Millersville University, Faculty Senate

Attachment 2
Faculty Senate Minutes
7 October 1997

WHEREAS Professor Walter W. Blackburn has announced his retirement from the Millersville University Music Department faculty after 26 years of devoted service; and

WHEREAS he brought the University Choir to new and excellent heights of achievement in such major concerts as Mendelssohn's Elijah, a concert version of VErdi's Aida, and as the sole undergraduate choir invited to perform at the 1996 state conference of Pennsylvania Music Educators Association; and

WHEREAS his studio voice teaching has become the basis for numerous students' careers in singing, choral conducting and music education; and

WHEREAS he has maintained a fervent, abiding and influential concern for basic musicianship with the voice and at the piano, setting a worthy example for others in these regards; and

WHEREAS he has maintained a life-long pursuit of personal learning, espcially in recent study of the contrabass and of Dalcroze eurhythmics at the Dalcroze Institute in Zurich and has brought the benefits of such learning to his teaching and performance, including his recent teaching of eurhythmics; and

,/P> WHEREAS he has made important contributions to enrollment in the Music Department through tireless recruiting efforts; and

WHEREAS he served many terms on numerous committees of the university, including especially the Cultural Affairs Committee and as chair of the committee that successfully achieved reaccreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music; and

WHEREAS he carried the good name of the university into the wider community as guest soloist, lecturer, and conductor, including at high school festivals and for many years as Principal Conductor of lancaster Opera Company; and

WHEREAS he has continued to urge the social and psychological values of singing, especially of public group singing; and

WHEREAS his special interest in American music has yielded both the design of a course on that subject and many special learning experiences for students in formal and informal settings; and

WHEREAS in his life he has shown the value of diversified pursuits, especially in his continuing interest in biography and railroading;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the faculty of the Millersville University Music Department congratulate Professor Blackburn on so outstanding a career on and off the Millersville campus; and further

BE IT RESOLVED that we record our keen admiration and sincere gratitutde to him for twenty-six years of dedicated teaching, artistic performance and abundant service to students, colleagues and community alike; and further

BE IT RESOLVED that we emulate his life-long dedication to beauty, service, and learning in our own lives and careers, seeking ever to feel and understand those things which make our world a better place and remaining tireless in their pursuit; and further

BE IT RESOLVED that we wish Professor Blackburn many happy years in retirement, filled with abundant music making and listening and all those other pursuits they wish to enjoy; and finally

BE IT RESOLVED that the Music Department recommends that Mr. Walter Blackburn be granted the rank of Associate Professor Emeritus.

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