A Lesson in True Giving

Wed., Oct 08

An extraordinary gift to the university promises to enrich its music and cultural programs for decades to come.

The Stutzman Family Foundation, represented by Walter Stutzman, has made a gift to the university in memory of Stutzman's parents, Geraldine and Jacob Stutzman, to establish and support the Southern Applied Music Program. This program will provide free weekly private voice or instrument lessons to all declared music majors who maintain a C-minus or better average in music courses. Previously, students were required to pay for lessons. The Foundation has agreed to fund the program with initial grants of $80,000 a year for the first four years and additional necessary funding in the years following.

Stutzman, who retired in 2005 from a career in software consulting, is currently majoring in music himself, with plans to graduate in 2009 and subsequently to teach music at the secondary level. He points to the encouragement and openness of the music faculty as having sparked the idea of making such a gift. While he will not take lessons under the new program, Stutzman's wish is that other students will fulfill their dreams.

This gift has three intentions, he says: "to honor my parents, who supported me; the Music Department faculty, who have helped me; and my fellow students, who have inspired me." According to Stutzman, one of the unique strengths of the Southern music program is its ability to include and develop a wide variety of musical backgrounds. "It is the Stutzman Family Foundation's intent to continue this spirit of inclusive development of musical talent and to provide a chance for aspiring musicians, as well as more advanced students, to explore the joys -- and the rigors -- of becoming proficient performers," he says.

Stutzman and his family were honored at the university's fall convocation, held in the Adanti Student Center Grand Ballroom on Sept. 11. In her remarks, DonnaJean Fredeen, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, expressed her gratitude to Stutzman. "Walter, you are our angel," she said. Music Department Chairman Jonathan Irving called Stutzman's gift "a lesson in true giving" and a "mitzvah," or selfless act of kindness.

President Cheryl Norton thanked Stutzman for his support. "[The gift] shows that you want to be a part of our future and not just a graduate of our past," she said.

Stutzman's message of giving back resonated with those attending the convocation as they provided him with two standing ovations.

Stutzman's familiarity with Southern's music program evolved from his own distinct experience. During his undergraduate days as a mathematics major at Pomona College, he spent most of his time making music and exploring computers. After earning a master's degree in linguistics at Yale University, he worked on the Yale Artificial Intelligence Project and later for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for 16 years. In 1996, he joined a small consulting firm, Information Design, Inc., where he was occupied with resolving critical problems with clients' computer systems.

Throughout his career, Stutzman had maintained his involvement with music, sitting in on keyboard and flute with three jazz bands. Since 1985, he has been the accompanist for the cantor and choir at Temple Beth Tikvah in Madison, where he and his family have lived for 23 years.

As he approached the time when most people begin to plan their retirement, Stutzman says he realized that music was more important to him than fixing the next "mission-critical" computer problem. Consequently, he retired in July 2005 with the intent of becoming a secondary school music teacher. "I realize that my teaching career will necessarily be shorter than my first career," he says, "but I will have succeeded if I can help some students hear 'with new ears' and discover the joy of ensemble music making."

Stutzman's mother encouraged him to pursue a second career as a secondary school music teacher, and although she did not live to see her son begin his studies at Southern, his father was able to follow his first two years in the music program. Stutzman says of his father that "he was very appreciative of the guidance and encouragement I received from the music faculty and agreed with my suggestion that a major gift to support Southern's music program would be an appropriate project for our family's Foundation."

Honoring the faculty as well as his parents with this gift was also appropriate, Stutzman says. "The Music Department is a very special place: one simply needs to be serious about some aspect of music, and there is always a faculty member ready to help you grow through learning. I cannot imagine anywhere else that a 55-year-old amateur musician could have found such an enthusiastic reception for his dream."

Stutzman and his wife, Esther, have passed along a passion for education to their children. Their son, Michael, has taught high school English and is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and daughter, Anne, has just completed her first year in Southern's master's degree program in special education.