GIVING Back
CRESCENDO OF SUPPORT Benefits Music Building By Addie Mayfield
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hanks to generous gifts from dedicated alumni, Mississippi State University’s Department of Music and its new music building continue to grow in prominence. Once complete, the new building will include dedicated spaces named for influential alumni, educators and supporters of the university, as well as one of the world’s finest high resolution player pianos—a Steinway Model B Spirio | r. Each of these grand additions serve as meaningful investments in the department and will benefit generations of talented students and educators for years to come. The Dr. Jackie Edwards-Henry Piano Studio honors its namesake, a 30-year faculty member and longtime professor of piano and piano pedagogy. Edwards-Henry earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performance and pedagogy from William Jewell College and University of Illinois, respectively, and received a doctorate in piano pedagogy from University of Oklahoma. She pursued additional piano study in Bordeaux, France, as the recipient of a Rotary Scholarship. The naming of the Edwards-Henry studio is possible with a gift from E. Stanly Godbold Jr. and his wife Jeannie of Starkville. Godbold is a professor emeritus of history
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at MSU. He earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in history from Duke University, as well as a Master of Divinity in theology from Southern Methodist University. His wife, a fellow educator and alumnus of Wisconsin’s Carthage College, is a retired preschool teacher. The couple’s friendship
THE DR. JACKIE EDWARDSHENRY PIANO STUDIO HONORS ITS NAMESAKE, A 30-YEAR FACULTY MEMBER AND LONGTIME PROFESSOR OF PIANO AND PIANO PEDAGOGY. with Edwards-Henry began two decades ago when they took an adult piano class under her instruction. Through their gift, the Godbolds hope to honor Edwards-Henry’s talent and dedicated service to the university, her students and her profession. The Dr. Clinton H. Graves Jr. Student Piano Practice Room was established by a similar gift from MSU alumni and Mississippi natives Daniel M. “Danny” Thomas Jr. and Leigh Graves Thomas. Danny earned a
bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1984, and Leigh earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture in 1986. Bearing the name of Leigh’s father, the room serves as a memorial to the late MSU professor emeritus and his lifelong love for music and piano. Growing up, Graves participated in piano competitions and continued to play throughout his life. After serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy, he graduated from Mississippi State in 1950 and spent his 40-year career teaching and conducting research at his alma mater. Although his profession was in plant pathology, Graves was an avid supporter of the Department of Music and actively promoted the construction of a new music building on campus. Before his death in 2016, Graves established a scholarship for piano students in the Department of Music in memory of his wife, Nancy Kirby Graves, and in honor of his daughter, Leigh. The following year, the Thomases gifted the Graves family’s antique pump organ to the department. A wedding gift given by Graves’ father to his mother in 1915, the organ will be displayed in the new building as another tribute to the Graves family. The third of the recently designated rooms comes through a gift from its namesakes,
