54,910 --> 01:16:59,450
I'll do what I can to
advance the Arts and

1423
01:16:59,450 --> 01:17:04,410
to advance what we've been
trying to do all these years."

1424
01:17:05,350 --> 01:17:07,610
So now I'm wearing

1425
01:17:07,610 --> 01:17:11,540
two hats which proved
problematic later.

1426
01:17:11,540 --> 01:17:13,940
I'm department chair, and I'm

1427
01:17:13,940 --> 01:17:16,820
Dean and everything from having

1428
01:17:16,820 --> 01:17:22,220
stationary created to
choosing and having

1429
01:17:22,220 --> 01:17:24,695
to have all the committees

1430
01:17:24,695 --> 01:17:28,100
that you have to have in a
separate college or school,

1431
01:17:28,100 --> 01:17:33,170
a budget that's now got to
work for a separate college.

1432
01:17:33,170 --> 01:17:35,555
It's a big undertaking.

1433
01:17:35,555 --> 01:17:38,720
I hadn't even thought along

1434
01:17:38,720 --> 01:17:41,585
the way when I had
said, "Oh, yeah,

1435
01:17:41,585 --> 01:17:43,325
let's have a School of the Arts

1436
01:17:43,325 --> 01:17:46,790
that there would have
to be a visionary dean,

1437
01:17:46,790 --> 01:17:50,750
that have to be somebody take
on that job, and of course,

1438
01:17:50,750 --> 01:17:54,875
here it was put into my
lab or offered to me."

1439
01:17:54,875 --> 01:18:01,280
So it was a 24/7 job,
as you can imagine.

1440
01:18:01,280 --> 01:18:04,085
I would have to have
my department meetings

1441
01:18:04,085 --> 01:18:05,660
with the faculty and then

1442
01:18:05,660 --> 01:18:07,700
I had to have the
school meetings

1443
01:18:07,700 --> 01:18:09,980
with all the department chairs,

1444
01:18:09,980 --> 01:18:13,130
and I had to keep
both of these things

1445
01:18:13,130 --> 01:18:17,360
going until such
time we had hired

1446
01:18:17,360 --> 01:18:25,760
a half time position
to teach band for us.

1447
01:18:25,760 --> 01:18:28,430
We were lucky that Peter Wilde,

1448
01:18:28,430 --> 01:18:32,360
who had graduated from the
University of Michigan applied

1449
01:18:32,360 --> 01:18:36,590
for this half time
position, $15,000.

1450
01:18:36,590 --> 01:18:39,680
That's all it paid. He came,

1451
01:18:39,680 --> 01:18:46,415
but wow, he was one of the
best hires we ever made.

1452
01:18:46,415 --> 01:18:56,825
He came in and he was just
working and he had a degree in

1453
01:18:56,825 --> 01:19:01,715
wind symphony conducting and

1454
01:19:01,715 --> 01:19:05,345
he started changing
the whole quality

1455
01:19:05,345 --> 01:19:07,385
of our wind program.

1456
01:19:07,385 --> 01:19:10,850
And was there working

1457
01:19:10,850 --> 01:19:14,585
the hours that I was
when I was part time and

1458
01:19:14,585 --> 01:19:22,265
helping me to advance our
mission and our goals.

1459
01:19:22,265 --> 01:19:25,535
So finally, after
I had done this in

1460
01:19:25,535 --> 01:19:29,700
'98 and '99 and I'm getting
a little bit worn out,

1461
01:19:31,020 --> 01:19:35,410
we had gotten Peter to
full time by this time

1462
01:19:35,410 --> 01:19:41,065
that I invited him to
be the assistant chair.

1463
01:19:41,065 --> 01:19:44,900
So that helped some.

1464
01:19:45,940 --> 01:19:49,940
So then in 2000
we went one year,

1465
01:19:49,940 --> 01:19:51,650
two years, three years,

1466
01:19:51,650 --> 01:19:53,930
they finally said we're
going to launch a search

1467
01:19:53,930 --> 01:19:57,780
for the Dean of the
School of the Arts.

1468
01:19:58,450 --> 01:20:06,695
So Peter was now still
assistant chair.

1469
01:20:06,695 --> 01:20:11,030
In September of 2000,

1470
01:20:11,030 --> 01:20:15,360
I was diagnosed
with a health issue

1471
01:20:15,730 --> 01:20:22,115
and was not sure whether I
should apply for the job,

1472
01:20:22,115 --> 01:20:24,725
not knowing what the
outcome is going to be.

1473
01:20:24,725 --> 01:20:31,535
So I did not apply right away.

1474
01:20:31,535 --> 01:20:34,760
They opened the search
in the fall of 2000.

1475
01:20:34,760 --> 01:20:40,620
I was away having surgery,

1476
01:20:40,870 --> 01:20:46,145
and I was gone for three
weeks and I came back

1477
01:20:46,145 --> 01:20:49,775
and just mainly focused

1478
01:20:49,775 --> 01:20:54,155
on my health and the
job I was still doing.

1479
01:20:54,155 --> 01:20:58,355
Dr. Larry Peterson
from Math and Science,

1480
01:20:58,355 --> 01:21:03,120
who was the dean at that time
was chairing the search.

1481
01:21:03,940 --> 01:21:06,980
So I went through

1482
01:21:06,980 --> 01:21:11,530
the whole fall and in
Christmas time December,

1483
01:21:11,530 --> 01:21:14,440
I still had not decided
whether I would apply.

