Alumni & Friends

Generosity Abounds:

Recent Endowments Established to Support School of Music Students, Faculty

Betwee Gifts Benefit Music, Education, James Madison College

Juli Betwee graduated from MSU’s first residential college, Justin Morrill, in 1969. She is supporting The Campaign for MSU by establishing three endowments totaling $200,000, two of which will honor her parents. Like many donors to the MSU School of Music, she herself is not a graduate of the school, but believes in the importance of supporting the performing arts.

Juli Betwee and President Simon

One of the three endowments Betwee established is the Victorine Johnson Betwee Community Outreach Fund for the School of Music, which was established in loving recognition of her mother. “My mother was a gifted pianist, organist, and vocalist who shared her talents with her students, friends, and anyone who was fortunate to be within earshot of her playing,” Betwee commented. “Her ‘performances’ seemed effortless and an open invitation to join in her joy.”

Annual income generated from the Victorine Johnson Betwee Community Outreach Fund will help support community programs for music students and faculty to provide educational experiences for the benefit of the general public, K-12 public school children, seniors, and other community populations. Funds will provide support for travel costs for School of Music ensembles that give concerts, lectures, and master classes.

Betwee’s commitment to MSU is evident. From 1995-2004, she was a member of the MSU Foundation Board of Directors. She is recognized as a member of the Snyder Society, and continues her involvement as a charter member of the MSU West Coast Regional Council. Betwee is also active in many community and civic organizations in the San Francisco Bay area, where she and her husband, Michael Doyle, reside.

Cartwright Fund Benefits Music Therapy

The Honorable Joan Cartwright currently serves as a judge in the Superior Court of California, Alameda County. She has created The Joan Satterwhite Cartwright Scholarship in Music Therapy, to benefit undergraduate or graduate students in the field of Music Therapy.

Joan Cartwright

Cartwright arrived at MSU in 1961 from Washington, D.C., with her heart set on a career in music. Four years later, in 1965, she graduated with a degree in music therapy. From 1966 until 1972, she served as the music therapist at the York Woods Children’s Residential Center of Ypsilanti State Hospital, developing music therapy programs and training music therapy students. She loved her work and truly believed in the positive impact music has in the education of children and adults with various disabilities.

She eventually continued her education and received a law degree from the University of Iowa. Though her career no longer focuses on music, her passion for music therapy has never waned. “I really believe in the importance of music and its healing effects,” she said, “and I hope that this scholarship will benefit students in the music therapy program so that they may enlighten others with and about the benefits of this discipline.”

In addition to her volunteer involvement with the MSU West Coast Regional Council, Cartwright is involved in many local, regional, and national organizations and resides in Oakland, California.

Petrella Funds School of Music Endowments

At the urging of a high school band director in 1962, a young Robert Petrella auditioned for a music scholarship at Michigan State University. He did well and received a four-year band scholarship. The scholarship made the difference, allowing a talented youth from New Jersey to afford tuition at MSU, and it has proven to be a pivotal point in the story of that same youth’s path toward becoming a generous donor of today.

Robert Petrella

Through a charitable bequest in his estate plans, Petrella (’66, music education) will fund an endowed graduate fellowship to be known as the Dr. Robert L. Petrella Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Clarinet and an endowed fund in support of undergraduates to be known as the Dr. Robert L. Petrella Endowed Scholarship in Clarinet.

Petrella, who received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland, has served as a professor of music and band director at Northern Virginia Community College for more than 30 years.

Both the fellowship and scholarship are set up to benefit out-of-state students studying clarinet at MSU. “I know what it was like to be an out-of-state student, and the scholarship support I received made up the difference between the in-state and out-of-state tuition,” Petrella said. “I don’t think I would have been able to go to Michigan State without it, so I had in mind to try to create something to lessen the burden for out-of-state students like me.”

In addition to studying under Elsa Verdehr, whom he credits for influencing his teaching abilities, Petrella was a member of the Spartan Marching Band and MSU Concert Band under the direction of Leonard Falcone. Upon graduation from MSU, he joined the U.S. Army Field Band and remains connected to MSU through participation in Marching Band reunions and overseas tours with the Alumni Concert Band.

Harrell Endowments for Scholarship and Community Engagement

Gilbert and Susanna Harrell

In celebration of years of association with Michigan State University, Susanna F. (Adams) Harrell and Dr. Gilbert D. Harrell, professor of marketing and supply chain management, established 10 endowments with a significant charitable bequest. After careful consideration, they decided their legacy should benefit a large number of students, faculty, and programs at MSU and honor the selection of the first woman president of MSU, Lou Anna K. Simon.

Among the 10 endowments the Harrell’s established with their planned gift to MSU are two funds within the School of Music. Frequently present at MSU music venues, their enjoyment of music prompted the establishment of an endowed scholarship for graduates from Williamston High School. They also established a discretionary endowment for the school for community engagement in support of both classical and popular music educational programs. The Harrells hope that the School of Music (and Wharton Center, as they established a separate fund in support of an arts education program endowment) will continue to enrich the lives of children who otherwise might not have the financial means to attend performances. They believe music and performing arts are central to greater cultural appreciation in our society.

Noll Thanks MSU with Generous Planned Gift

You might say that Steven H. Noll’s relationship with Michigan State University has come full circle. As a student, he took full advantage of every learning and cultural opportunity available to him. He translated those experiences into a successful career. Now, he has made generous financial contributions to MSU so that other students may achieve similar results.

Steven Noll

It would be inaccurate and perhaps unfair to call his recent cumulative $4.18 million charitable bequest part of a “typical” MSU story. Yet to hear Noll tell it, his gifts to MSU are as much a thank you as they are a generous investment in the university’s future.

“My primary reason for making a planned gift to MSU is to assist in ensuring that the wonderful education that I received at MSU continues to be offered and encouraged,” Noll said. “I consider the most valuable aspect of my MSU education to be the many classes in different areas of interest that are accessible to all MSU students, and I want to encourage current students to take full advantage of the opportunities that are available to take classes outside of those required in their majors.”

Of his total charitable bequest through his will, $2.7 million will be dedicated to the creation of an endowed discretionary fund in the College of Engineering to be known as the Steven H. Noll Dean’s Fund for Quality, Excellence and Opportunity in Engineering.

Additionally, he committed to giving his collection of prints, currently valued at $1.1 million, to the Kresge Art Museum.

Noll (’74, engineering; Honors College) also designated $300,000 of his bequest to create an endowed fund to benefit the Spartan Marching Band, which will cover travel expenses for away games and performances.

“My four-year participation in the Spartan Marching Band and Spartan Brass is one of the great experiences of my life and a source of some of my best memories,” Noll recalled. “I hope that other graduates who read this will be reminded of the importance that MSU has had in their lives.”