In July 1965, Western Michigan University put on a comedic play, hosted a folk singer in concert, and became home to continuing education institutes for teachers. The Western Herald was on hiatus for the summer, but various articles from the Kalamazoo Gazette provide a glimpse into campus in July of 1965.
“WM Players to Present Comedy”
A production of William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life” was staged at University Theatre by faculty members, summer session students, and high school speech institute delegates.
“Enacting the story which expresses one of the Saroyan’s recurring themes – that man should be himself – is a cast headed by Robert Barton, a junior from Zeeland who recently appeared in “The Caretaker,” James Keech, a graduate student from Hartford, Michigan; Susan Coultes, a graduate student from Kalamazoo; and Dr. Neil Lamper, associate professor of education.”
“WM Has Its Own Resident Folk Singer”
“When Western Michigan University’s Student Center Board wanted a professional folk singer to entertain summer session students and faculty members this week, they didn’t have far to go.
Johnny Morier, who appeared in concerts in New York City, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco in the past five years, is a student on the WMU campus this summer. A self-taught guitar player, he has sung in concerts with Joan Baez in Cambridge, Mass. and Carmen MacRae in Boston. He took part in the first University of Chicago Folk Music Festival in 1961.
Morier, who attended WMU for three semesters in 1954-55, expects to earn a B.A. degree in English at the end of the eight-week summer session program. Since leaving the Western Michigan campus 10 years ago, he has made numerous appearances as a folk singer, served a stint in the armed forces, worked in radio and TV stations and spent a few months with the U.S. Forestry Service in Nevada.”
“Federal Government Invests $747,000 in WMU Institutes”
The University, with the help of the Federal Government, also established several special institutes designed for continuing education for secondary teachers who graduated 10 or more years prior.
“And one branch of the government is hiring 25 foreign experts to teach in various institutes across the country, including some at WMU. WMU’s regular summer session budget for academic courses is $370,000, according to Comptroller Robert Wetnight. But the federal government is pouring in additional $747,000 for special institutes, usually of six or eight weeks duration.”
The image above is from the 1966 Brown & Gold Yearbook and features the University production of “The Time of Your Life.”