Thanks to a generous $237,000 contribution from McKenna Productions, six endowed scholarship funds have been established in honor of six extraordinary and beloved theatre professors at SUNY New Paltz.
“These gifts, which are a direct result of continued community support and past ticket sales, will be a valuable asset to students and their future endeavors,” said Joseph C. Paparone, professor emeritus and a 43-year veteran of the SUNY New Paltz Department of Theatre Arts. “These funds help recognize the many hardworking students and their admirable devotion to theatre arts.”
New endowed scholarships
The Professor Vera Irwin Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide two scholarships to incoming students including: an accepted incoming freshman seeking the concentration in Theatre Performance, whose audition showed potential and whose interview showed determination, and an accepted incoming freshman seeking the concentration in Theatre Design and Technology, whose portfolio showed potential and whose interview showed determination.
The Professor Raymond T. Kurdt Endowed Student Travel Scholarship Fund will support theatre student attendance at design and technology conferences such as the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) annual national conference, or other theatre conferences that focus on design and technology. This Fund will help to defray some of the student cost (registration, travel, room and board) of attendance and is named in honor of alumnus Raymond T. Kurdt ’56 (Art Education).
The Professor Frank Kraat Endowed Student Travel Scholarship Fund will support annual non-renewable scholarships to theatre students attending the London Theatre Seminar, an annual three-credit course, established by Professor Emeritus Frank Kraat. This scholarship will help to defray some of the student cost (tuition, travel, room and board) of attendance.
The Joseph C. Paparone Endowed Student Travel Scholarship Fund was established to support theatre student attendance at performance festivals such as The Humana Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, the KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival), or other theatre festivals that focus on performance.
The Dr. Beverly M. Brumm Endowed Scholarship Fund will support an annual non-renewable scholarship to a SUNY New Paltz Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Theatre Performance entering his or her senior year.
The Professor Dan E. Swartz Endowed Scholarship Fund will support an annual non-renewable scholarship to two SUNY New Paltz Theatre Arts majors with a concentration in Theatre Design and Technology entering their senior year.
If you would like to make a gift to support one of McKenna Productions six endowed scholarship funds you can do so online. Click here and indicate you would like to direct your gift to “other” and type in the name of the endowment. Gifts may also be sent to the SUNY New Paltz Foundation at 1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, NY 12561. Please indicate the name of the endowment on your gift.
Pictured, left to right: Jeni Mokren, dean of the School of Fine & Performing Arts at SUNY New Paltz; Joseph C. Paparone; Frank Kraat; Jack Wade, chair/professor Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz; William Smith, a member of the Board of Directors at McKenna Productions; SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian; and Erica Marks, Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at the College.
ABOUT MCKENNA PRODUCTIONS, LTD
McKenna Productions has been supporting the students of the Department of Theatre Arts of SUNY at New Paltz for the last 43 years. From 1973 to 2004 they produced all of the major departmental theatrical productions and profits from these productions have been used as scholarships for theatre students in a variety of ways.
In 2004 McKenna Productions stopped producing at the College but continued to award scholarships to the theatre department’s students and expanded its support to include alumni projects. It has been estimated that McKenna Productions, Ltd. has awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships and grants to the students and alumni of the Department of Theatre Arts.
