Fine, performing arts college to be dedicated in honor of late chancellor
Western Carolina University will host a ceremony Saturday, April 27, officially dedicating the David Orr Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts in memory of WCU’s late beloved chancellor.
The event will begin at 5 p.m. with a reception, followed by a dedication ceremony at 5:30 p.m. that will include the unveiling of a model of a sculptured bust of David Belcher, who served as WCU chancellor from 2011 until his death in June 2018 after battling brain cancer for more than two years.
Academic programs of the David Orr Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts are located in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center.
The WCU Board of Trustees last July unanimously approved the naming of the academic unit that is home to the university’s programs in music, stage, screen, art and design in Belcher’s honor in recognition of his background as a classically trained pianist and his impact on higher education and the arts at WCU and across Western North Carolina.
The dedication ceremony will include a welcome and toast from George Brown, dean of the Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts; remarks from Interim Chancellor Alison Morrison-Shetlar; and presentation of the model of the bust by Patricia B. Kaemmerling, chair of the WCU Board of Trustees. Belcher’s wife, Susan Brummell Belcher, will give concluding remarks.
Faculty and students from the college will perform during the dedication ceremony, which will be followed by the WCU Friends of the Arts Gala, an annual fundraising activity to benefit scholarships and programming for students in the Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts.
The dedication reception and ceremony are open to the public. The gala following the dedication, to start at 6:30 p.m., is an invitation-only event in support of the Friends of the Arts organization.
For more information about WCU’s Friends of the Arts, visit the website foa.wcu.edu.