1484
01:21:14,440 --> 01:21:17,950
And some of it had to do
with not knowing how I was

1485
01:21:17,950 --> 01:21:19,480
going to be physically

1486
01:21:19,480 --> 01:21:21,730
and some of it had to
do with my goodness,

1487
01:21:21,730 --> 01:21:23,775
I've been doing this
for three years.

1488
01:21:23,775 --> 01:21:28,415
Everybody knows what I can
do and it may not be enough,

1489
01:21:28,415 --> 01:21:31,220
and they oftentimes
are more attracted to

1490
01:21:31,220 --> 01:21:34,460
someone from afar who

1491
01:21:34,460 --> 01:21:37,025
may have better credentials and

1492
01:21:37,025 --> 01:21:40,940
more experience or whatever
to come in and do the job.

1493
01:21:40,940 --> 01:21:43,070
So I didn't know
whether I wanted to

1494
01:21:43,070 --> 01:21:48,755
be put down by saying,

1495
01:21:48,755 --> 01:21:50,390
"You've done it for three years,

1496
01:21:50,390 --> 01:21:53,030
but you're not really
qualified for this job."

1497
01:21:53,030 --> 01:21:57,270
So two days before the deadline,

1498
01:21:58,270 --> 01:22:02,250
I submitted my application.

1499
01:22:03,070 --> 01:22:11,000
And so Dr. Peterson called
me on the phone and he said,

1500
01:22:11,000 --> 01:22:12,260
"Joe, I'm happy to tell you

1501
01:22:12,260 --> 01:22:14,825
that you've made the short list,

1502
01:22:14,825 --> 01:22:17,670
which was seven people."

1503
01:22:17,770 --> 01:22:20,060
Well, it made me feel
a little bit better.

1504
01:22:20,060 --> 01:22:22,460
If I go down that at least
I made the short list,

1505
01:22:22,460 --> 01:22:25,760
so I'm not quite as
negative about this.

1506
01:22:25,760 --> 01:22:30,575
And just kept doing my thing
because I had a lot to do.

1507
01:22:30,575 --> 01:22:34,250
A couple of weeks later,

1508
01:22:34,250 --> 01:22:36,485
I got another call
and he said, "Joe,

1509
01:22:36,485 --> 01:22:39,335
you have been named one
of the three finalists."

1510
01:22:39,335 --> 01:22:43,070
Well, then I found out that
one of the finalist is from

1511
01:22:43,070 --> 01:22:45,800
Florida State and
the other finalist

1512
01:22:45,800 --> 01:22:47,465
is in University of Illinois.

1513
01:22:47,465 --> 01:22:49,805
Well, you start comparing
yourself, you think,

1514
01:22:49,805 --> 01:22:52,145
"I've been sitting here
at Kansas doing this,

1515
01:22:52,145 --> 01:22:56,520
and just trying to
make it go right."

1516
01:22:58,600 --> 01:23:01,580
But anyway, I'm still
feeling good about

1517
01:23:01,580 --> 01:23:05,060
this that I'm down to three

1518
01:23:05,060 --> 01:23:12,720
which is not so bad and I'm
almost there, but not quite.

1519
01:23:12,910 --> 01:23:15,095
So I said, "Okay."

1520
01:23:15,095 --> 01:23:17,645
Dr. Peterson said, "No, Joe,

1521
01:23:17,645 --> 01:23:20,420
you will be treated just
like all the other finalist,

1522
01:23:20,420 --> 01:23:23,000
you're going to have
to do everything,

1523
01:23:23,000 --> 01:23:26,480
there will be no special

1524
01:23:26,480 --> 01:23:31,850
anything.” So I went through
all the references and all

1525
01:23:31,850 --> 01:23:34,010
of the interviews
by the committee

1526
01:23:34,010 --> 01:23:41,510
and meeting with the vice
president and the president.

1527
01:23:41,510 --> 01:23:45,060
And everybody had to
make a presentation

1528
01:23:45,760 --> 01:23:49,970
publicly for anybody at the
university who could attend.

1529
01:23:49,970 --> 01:23:54,650
So over in BURS in the
business building,

1530
01:23:54,650 --> 01:23:57,080
that's where I did
my presentation,

1531
01:23:57,080 --> 01:24:00,515
had about 150, 160
people attend.

1532
01:24:00,515 --> 01:24:03,995
And when I thought about
what I would talk about,

1533
01:24:03,995 --> 01:24:06,830
the most appropriate talk for me

1534
01:24:06,830 --> 01:24:11,045
was knowing the history
that I had lived already

1535
01:24:11,045 --> 01:24:12,560
had brought us to where we

1536
01:24:12,560 --> 01:24:15,620
were and what I
wanted to do still in

1537
01:24:15,620 --> 01:24:18,920
the future so I

1538
01:24:18,920 --> 01:24:22,290
entitled it looking
backward, looking forward.

1539
01:24:22,630 --> 01:24:25,850
And I was able to

1540
01:24:25,850 --> 01:24:28,760
talk about those accomplishments
and where we were.

1541
01:24:28,760 --> 01:24:31,940
But what I felt that we
needed to do in order to

1542
01:24:31,940 --> 01:24:35,970
advance the mission and
the goals that we had.

1543
01:24:36,460 --> 01:24:42,065
So I did the presentation,

1544
01:24:42,065 --> 01:24:45,450
the question and answer thing.

1545
01:24:45,640 --> 01:24:48,080
Most people were smiling.

