University Place

et al.: University place

UNIVERSITY P L A C E

hen Megan White '90 mainstream exhibitions, and this was an Artistic was a senior, she took example of that." AAS 361-Art of the Along with artist recognition, Williams Black World. As part saw the gallery as a place w here students Impressions of the course, the art considering careers in art or gallery history major took a field trip to the Com administration could gain experience. munity Folk Art Gallery and was imme Campbell was one of those students; SU'.:J Community FoLic diately impressed by the cultural center. today she serves as dean of the Tisch Her interest led to an internship and even School of the Arts at New York Uni Art GaLlery celebrated tually a seven-year stint working at the versity. "This field excludes people of itc~ 25th anniverc~ary gallery. "That trip made me realize that color," she says. "Were it not for the the gallery was, and is, the only lasting, Community Folk Art Gallery, I wouldn't visible location in Syracuse for people of have learned curatorial displaying, color to see representations of them mounting, or the other skills that come selves," says White, along with this business. The gallery who now works as di introduced me to a profession t hat be rector of the Empire came my life." State Crafts Alliance. Throughout its existence, the gallery has "The gallery is a won been instrumental in bringing the black derful urban idea." art experience to the community. Exhibi Twenty-five years tors there have included painter Romare ago, Syracuse Univer Bearden, photographer James Vanderzee, sity invited Herb Wil and sculptor Augustus Savage. "North liams to teach and cre of the Tappan Zee Bridge, African ate a community pro Americans had been shut off," says Jack ject for the budding White, a featured abstract artist in the African American stud gallery's 25th anniversary exhibition in ies program. Williams February. "With little money or staff, felt an art center was the Folk Art Gallery brought prominent the perfect outlet for black works to Central New York." cultural enrichment. "I And, say s Williams, the gallery will wanted to make it pos continue to do so. Currently he is plan sible for artists of color ning another celebratory show focusing to show their work, on Syracuse's early African American and for all peoples to community. "Our country requires come together for class ways for cultures not admitted into the es, films, lectures, and mainstream to be exposed to larger tours," says Williams, publics," says Campbell. "As long as the gallery's first and that exists, t here will always be a need only director. for the Community Folk Art Gallery. The Community Folk - NATAL/EA. VALENTINE Art Gallery was Wil liams's brainchild, born out of a discussion he had with students in Sports Legend Director Herb Williams stands in front of a display of African statues at the the first Art of the Community Folk Art Gallery. The gallery stays connected to the community Black World course he ount Larry Kimball among through exhibits, children's art classes, adult workshops, and other activities. taught. After a labori- C Syracuse University's sports leg ous semester of plan ends. True, he never nailed a ning, the United Way's Urban Crisis game-winner against Georgetown, but Fund and Syracuse University joined he certainly tallied his share of assists forces to fund the project a nd make the during 31 years of pumping out press concept a reality. "No attention was being releases and coordinating media relations paid to artists of color a nywhere in the as SU's sports information director country," says Mary Schmidt Campbell (SID). Until his retirement in August, G'73, G'82, one of the gallery's early col Kimball had worked at 383 straight foot laborators. "We needed alternatives to ball games, the longest such active streak

42 Published by SURFACE, 1997 SYRACUS E UN I VERS I TY MAGAZINE 1 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 14, Iss. 1 [1997], Art. 12

on SU sports and the evolution of inter memories of Orange greats, assorted collegiate athletics. He'll quiz you on the sports personalities, and trips to locales identity of the third player in the back like Hawaii and Japan. He'll explain field with Floyd Little '67 and Larry how SU sports gained a national audi Csonka '68 (it was Jacksonville Jaguars ence through TV exposure; the Big head coach Tom Coughlin '68, G'69), East; the success of the football, basket recall the establishment of women's ball, and lacrosse programs; the ever sports at SU, and discuss the impact of recognizable Carrier Dome; and the changes in media coverage. He'll share surge in the merchandising market.

>- Mildred C. Egger.; of Syracuse, wife of the late Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers, died July 4 at age 87. Larry Kimball witnessed a lot of SU "'sports history during his 31 years as sports information director. Chancellor Eggers, who oversaw SU for more than 20 years, died in November 1994. Born in Markle, Indiana, Mildred Chenoweth grad in the country. This Gehrig-esque ac uated from Ball State Teachers College in Muncie, complishment, w hich dates back to his Indiana. She later attended SU as a graduate student. start in the sports information business at She married Melvin Eggers in 1941. the University of Vermont in the early Mildred Eggers was an elementary school teacher Mildred C. Eggers sixties, places him second on the all-time for 25 years before retiring in 1970. During her hus- consecutive-football-games-worked list band's administration from 1971 to 1991, she hosted recognized by the College Sports Infor numerous functions at the Chancellor's residence and was an active mation Directors of America (CoSIDA). volunteer in the community, including service on the boards of "I take pride in the streak. I'm lucky Syracuse Stage and the Syracuse University Women's Association. that somewhere along the way I wasn't sick or didn't suffer any broken bones," In 1979 she was honorary chair of Onondaga County's celebration of says Kimball, who advised his two the International Year of the Child. daughters against planning weddings In 1990, in recognition of her years of community service, she re during football season (one waited for ceived the Syracuse Area InterReligious Council's Leadership Award the season schedule to come out, then and the Girl Scouts' Outstanding Community Leadership Award. She picked an open date). 'Tve taken pride in was inducted into SU's Orange Plus Hall of Fame in 1982. the business I'm in, and I've enjoyed being a representative of SU." >- Bettina B. Chapman, an honorary SU trustee, This record has plenty of company died July 16 at University Hospital in Syracuse. She among Kimball's career highlights. He was 85. won numerous awards for his media Chapman graduated from SU in 1933 with a bach guides, was inducted into the CoSIDA elor's degree in fine arts. She studied at the Von Hall of Fame in 1994, and orchestrated Emberg School of Art in New Jersey, and at the media coverage for an array of events Woodbury School of Art in Maine. ranging from NCAA basketball and She was a member of the boards of visitors for lacrosse tournaments in the Carrier Dome SU's School of Social Work and School of Information to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Studies, and former president of the Friends of the Championships, which he co-directed for School of Art and Design. She also headed the Class Bettina B. Chapman '33 3 1 years. "His accomplishments are really of 1933 fund for the artists-in-residence studio in the impossible to list," says SU athletic direc Shaffer Art Building. tor John "Jake" Crouthamel, who hon Her extensive community service included two terms as presi ored Kimball by establishing an endow dent of the Everson Museum's board of directors. ment fund for the SID's post in his name. "He's a wealth of history." Among the honors Chapman received were the Friends of the When Kimball - a one-man operation School of Art and Design Community Art Award and the SU Eggers until 1980- reflects on his career, he Senior Alumni Award. offers an uncanny historical perspective

