Since Lyle Merriman’s tenure nearly three decades ago, the Fighting Tigers clenched two national football championships, the Student Union received a face-lift and three generations of Mikes wore the mascot’s stripes.
But some things never changed.
“I’ve never forgotten the live oak trees,” said Merriman, a former LSU School of Music dean, during his visit to campus March 14 – his first since 1995. “They just amaze me.”
Lured by the School of Music’s potential in 1980, Merriman said upper administration displayed interest in the program’s development.
“The School of Music has, for a long time, been a leader in University programs,” he said. “They have a very outstanding opera program here, and over the years they had really built a good program.”
The trees aren’t the only familiarities. Merriman said he was surprised to read names on the music school’s faculty roster that were listed when he was dean.
Athletics were always a priority, he said.
Christmas concerts in the cozy “old union” and choir rehearsals held in a cafeteria near the theatre building are some of Merriman’s fondest memories.
“I never have forgotten going into a rehearsal and smelling the food while they were rehearsing,” he said.
Though the mighty oaks and Death Valley remain fixtures on campus, the surrounding world has evolved.
Merriman said the biggest change he witnessed began as he departed from the University in 1984. Construction began on what he called the “new music building,” and renovation began on the “old music building,” which is now the Music and Dramatic Arts building.
Merriman said he is impressed by the school’s current facilities.
In today’s scholastic world, University’s administrators are constantly battling budget cuts. The former dean said he didn’t experience financially challenging times.
“It was a period when we were looking for growth, and we were fortunate that there were no budget cuts,” he said. “No administrator likes to deal with those.”
Laurence Kaptain, the current LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts dean, is doing just that.
Kaptain said budget cuts hit the school especially hard because it is one of the smaller units on campus. The cutback has made it hard to develop a new, up-to-date curriculum, hire new faculty and purchase necessary supplies, he said.
The administration has already cut School of Music scholarships.
Merriman said he hopes the administration can weather the financial storm without seriously damaging many program.
When Merriman arrived at the University it seemed the school, though successful, was coasting and waiting for someone to help it make the next move, he said.
Merriman’s stay at the University came to an end in 1984, when he passed the baton and transferred to Penn State’s music school. He has been retired for 14 years.
Nearly 30 years later, Kaptain is trying to avoid the situation that greeted Merriman.
“We shouldn’t try to copy another school,” he said. “We need to look ahead to what isn’t there yet and what we don’t know about yet, and we need to provide something of value beyond our traditional offerings.”
The program needs to update curriculums and continue fundraising to promote growth, Kaptain said. He said the University is a distinguished traditional school, but he hopes to leave a legacy of developing it as a modern college.
“Take advantage of any opportunities that there are, whether it be playing, listening or singing,” Merriman advised students. “The more experiences that you have give you the broadest background. I used to tell my students, ‘If you’re a music major, there are no weekends.'”
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Contact Ferris McDaniel at [email protected]