1546
01:24:48,080 --> 01:24:52,535
Some, I didn't know whether
they were on board or not,

1547
01:24:52,535 --> 01:24:54,935
I'm sure some were not.

1548
01:24:54,935 --> 01:24:59,300
So I was the last
candidate to interview.

1549
01:24:59,300 --> 01:25:04,265
I'd had no feedback of how
the others had done, nothing.

1550
01:25:04,265 --> 01:25:07,775
They treated me just
like everybody else.

1551
01:25:07,775 --> 01:25:09,920
I was sitting in my office,

1552
01:25:09,920 --> 01:25:13,025
my secretary Melissa Fryer said,

1553
01:25:13,025 --> 01:25:16,160
"Dr. Rugg's here, he'd
like to see you."

1554
01:25:16,160 --> 01:25:18,485
And I said, "Okay,
oh my goodness.

1555
01:25:18,485 --> 01:25:20,480
He's come in to tell me,

1556
01:25:20,480 --> 01:25:22,445
Joe, thank you so much."

1557
01:25:22,445 --> 01:25:26,315
And I knew I could go back
to the Department of Music

1558
01:25:26,315 --> 01:25:28,100
because I was still the chair

1559
01:25:28,100 --> 01:25:30,860
that was just in an
interim position.

1560
01:25:30,860 --> 01:25:33,740
He came in, he didn't
waste any time.

1561
01:25:33,740 --> 01:25:36,095
He sat down, he looked at
me with the biggest smile,

1562
01:25:36,095 --> 01:25:37,520
and he said, "Joe, you just

1563
01:25:37,520 --> 01:25:39,935
blew everybody out of the water.

1564
01:25:39,935 --> 01:25:41,780
And he said, I'm happy to

1565
01:25:41,780 --> 01:25:43,700
offer you the
position of Dean of

1566
01:25:43,700 --> 01:25:48,210
the School of the
Arts." What a moment.

1567
01:25:50,340 --> 01:25:54,790
It was an emotional time

1568
01:25:54,790 --> 01:25:57,460
because of all that
we had done and

1569
01:25:57,460 --> 01:26:00,970
that I was now at this
point [LAUGHTER] because

1570
01:26:00,970 --> 01:26:02,590
when I started to
look back to see

1571
01:26:02,590 --> 01:26:04,825
all the milestones
and all the parts,

1572
01:26:04,825 --> 01:26:08,215
all the pieces that it takes,

1573
01:26:08,215 --> 01:26:11,515
all the ingredients that
need to be in there.

1574
01:26:11,515 --> 01:26:15,310
So I thought, well,

1575
01:26:15,310 --> 01:26:17,185
now my work begins.

1576
01:26:17,185 --> 01:26:20,080
I had said publicly when I

1577
01:26:20,080 --> 01:26:22,900
had talked about the
initiatives that I

1578
01:26:22,900 --> 01:26:29,425
thought we had to address
was that fundraising was

1579
01:26:29,425 --> 01:26:32,800
the major one that we

1580
01:26:32,800 --> 01:26:36,670
could not continue to depend
on the state for funding.

1581
01:26:36,670 --> 01:26:38,815
If we wanted to advance

1582
01:26:38,815 --> 01:26:42,490
our mission and to
achieve our goals,

1583
01:26:42,490 --> 01:26:47,860
we had to have money
besides state money.

1584
01:26:47,860 --> 01:26:50,710
So that's when I was
able to return to

1585
01:26:50,710 --> 01:26:54,535
my first fund raiser
and now in 2001,

1586
01:26:54,535 --> 01:26:58,780
start those next 11
years of fundraisers,

1587
01:26:58,780 --> 01:27:02,545
which was a friend
raiser and fundraiser.

1588
01:27:02,545 --> 01:27:07,730
And it was a community
engagement piece.

1589
01:27:08,160 --> 01:27:10,795
The University was calling for

1590
01:27:10,795 --> 01:27:13,360
the various
departments to create

1591
01:27:13,360 --> 01:27:16,150
the school of music board or

1592
01:27:16,150 --> 01:27:21,025
the department of
whatever board.

1593
01:27:21,025 --> 01:27:26,455
And as you well know, people
accept board invitations,

1594
01:27:26,455 --> 01:27:27,610
and they'll sit on the board,

1595
01:27:27,610 --> 01:27:29,275
and they'll come to meetings

1596
01:27:29,275 --> 01:27:31,390
and you hope that
they're going to

1597
01:27:31,390 --> 01:27:37,220
donate or give to the
department of the school,

1598
01:27:37,260 --> 01:27:41,540
and they don't always do it.

1599
01:27:41,700 --> 01:27:47,095
My board was my
fundraising chairs,

1600
01:27:47,095 --> 01:27:51,535
my community engagement
piece, because guess what?

1601
01:27:51,535 --> 01:27:54,700
Suddenly, when they
accepted that invitation,

1602
01:27:54,700 --> 01:28:00,685
they had a fundraising
and a goal of

1603
01:28:00,685 --> 01:28:04,510
advancing the college and

1604
01:28:04,510 --> 01:28:09,475
soliciting funds for the
things that we needed to do.

1605
01:28:09,475 --> 01:28:14,800
So now, there is a board
and that's wonderful.

1606
01:28:14,800 --> 01:28:19,265
But when you did what I
did with those 11 years,

1607
01:28:19,265 --> 01:28:23,285
when they accept that they'll
chair your fundraiser,

1608
01:28:23,285 --> 01:28:26,785
they're accepting a really
big because our first year,

1609
01:28:26,785 --> 01:28:30,040
at first fundraiser,
$150,000 we raised.