43 https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol14/iss1/12 FA LL 1997 2 et al.: University place

"The role of SU sports changed consid erably because of television, especially ESPN, and the creation of the Big East," says Kimball, who's known as the "Dean of Big East SIDs." "This is all part of a total explosion of sports that I've seen and been around. It's an excit ing thing." Kimball can recall the days when Western Union operators were scat tered around the press box at football games and transmitted reporters' stories back to the newsrooms. Computer modems, fax, e-mail? Forget it. Instant video feeds? Heck, he spent Sunday mornings splicing together game-film highlights and then delivering them to the local TV stations. "What we do, in some respects, is still fairly constant," he says. "How we do it is totally different. Modern technology can be wonderful, but it's no substitute for planning." WAER general manager Joe Lee sees the station as a training ground for tomorrow's broadcasters. "Our mis As a kid, Kimball joked about playing sion," he says, "is to ensure that students ... are well-prepared going into the workplace." for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but later found a calling in the college sports world and the games he still loves. "I really liked After three months, the Federal Com Lee's vision for WAER remains true what I was doing," he says. "I was munications Commission renewed the to Bartlett's. "WAER is a training where I wanted to be." - JAY Cox experimental license to Syracuse Univer ground for tomorrow's broadcasters," sity, and the station, originally dubbed Lee says. "Our mission is to ensure that WJIV, was renamed WAER (represent students are trained on the most techni ing "Alway s Excellent Radio" as well as cally up-to-date equipment the industry Tuned In Alpha Epsilon Rho, the national broad has to offer, so that they are well-pre cast honor society co-founded at SU). pared going into the workplace." t all began with a 2 1/2-watt trans From such humble beginnings e In any academic year, the station's mitter and a dream. The former was merged a laboratory , public forum, and eight full-time staffers work with 125 to a prototype FM unit designed by creative outlet for thousands of student 135 students. Most are in news and General Electric. The latter belonged to broadcasters, among them Dick Clark sports. To open up new student oppor Ken Bartlett, hired as Syracuse Uni '51, Ted Koppel '60, Marv Albert '63, tunities, W AER expanded operations to versity's first radio instructor in 1929. Dick Stockton '64, Steve Kroft '67, Len 24 hours, restructured its news depart For many years in the 1930s and into Berman '68, Bob Costas '74, Sean Mc ment, and created a few paid student the 1940s, Bartlett's students in the Uni Donough '84, and Mike Tirico '88. marketing and development positions. versity's Radio Workshop produced ed Through countless staffs (both stu The station's primary concern involves ucational programming like "Ask the dent and professional) and numerous equipment, Lee says. "W AER stacks up Scientist" and the Peabody Award-w in formats (including the current mix of well for many stations in markets of this ning "Syracuse on Trial," which were car public radio programming, SU sports, size, but a lot of stations are going digi ried by special arrangement on Syracuse and jazz and specialized music), WAER tal." In the near future, Lee says, WAER commercia l radio stations WSYR and has enjoyed a rich 50-year history. hopes to assemble funding from a variety WFBL. Bartlett, however, y earned for Several alumni returned to campus of sources- including alumni - to re students to operate their very own station. during Reunion Weekend last June to place aged compact disc players and reel When GE approached SU about test share their college memories. At a Satur to-reel tape machines, and install digital ing its new transmitter in early 1947, his day night anniversary dinner, professor editing and broadcast equipment. dream began to take form. Under a low emeritus Larry Myers, longtime W AER Several other anniversary events, in power license held by GE, students mentor and former chair of the televi cluding a local jazz concert, are in the piped shows from studios in Carnegie sion-radio-film department, was hon works. Alumni cybersurfers can follow Library a nd a Quonset hut erected be ored for his many contributions, and W AER activities and sample a selection hind the library called Radio House, to WAER general manager Joe Lee spoke of photos and audio clips at the station's listeners huddled around 30 FM radio sets of the now-50,000-watt station's status Website - http://we6.dyr.eou!-waetf m88 pl

Published by SURFACE, 1997 SYRA C U SE UNIVERS I TY M A G A Z INE 3