The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth of the Music Education program at Friends University during the tenure of Dr. Cecil J. Riney (1960 – 2005). In his forty-five years as the Chair of the Fine Arts Division at Friends University, Riney expanded the Fine Arts Division as a whole, but specifically the Music Education Department. Riney, a native Kansan, attended Friends University as an undergraduate, and then attended to the University of Kansas (KU) and University of Southern California (USC) for masters and doctoral study. Friends University hired Riney directly out of USC for the position of director of choral activities, and then appointed him to the position of chair of the fine arts division in only his second year. As chair of the fine arts division, Riney expanded and developed degree programs that yielded four hundred seventy-nine graduates with music degrees during his forty-five year tenure. Of those four hundred seventy-nine, nearly half graduated with a degree in Music Education. Specifically between 1970 and 1979, Riney graduated sixty-five students with Music Education degrees compared to five in the previous decade. Presumably, the increases were due, at least in part, to the economy of Wichita, Kansas. Before and during this time, Wichita enjoyed an economy fueled by the aircraft industry. The effect of the wars increased the need for aircraft, which increased the population of Wichita and led to the need for more schools. Because of the ripple effect caused by the increase in population and need for more schools, teachers were in demand. Riney, as chair, led the Friends University Music Department with numerous innovative choices. This research suggests those decisions significantly affected Music Education in the Wichita area and beyond.
(“Scholarly Abstractions” is a feature highlighting brief abstracts from recent graduate projects in choral music. To share your thesis abstract, contact Scott Dorsey at )
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