1610
01:28:30,040 --> 01:28:32,425
The next year it was $250,000.

1611
01:28:32,425 --> 01:28:37,075
Then it got up to 300,000
and $350,000 as we advanced.

1612
01:28:37,075 --> 01:28:38,950
A lot of times,

1613
01:28:38,950 --> 01:28:40,690
boards can't even if

1614
01:28:40,690 --> 01:28:42,460
they reach in their pocket
or write you a check,

1615
01:28:42,460 --> 01:28:44,320
they might write
you a $1,000 check,

1616
01:28:44,320 --> 01:28:46,600
but you might have $6,000-

1617
01:28:46,600 --> 01:28:48,700
$12,000 depending on the number

1618
01:28:48,700 --> 01:28:51,770
of people on your board
at the end of the year.

1619
01:28:52,680 --> 01:28:56,440
We built friendships
and we raised

1620
01:28:56,440 --> 01:29:00,565
money and we made some
good things happen.

1621
01:29:00,565 --> 01:29:03,925
>> And one of the
things we had talked

1622
01:29:03,925 --> 01:29:06,970
about is that you were
dean of the whole college?

1623
01:29:06,970 --> 01:29:07,645
>> Right.

1624
01:29:07,645 --> 01:29:09,355
>> What was school
but became college.

1625
01:29:09,355 --> 01:29:12,865
>> Well then, let me just
say something about that.

1626
01:29:12,865 --> 01:29:14,995
The reason we changed from

1627
01:29:14,995 --> 01:29:19,450
School of the Arts to College
of the Arts, once again,

1628
01:29:19,450 --> 01:29:22,120
we were not considered

1629
01:29:22,120 --> 01:29:28,420
an academic unit by people at
the university or wherever.

1630
01:29:28,420 --> 01:29:30,190
They would get up in

1631
01:29:30,190 --> 01:29:33,340
a public meeting in the
convocation center and say,

1632
01:29:33,340 --> 01:29:35,170
at that time, we have

1633
01:29:35,170 --> 01:29:39,170
six academic colleges and
one School of the Arts.

1634
01:29:40,950 --> 01:29:44,515
The adjective academic colleges

1635
01:29:44,515 --> 01:29:46,435
and one School of the Arts,

1636
01:29:46,435 --> 01:29:49,850
six and one School of the Arts.

1637
01:29:50,040 --> 01:29:52,990
We're an academic college,

1638
01:29:52,990 --> 01:29:56,710
why would they not
consider us an academic?

1639
01:29:56,710 --> 01:30:00,505
It goes all the way back to
the liberal arts degrees and

1640
01:30:00,505 --> 01:30:03,070
you can get a better
job and you can make

1641
01:30:03,070 --> 01:30:05,530
more money if you major
in something else.

1642
01:30:05,530 --> 01:30:07,765
Once again, they were
looking at us like we just

1643
01:30:07,765 --> 01:30:10,735
over there making
music, and that's it.

1644
01:30:10,735 --> 01:30:13,300
With that, we decided that we

1645
01:30:13,300 --> 01:30:16,015
had to match everything else.

1646
01:30:16,015 --> 01:30:19,630
We then petitioned to

1647
01:30:19,630 --> 01:30:21,100
change the name from
the School of the Arts

1648
01:30:21,100 --> 01:30:22,135
to the College of the Arts.

1649
01:30:22,135 --> 01:30:23,530
And that was a good move.

1650
01:30:23,530 --> 01:30:25,510
And that's where we are today.

1651
01:30:25,510 --> 01:30:28,930
>> And there was music and
there were other [OVERLAPPING]

1652
01:30:28,930 --> 01:30:30,790
>> Yeah. And then
at that moment,

1653
01:30:30,790 --> 01:30:36,970
[NOISE] then we had the
Department of Music,

1654
01:30:36,970 --> 01:30:40,285
the Department of Theater
and Performance Studies,

1655
01:30:40,285 --> 01:30:43,120
and the Department
of Visual Arts.

1656
01:30:43,120 --> 01:30:45,040
Now over my tenure,

1657
01:30:45,040 --> 01:30:46,720
we were able to,

1658
01:30:46,720 --> 01:30:48,640
with the growth of visual arts,

1659
01:30:48,640 --> 01:30:51,310
it became the School
of Art and Design.

1660
01:30:51,310 --> 01:30:55,150
Then when I hired
Ivan Pulinkala as

1661
01:30:55,150 --> 01:30:59,380
the dance professor, he came in.

1662
01:30:59,380 --> 01:31:01,165
He was another excellent hire,

1663
01:31:01,165 --> 01:31:02,650
and he and I were totally in

1664
01:31:02,650 --> 01:31:05,560
sync on moving that
program forward.

1665
01:31:05,560 --> 01:31:08,890
And so now it is the
Department of Dance,

1666
01:31:08,890 --> 01:31:10,960
which happened while I was still

1667
01:31:10,960 --> 01:31:13,690
a dean and we've just opened

1668
01:31:13,690 --> 01:31:16,705
a new dance theater on
the Marietta campus.

1669
01:31:16,705 --> 01:31:20,230
He hit the ground
running as well.

1670
01:31:20,230 --> 01:31:22,915
You don't do this by yourself.

