Performances don't just happen. Teams practice and performers rehearse. Coaches and players, directors and actors, conductors and musicians work tirelessly behind the scenes to create those moments of brilliance for which others cheer.
Emory & Henry, which has had a proud legacy of changing lives for nearly two centuries, is preparing for life-changing performances, both on stage and on the playing field. And as it helps students prepare for life's performances, Emory & Henry is setting the stage for its own future.
This effort began in July with the announcement of a campaign to raise money for the construction and improvement of two "stages" on which E&H students perform most visibly - a $12 million facility for the arts and a $4.5 million enhancement to the College football stadium. This campaign, known as "Prelude to Performance," seeks the resources to showcase student talents, enhance the student experience, reach out to the community, and build support for even greater growth at the College.
"Emory & Henry is a treasure," said President Reichard. "I hear that again and again from alumni, friends of the College and people in the community. This campaign is about putting that treasure on display and reminding these people in a more visible way of the many ways that their College is changing lives for students. "
The new Emory & Henry Center for the Arts will consist of 40,000 square feet of space for a 450-seat theater, a proscenium stage, a fly system for scene changes, a 150-seat Black Box theater, dressing rooms, production areas, gallery space, and a three-dimensional design studio. Reflecting architectural elements of the Georgian style that prevails on the historic E&H campus, the design for the two-story brick facility calls for an expansive columned portico, large windows and broad staircases. The facility also features handicap accessibility.
The enhanced football stadium will be named the "Fred Selfe Memorial Athletic Stadium," in honor of a beloved former athletic director. The stadium improvements will include artificial turf for Fullerton Field, making it available for soccer competitions, intramural sports and baseball practices; a new field house that will include locker rooms, meeting rooms and offices; upgrades to home and visitor seats; lighting for night play; a new press box and ticket booth; a brick wall to enclose the field; and a decorative fence to surround the stadium.
A Showcase for E&H Pride
When Reichard began working as president in August 2006, she made clear that for the College to fulfill its vision for the future it must maintain a focus on what is most important - students. "Many times schools forget that focus, and it puts them off-track," Reichard said. The two projects of this campaign seek to reinforce the emphasis on students by showcasing their talents and efforts.
"When I first came here, I was struck by the tremendous love that Emory & Henry students have for this institution," Reichard said. "These are students with a variety of interests who want to demonstrate not only their abilities, but also their pride in the institution and their appreciation for those who support it. We owe it to them to have the best possible facilities from which they can display their talents and that will allow others to share in their pride."
The success of programs - from athletics to the arts - is integral to the College's reputation, said Bob Johnson, E&H athletic director. "And when I talk about success, I'm not just talking about wins and losses, but also how we represent the institution throughout the state and indeed throughout the country ... When people watch our teams play - whatever team it is - they see young men and women playing with joy."
Dr. Charles "Chick" Davis ('52) knows well the importance of performance as an expression of college pride. Davis, who distinguished himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of E&H football, also became the legendary founder and director of the renowned E&H Concert Choir. To him, this campaign is the perfect expression of college pride as well as an exclamation point on its mission to serve students and others.
"At Emory & Henry, we've always been in the business of serving all of society," Davis said. "Although our campus is rural, we are not ones to go off in isolation. We want to make a difference. And we're preparing students for the world, and we want the world to see what we're accomplishing. We want the world to see our students, their pride and their optimism."
A Rich Experience
In 1997, Emory & Henry created the Division of Visual and Performing Arts, which brought together existing programs in theatre, music and the visual arts. While pulling these programs under the same division, Emory & Henry also enhanced them to provide a greater number of degrees and to create more opportunities for learning and performance.
Since then, the number of offerings and the number of students in each of the departments has grown. The Music Department offers majors in church music, performance and music education. The Theatre Department boasts some 55 majors producing a wide variety of quality performances each year. The Art Department has increased in faculty members and students while offering courses in digital art as well as painting and three dimensional design.
"In all three areas of the arts - theatre, music and the visual arts - we have seen tremendous growth, which speaks to the commitment that students and professors in these areas have to this institution," said Biliana Stoytcheva-Horissian, the chair of the E&H Theatre Department.
Emory & Henry boasts the largest number of theater majors (55) of all private liberal arts colleges in Virginia, but other institutions have more up-to-date facilities, Stoytcheva-Horissian said. "This new center will allow our students to demonstrate their supervised and independent creative work, which is central to our program, in a way that they have never experienced before and in a way that makes us more competitive in recruiting students."
The E&H football stadium, which surrounds Fullerton Field (named in memory of Thomas B. "Bingo" Fullerton, the College's first football coach), was built in 1950 and improved in 1990. The stadium attracts some of the largest crowds in Division III football. Enthusiasm for E&H football remains strong while other athletic programs are poised for the kind of support that draws both fans and additional athletes.
It is time for Emory & Henry to take the next bold step in the development of its athletic program, said head football coach Don Montgomery. Such a step would be an important part of attracting students looking for the proper facilities to enhance their enjoyment of the athletic experience. "We're talking about how to recruit and how to retain students and athletes, and what we have to do is bring our facilities up to - and hopefully beyond - what some of our competitors' are. I believe that facilities don't win games, but ... they can help in recruitment of student athletes."
A Part of the Community
Emory & Henry officials hope that the success of this campaign will spread E&H pride well beyond the community of Emory, not simply for the purposes of increasing recognition and student enrollment, but also to add momentum to the economic and cultural development of the region.
With a new E&H Center for the Arts, Dr. Ed Damer, the head of the Division of Visual and Performing Arts, sees the College playing a key role in the emergence of the arts in Southwest Virginia. E&H theatre students, practiced in performance on a modern stage, will serve the growing needs of theatres in the region, including the professional Barter Stage in nearby Abingdon. Music students will provide talent and energy for a growing number of area choirs, instrumental groups and opera performances. And increased gallery space, will add to the opportunities student artists have to exhibit their work to a much larger number of viewers.
"We believe the new Center for the Arts will not only be a center for the campus, but also a place that will help launch our talented students in the community while serving as a draw to people from throughout this region," Damer said.
Stoytcheva-Horissian said the Center for the Arts will expand the College's ability to host guest artists as well as high-quality touring productions. "I truly believe that it will allow the College to become not only an educational but also a cultural center for the surrounding communities."
The vastly improved stadium will provide opportunities for teams in the community to hold night games and tournaments. According to Montgomery, the stadium is much more than a new facility; it is a testimonial to the values of Fred Selfe, a man for whom community, service and giving back was important. "It's a testimony to a relationship between the College and its alumni and the College and the community that has supported it."
A Prelude to the Future
This fund-raising effort might be considered a pre-campaign campaign, according to some of those who work closely with it. Their reason: It's just the beginning of something much greater.
When these projects are complete, according to President Reichard, they will provide the momentum for other new initiatives that the College community is currently considering. Reichard is leading a community-wide effort in strategic planning, the results of which should be announced before the end of the year.
"The benefits of these projects go beyond what may seem obvious in terms of showcasing our students and improving facilities," Reichard said. "We are setting the stage for what can be an even greater increase in the excellence of this institution."
On Sept. 21, 2007 Reichard was inaugurated as the 20th president of Emory & Henry. The theme for that day, "Legacy & Vision: Toward Newer Worlds," reminds those for whom Emory & Henry is dear that the College possesses enormous potential. That potential is drawn from both the College's past and the belief that people have in its promise.
This campaign provides the E&H family the opportunity to declare their pride for the College and its past while participating in its bright future. It is like the rehearsal for a great performance that will give alumni, friends of the College and many generations of future students something to cheer about.