Magale Foundation Trustees visit SAU

Magale Foundation Trustees from left, Homer Greer, Doug Thomas, Timothy Quinn and Robin Branim in the Magale Room at Southern Arkansas University. The Magale Foundation Trustees have long been friends of Magale Library and the SAU Band.

Magale Foundation Trustees—friends of the library and the Southern Arkansas University Band program visit campus

MAGNOLIA—Students in the Southern Arkansas University band could be using instruments older than they were, but generous donations from the Magale Foundation Trustees have allowed for the purchase of more modern equipment.

On Wednesday, several trustees of the Magale Foundation visited Magale Library on campus—named in honor of John F. and Joanna G. Magale —and heard what an everyday impact their donations have made. University Director of Bands J.P. Wilson said they have helped replace some equipment that was at least 40 years old.
“We performed a concert last spring that we would not have been able to perform other wise,” Wilson said.
Wilson, who begins his 10th year as director of bands this fall, said the improved equipment provides a recruiting tool to attract students to SAU. In the past five years, the band has grown about 35 percent to its current roster of about 120 students, and Wilson credits the Magale Foundation for much of that.

“There is no way we could be where we are without them, period,” Wilson said. “What they have done has certainly benefited our band department.”

SAU Foundation Director Jeanie Bismark, and Associate Director of Development, Josh Kee, hosted the Magale Foundation trustees, Archie Monroe, former trustee, and Doug Thomas of J. P. Morgan for a tour around campus. The highlight of their visit was the Magale Room in the library which features books from the original Magale residence on North Jefferson Street. The volumes are kept in this room because it provides the most humidity control available said Daniel Page, who took over the post of the Magale Library director this July.

The relationship between the Magale family and the University has a history of its own. John F. and Joanna G. Magale were friends and benefactors of SAU for many years during their lives and through their estates. In 1975 they established the “John F. and Joanna G. Magale Trust Library Fund for Southern State College,” which promoted naming the library in their honor. Over the years, they established endowments that continue to provide scholarships for current students, as well as academic enrichment funds for the University in the Colleges of Liberal and Performing Art and Education. Most recently, the Magale Foundation has provided grants to the band program, helping to develop the band into one of the finest marching bands in the Gulf State Conference.

First Recipients of the David Sixbey Foreign Studies Endowment Grant announced

Pictured are (Left to Right)  David Sixbey, Dr. Svetlana Paulson, Assistant Professor of History, Casey L. Hayes, and Daniel S. Hammack

Casey L. Hayes and Daniel S. Hammack are the first recipients of the David Sixbey Foreign Studies Endowment Grants for Study Abroad. Both students traveled to Moscow this summer.

The grants are made possible by a generous contribution by Amy and Pat Sixbey in honor of David Sixbey. Professor Sixbey is a former history faculty member at Southern Arkansas University who established the Russian Exchange Program. Their gift provides an opportunity for junior or senior students in the School of Liberal and Performing Arts to have an opportunity to study in a way they might not otherwise have the opportunity to do. Preference is given to students seeking educational opportunities in Russia. Amy and Pat Sixbey have also begun an endowment to provide a permanent source of funding for future students

Both Hayes and Hammack are non-traditional students who attended area community colleges before continuing their education in history and political science at SAU.

Hayes transferred from South Arkansas Community College in 2008 to SAU. She graduated from El Dorado High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. Hayes said Dr. Svetlana Paulson’s Russia and the USSR history at SAU course sparked her interest in Russia. Hayes traveled to Moscow for three weeks this July so she could conduct research and schedule oral interviews on the collapse of the Soviet Union. She also said she was looking forward to visiting museums and galleries as she explores the life and culture of the city and the nation.

Hayes is scheduled to graduate from SAU in December 2009 and plans pursue a master’s in history at Louisiana Tech University.

Hammack graduated from Abilene Texas High School and attended the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope before enrolling in SAU in 2008. He also plans to graduate in December 2009.

Growing up during the cold war era, Hammack has long been intrigued by Russia but was frustrated by the lack of information in his public school classes. His courses at SAU provided valuable insight and have prepared him for his stay in Moscow throughout June and July.

Hammack plans to interview Russians who recall the cold war to learn their attitudes toward the U.S and their perspective on Soviet policy during that period. He intends to compare the cold war outlooks to current views of Russians on the relationship of their country with the U.S. Hammack said he believes this experience abroad will strengthen his own preparation to become a school teacher and answer the type of questions for which he sought answers when he had been a student.

Study abroad is and increasingly valuable educational opportunity and the SAU Foundation is pleased to offer this award through the generosity of friends at SAU. Friends and former students of Professor David Sixbey are invited to contribute to the endowment in his honor. For more information on doing so, contact the SAU Foundation at 870-235-4078.