1671
01:31:22,915 --> 01:31:24,790
You've got to have
people who join

1672
01:31:24,790 --> 01:31:27,370
you that have that same
kind of excitement,

1673
01:31:27,370 --> 01:31:29,080
that same kind of energy,

1674
01:31:29,080 --> 01:31:31,780
a strong work ethic,

1675
01:31:31,780 --> 01:31:36,490
dreamers, entrepreneurs that

1676
01:31:36,490 --> 01:31:39,265
want to make something happen.

1677
01:31:39,265 --> 01:31:43,180
Then we became a college
of four departments,

1678
01:31:43,180 --> 01:31:45,280
including the Department
of Dance now,

1679
01:31:45,280 --> 01:31:49,045
[NOISE] and we accomplished
a lot of things.

1680
01:31:49,045 --> 01:31:51,760
The visual arts building that
we have on campus now was

1681
01:31:51,760 --> 01:31:53,560
our first funded building

1682
01:31:53,560 --> 01:31:55,660
and that was funded
by the state.

1683
01:31:55,660 --> 01:31:57,325
That was the first one that we

1684
01:31:57,325 --> 01:32:00,800
accomplished after
I became dean.

1685
01:32:03,510 --> 01:32:06,865
Of course, and our fundraisers,

1686
01:32:06,865 --> 01:32:09,520
our first scholarship
that we wanted to

1687
01:32:09,520 --> 01:32:12,295
endow was a scholarship
in theater.

1688
01:32:12,295 --> 01:32:15,220
We established the Betty and

1689
01:32:15,220 --> 01:32:21,890
Joel Segal Theater scholarship
in our first fundraiser.

1690
01:32:22,020 --> 01:32:25,750
And then in our
second fundraiser,

1691
01:32:25,750 --> 01:32:27,220
we wanted to do a scholarship,

1692
01:32:27,220 --> 01:32:29,485
an endow scholarship
for visual arts.

1693
01:32:29,485 --> 01:32:34,090
We did a study abroad
scholarship because they were

1694
01:32:34,090 --> 01:32:35,890
wanting to create
that program in

1695
01:32:35,890 --> 01:32:39,830
Montepulciano which
still exists.

1696
01:32:41,670 --> 01:32:45,310
Our Art College,

1697
01:32:45,310 --> 01:32:47,920
the College of the Arts had and

1698
01:32:47,920 --> 01:32:50,785
it may still be
in that position,

1699
01:32:50,785 --> 01:32:55,060
the most endowed scholarships

1700
01:32:55,060 --> 01:32:58,975
of any college at Kennesaw
State University.

1701
01:32:58,975 --> 01:33:02,260
That's how many we
created over those years.

1702
01:33:02,260 --> 01:33:06,790
[NOISE] And then we

1703
01:33:06,790 --> 01:33:11,240
ended up with a study abroad
program in Montepulciano,

1704
01:33:11,730 --> 01:33:15,325
Department of Dance
came about over time.

1705
01:33:15,325 --> 01:33:18,280
We started with just
offering a minor,

1706
01:33:18,280 --> 01:33:21,100
then majors in our department.

1707
01:33:21,100 --> 01:33:24,670
And then along came
Bobbie Bailey.

1708
01:33:24,670 --> 01:33:29,380
And I've talked about
that where she wanted

1709
01:33:29,380 --> 01:33:31,630
to create a large
endowment for the naming

1710
01:33:31,630 --> 01:33:35,170
of Dr. Bobbie Bailey and
Family Performance Center,

1711
01:33:35,170 --> 01:33:39,925
and then the naming of the
concert hall and atrium.

1712
01:33:39,925 --> 01:33:43,825
And it just continued to grow

1713
01:33:43,825 --> 01:33:48,115
so that we're really
pleased where we are today.

1714
01:33:48,115 --> 01:33:51,565
>> Well, let's move
towards our conclusion.

1715
01:33:51,565 --> 01:33:53,800
And talk a little bit
about your retirement

1716
01:33:53,800 --> 01:33:56,005
and how you came
to that decision.

1717
01:33:56,005 --> 01:33:59,215
>> Well, I retired twice.

1718
01:33:59,215 --> 01:34:05,275
In 2006, at the Egyptian
Ballroom at the Fox Theater,

1719
01:34:05,275 --> 01:34:10,405
Betty Siegel was leaving
and Dan Pat was arriving.

1720
01:34:10,405 --> 01:34:16,870
With an audience of 400
people at that 2006 Gala,

1721
01:34:16,870 --> 01:34:20,455
I announced Bobbie
Bailey was sitting,

1722
01:34:20,455 --> 01:34:23,290
she had bought one of
the tables at the front,

1723
01:34:23,290 --> 01:34:25,435
and Audrey Morgan
was sitting there.

1724
01:34:25,435 --> 01:34:28,840
All the friends and people
that had suddenly joined us

1725
01:34:28,840 --> 01:34:33,340
in this arts initiative,

1726
01:34:33,340 --> 01:34:39,940
I announced that I would
be retiring the next year.

1727
01:34:40,470 --> 01:34:43,390
The room just kind of went,

1728
01:34:43,390 --> 01:34:45,880
probably wasn't the best
place where you're having

1729
01:34:45,880 --> 01:34:48,400
fun at a party to do this.

1730
01:34:48,400 --> 01:34:51,070
But I had always said I

1731
01:34:51,070 --> 01:34:53,755
did not want to stay
too long at the fair.

1732
01:34:53,755 --> 01:34:56,590
I did not want to stay
so that people said,

1733
01:34:56,590 --> 01:34:58,300
is he ever going to leave.

