As an alumna and former faculty member, Kathy Maes considers her time at West Virginia University the foundation of her success throughout her career as a vocal coach. It’s the reason why she decided to make a planned gift supporting students in the School of Theatre & Dance.
A native of Oakland, Maryland, Maes began her journey at WVU in 1963.
“My first four years as an undergraduate at WVU changed my life,” Maes said. “I never looked at the world the same way again.”
Maes studied theatre, speech, education and biology. To some, this combination of subjects may seem unconventional, but it ultimately gave Maes the right knowledge and skillset for a career as a vocal coach.
Corinth, West Virginia, is where Maes started her career after graduating from WVU in 1967 — it was the last one-room schoolhouse in the state. Maes taught grades one through four for a year before deciding to come back to WVU for a master’s degree in theater.
Maes worked as an assistant to faculty member Lynette Harden while in the master’s program and taught undergraduate classes. When she graduated, Maes took a job at WVU hospitals but it wasn’t long before she found her way back to the School of Theatre & Dance.
“I got a call from the theatre chairman while I was working at the hospital,” Maes said. “I had only been working there two months but he explained that Mrs. Harden had retired and they really needed someone to teach her classes.”
Maes was hesitant to leave her new job so quickly, but her supervisor at WVU hospitals encouraged her to make the transfer.
Maes began teaching in the School of Theatre & Dance, then ultimately received her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh while teaching. Later, Maes took a sabbatical and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London for a year.
After a year off, Maes returned to the United States and took a job offer at the University of Illinois. She stayed there for five years before moving to Denver to take the position as the voice coach for the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Maes then became the chair of the theatre department at the University of Colorado, then Dean of the College of Arts and Media. She finished her career as an associate dean at Regis University before ‘retiring’ in 2010.
Maes didn’t really retire, she went back to coaching shows at the Denver Center for another decade before deciding to officially retire and move to the Tucson area.
After a long career in higher education, Maes understands more than most the changes and challenges now faced by students looking to further their education.
“I know firsthand the value of education,” Maes said. “But I also know the cost and how incredibly difficult it can be for students to cover those costs.”
Maes uses her own tuition bill in the 1960s as an example.
“As an out-of-state student in the 60s, my tuition was $412 a semester,” Maes said. “The cost of education has gotten so expensive.”
Maes hopes with the scholarship endowed with her planned gift, talented students won’t have to worry so much about the financial aspect of attending college.
“The students I worked with at WVU were some of the most talented kids I've ever worked with,” Maes said. “I just feel that WVU has the best arts program I’ve dealt with in my entire life and those students interested in attending should have the opportunity. WVU is very special to me and I hope they’ll value being there as much as I did.”