1734
01:34:58,300 --> 01:35:00,715
So I went ahead and said,

1735
01:35:00,715 --> 01:35:02,800
I just need to get out of here.

1736
01:35:02,800 --> 01:35:04,375
Now think about that date.

1737
01:35:04,375 --> 01:35:09,565
That's 2006. We haven't even
opened the concert hall.

1738
01:35:09,565 --> 01:35:15,540
So Bobbie Bailey and

1739
01:35:15,540 --> 01:35:18,870
Audrey Morgan walked up to
me afterwards and they said,

1740
01:35:18,870 --> 01:35:22,440
Joe, we did not come here
tonight to hear this.

1741
01:35:22,440 --> 01:35:27,020
[LAUGHTER] Well, that can
really make you feel bad.

1742
01:35:27,810 --> 01:35:30,205
And Audrey Morgan, my goodness,

1743
01:35:30,205 --> 01:35:31,885
what a great friend and

1744
01:35:31,885 --> 01:35:34,960
she has been to us because
she had already years ago

1745
01:35:34,960 --> 01:35:37,845
created an endowed
music scholarship

1746
01:35:37,845 --> 01:35:40,395
as well as a nursing
scholarship.

1747
01:35:40,395 --> 01:35:42,795
And so she continued
to build and

1748
01:35:42,795 --> 01:35:45,540
add to that scholarship.

1749
01:35:45,540 --> 01:35:47,715
It's one of the largest in

1750
01:35:47,715 --> 01:35:49,440
the School of Music
and probably one of

1751
01:35:49,440 --> 01:35:52,120
the largest in the
whole university.

1752
01:35:54,540 --> 01:35:59,620
I was amazed because they never
really expressed anything

1753
01:35:59,620 --> 01:36:01,240
about when you're
going to retire

1754
01:36:01,240 --> 01:36:04,990
and they were really a
little bit concerned.

1755
01:36:04,990 --> 01:36:06,400
So I said, well,

1756
01:36:06,400 --> 01:36:08,200
yeah, it's time for me to go.

1757
01:36:08,200 --> 01:36:11,990
I just did not want
to stay too long.

1758
01:36:11,990 --> 01:36:15,075
The very next week,

1759
01:36:15,075 --> 01:36:20,130
I was in my office and through
the door came Dr. Pat.

1760
01:36:20,130 --> 01:36:21,810
And as he walked
through the door,

1761
01:36:21,810 --> 01:36:24,480
he looked at me and he said,
how much time do I have?

1762
01:36:24,480 --> 01:36:26,865
I said, well you have
the rest of the year.

1763
01:36:26,865 --> 01:36:30,995
And [NOISE] he said,
can we sit down?

1764
01:36:30,995 --> 01:36:33,820
I said, yes. And he said, well,

1765
01:36:33,820 --> 01:36:34,885
first of all, I need to

1766
01:36:34,885 --> 01:36:36,715
make sure I have
your phone number.

1767
01:36:36,715 --> 01:36:37,660
And I said, well,

1768
01:36:37,660 --> 01:36:39,310
I'll make sure you
have my phone number.

1769
01:36:39,310 --> 01:36:41,560
He said, but let's talk
about the fact that

1770
01:36:41,560 --> 01:36:44,725
maybe you might want
to postpone this.

1771
01:36:44,725 --> 01:36:47,470
He said, the next six
years are just going to

1772
01:36:47,470 --> 01:36:50,990
be great and you should
be a part of it.

1773
01:36:52,610 --> 01:36:55,410
I said, well, I'll
think about it.

1774
01:36:55,410 --> 01:36:56,895
Well, that continued.

1775
01:36:56,895 --> 01:36:58,275
Every time I would see him,

1776
01:36:58,275 --> 01:37:00,975
he would say, Joe, whatever.

1777
01:37:00,975 --> 01:37:02,925
So finally, we were at event

1778
01:37:02,925 --> 01:37:04,770
and his wife was
standing next to him,

1779
01:37:04,770 --> 01:37:07,140
and he said, Joe,

1780
01:37:07,140 --> 01:37:10,470
he was just going on about,
you need to stay, whatever.

1781
01:37:10,470 --> 01:37:12,060
I said, well, let
me just do this.

1782
01:37:12,060 --> 01:37:14,445
Let me do it on a
year by year basis.

1783
01:37:14,445 --> 01:37:16,020
Let me just say I will stay

1784
01:37:16,020 --> 01:37:18,810
an extra year and then
we'll reevaluate that.

1785
01:37:18,810 --> 01:37:20,055
And he just kept talking.

1786
01:37:20,055 --> 01:37:24,585
His wife pushed him and
said, Dan, take it.

1787
01:37:24,585 --> 01:37:28,210
He said he'd stay an extra year.

1788
01:37:28,700 --> 01:37:33,255
So interestingly, I
stayed six more years.

1789
01:37:33,255 --> 01:37:36,870
And I'm so glad I did.

1790
01:37:36,870 --> 01:37:41,650
That's when we built
the concert hall.

1791
01:37:41,810 --> 01:37:46,905
Bobbie Bailey named
the building.

1792
01:37:46,905 --> 01:37:49,635
We became an
All-Steinway school.

1793
01:37:49,635 --> 01:37:51,510
And what I accomplished in

1794
01:37:51,510 --> 01:37:55,065
those next six years
or I won't say I,

1795
01:37:55,065 --> 01:37:58,305
we, because I always
want to emphasize,

1796
01:37:58,305 --> 01:38:00,790
you do not do it by yourself.

1797
01:38:00,790 --> 01:38:04,100
But what we accomplished
with such a great team of

1798
01:38:04,100 --> 01:38:08,565
people was absolutely staggering

1799
01:38:08,565 --> 01:38:11,505
of what we did in
those six years.

1800
01:38:11,505 --> 01:38:14,370
But then I thought,

1801
01:38:14,370 --> 01:38:19,800
six years, it's time
for me to go now.

1802
01:38:19,800 --> 01:38:22,410
I satisfied Dr. Pat.

1803
01:38:22,410 --> 01:38:23,730
He said he's going to be the

1804
01:38:23,730 --> 01:38:26,100
sixth best years
and he was right.

1805
01:38:26,100 --> 01:38:32,310
I stayed. So I announced
my retirement for 2013.

1806
01:38:32,310 --> 01:38:37,080
So I left on February 1st, 2013.

1807
01:38:37,080 --> 01:38:39,540
Then about six months later,

1808
01:38:39,540 --> 01:38:42,780
he called me again and asked
I'd come back and work half

1809
01:38:42,780 --> 01:38:46,425
time and continue to
raise money and whatever.

1810
01:38:46,425 --> 01:38:49,035
So I did because I
was in the throes

1811
01:38:49,035 --> 01:38:51,690
of the museum when I left and

1812
01:38:51,690 --> 01:38:54,585
I had gotten the lead gift

1813
01:38:54,585 --> 01:38:57,195
on the building of the
Zuckerman Museum of Art.

1814
01:38:57,195 --> 01:38:58,800
And so I was friends with

1815
01:38:58,800 --> 01:39:01,470
Bernard Zuckerman and
his wife, Suzanne.

1816
01:39:01,470 --> 01:39:08,640
So I came back and was

1817
01:39:08,640 --> 01:39:10,830
a part of the opening
of the museum

1818
01:39:10,830 --> 01:39:13,590
and getting funding for

1819
01:39:13,590 --> 01:39:16,935
some of the galleries,
the Morton galleries.

1820
01:39:16,935 --> 01:39:23,205
And so I continued to do that.

1821
01:39:23,205 --> 01:39:25,545
Of course, Bobbie Bailey,

1822
01:39:25,545 --> 01:39:28,260
before I announced
that retirement,

1823
01:39:28,260 --> 01:39:32,310
I invited Audrey
and Bobby to lunch.

1824
01:39:32,310 --> 01:39:34,260
I met for lunch
and they came with

1825
01:39:34,260 --> 01:39:35,580
the most grim faces you've ever

1826
01:39:35,580 --> 01:39:38,370
seen and I told him
what I was going to do,

1827
01:39:38,370 --> 01:39:40,110
and they said, well,
we were talking.

1828
01:39:40,110 --> 01:39:42,090
We were wondering what you
were going to inviting

1829
01:39:42,090 --> 01:39:44,145
us to lunch and
what was going on.

1830
01:39:44,145 --> 01:39:45,540
Were you going to
ask us for money

1831
01:39:45,540 --> 01:39:47,055
or what was going happen?

1832
01:39:47,055 --> 01:39:49,290
We didn't know that you
were going to tell us that.

1833
01:39:49,290 --> 01:39:51,840
Well, once again,

1834
01:39:51,840 --> 01:39:53,310
I had gone another six years,

1835
01:39:53,310 --> 01:39:55,260
but they weren't really
smiling about it.

1836
01:39:55,260 --> 01:39:57,825
And that's very flattering.

1837
01:39:57,825 --> 01:40:02,370
So I came on back to the
university after we had

1838
01:40:02,370 --> 01:40:04,380
lunch and I saw that I had

1839
01:40:04,380 --> 01:40:08,100
a phone call on my cell
phone from Bobbie Bailey.

1840
01:40:08,100 --> 01:40:11,490
And I said, I'm going to retire,

1841
01:40:11,490 --> 01:40:12,750
but then I started
soft pedaling,

1842
01:40:12,750 --> 01:40:14,790
but I'll still be
connected to you and

1843
01:40:14,790 --> 01:40:17,160
I'll still be around
and whatever,

1844
01:40:17,160 --> 01:40:18,615
to make her feel better.

1845
01:40:18,615 --> 01:40:21,090
So she calls on the
phone and she said, Joe,

1846
01:40:21,090 --> 01:40:26,200
don't you ever do something
like that to me again.

1847
01:40:26,540 --> 01:40:30,870
And I just felt so bad about it.

1848
01:40:30,870 --> 01:40:34,155
She was so excited,
so involved here,

1849
01:40:34,155 --> 01:40:36,975
wanting to be involved that I

1850
01:40:36,975 --> 01:40:38,550
really started to
feel that I was

1851
01:40:38,550 --> 01:40:40,875
letting her down
that I was going.

1852
01:40:40,875 --> 01:40:45,660
Because to then she
met with Dr. Pat,

1853
01:40:45,660 --> 01:40:48,225
she just wasn't really happy
that I was going to be here.

1854
01:40:48,225 --> 01:40:50,235
So Dr. Pat said,
Joe's coming back.

1855
01:40:50,235 --> 01:40:52,590
He's going to be doing
some work for us.

1856
01:40:52,590 --> 01:40:55,755
So I did.

1857
01:40:55,755 --> 01:40:59,550
And I think that was good
because I was able to

1858
01:40:59,550 --> 01:41:03,060
continue to do good works,

1859
01:41:03,060 --> 01:41:05,205
and that's what we
really want to do.

1860
01:41:05,205 --> 01:41:07,470
When we created those spaces

1861
01:41:07,470 --> 01:41:09,150
like the Bailey
Performance Center or

1862
01:41:09,150 --> 01:41:13,485
the Visual Arts Building
or any of these spaces,

1863
01:41:13,485 --> 01:41:17,660
we create it so that faculty and

1864
01:41:17,660 --> 01:41:23,640
students can do and
showcase their good works.

1865
01:41:23,640 --> 01:41:31,395
And I'm so happy that we
were able to do that.

1866
01:41:31,395 --> 01:41:36,825
And so with Dr. Bailey,

1867
01:41:36,825 --> 01:41:39,960
we were able to continue to
strengthen our friendship,

1868
01:41:39,960 --> 01:41:41,685
to remain close friends.

1869
01:41:41,685 --> 01:41:44,115
We'd have dinner for
2-3 times a week.

1870
01:41:44,115 --> 01:41:46,575
We talked on the
phone every day,

1871
01:41:46,575 --> 01:41:49,050
and as you all know,
I had dinner with

1872
01:41:49,050 --> 01:41:52,020
her the last night
before she died.

1873
01:41:52,020 --> 01:41:54,345
And it was all celebratory,

1874
01:41:54,345 --> 01:41:56,760
drinking champagne
and eating sharing

1875
01:41:56,760 --> 01:42:00,935
a chocolate dessert as if we
were going to go on forever,

1876
01:42:00,935 --> 01:42:02,630
but we all know that we don't.

1877
01:42:02,630 --> 01:42:05,165
And the next morning,

1878
01:42:05,165 --> 01:42:08,405
Audrey called me to tell me
that she'd had a stroke.

1879
01:42:08,405 --> 01:42:11,090
So I feel so blessed
that I was able

1880
01:42:11,090 --> 01:42:13,310
to be there for that
last evening and to

1881
01:42:13,310 --> 01:42:15,740
have that last
conversation and to

1882
01:42:15,740 --> 01:42:18,620
celebrate life and
to celebrate her

1883
01:42:18,620 --> 01:42:21,860
and to celebrate
the good work that

1884
01:42:21,860 --> 01:42:26,140
she did and her belief in us.

1885
01:42:26,390 --> 01:42:30,900
>> Well, we can conclude

1886
01:42:30,900 --> 01:42:32,580
here if you're comfortable

1887
01:42:32,580 --> 01:42:34,635
doing that, or is
there something else?

1888
01:42:34,635 --> 01:42:35,820
>> Well, I don't know
if there's anything

1889
01:42:35,820 --> 01:42:37,395
else that I didn't tell you.

1890
01:42:37,395 --> 01:42:39,630
>> Well, I have some
concluding questions,

1891
01:42:39,630 --> 01:42:41,970
but we covered
quite a bit of it.

1892
01:42:41,970 --> 01:42:46,140
You left only a few
weeks ago, really?

1893
01:42:46,140 --> 01:42:47,970
>> Yeah. Two months now.

1894
01:42:47,970 --> 01:42:52,860
>> Last office. What
about your personality,

1895
01:42:52,860 --> 01:42:55,125
do you think made you a
good fit for this role?

1896
01:42:55,125 --> 01:42:57,420
I think that would be
my final question.

1897
01:42:57,420 --> 01:43:06,030
>> Well, I'm an extrovert I
have a strong work ethic.

1898
01:43:06,030 --> 01:43:11,620
I have high standards.

1899
01:43:16,430 --> 01:43:20,830
I'm all about
community engagement.

1900
01:43:21,680 --> 01:43:27,430
I like people. I like
communicating with people.

1901
01:43:28,220 --> 01:43:35,775
So I think my
entrepreneurial spirit,

1902
01:43:35,775 --> 01:43:39,195
my wanting to build something,

1903
01:43:39,195 --> 01:43:42,300
I think those are the
traits that you have

1904
01:43:42,300 --> 01:43:45,270
to have in order to be

1905
01:43:45,270 --> 01:43:54,000
a leader because it does
take a lot of work.

1906
01:43:54,000 --> 01:43:55,875
And it takes a lot of vision,

1907
01:43:55,875 --> 01:44:03,060
and it takes that engagement.

1908
01:44:03,060 --> 01:44:05,490
Betty Siegel was all about

1909
01:44:05,490 --> 01:44:09,240
community engagement but
community engagement

1910
01:44:09,240 --> 01:44:12,370
was talked to me by my
first piano teacher.

1911
01:44:12,710 --> 01:44:15,675
It came with the Steinway with

1912
01:44:15,675 --> 01:44:19,290
the accreditation National
Association goes to music,

1913
01:44:19,290 --> 01:44:21,150
being involved in the community.

1914
01:44:21,150 --> 01:44:23,970
Those things have just followed
me all the way through.

1915
01:44:23,970 --> 01:44:25,470
And I think with having

1916
01:44:25,470 --> 01:44:27,720
that background that has

1917
01:44:27,720 --> 01:44:29,430
come all the way
through my life,

1918
01:44:29,430 --> 01:44:33,750
it made it a good fit for
me to be in that position.

1919
01:44:33,750 --> 01:44:36,300
>> Well, thank you
so much, Dean Mix.

1920
01:44:36,300 --> 01:44:40,150
>> Thank you, James. I enjoy
doing this. Thank you.