Alumni Award: Service to Susquehanna

Fall 2016 Issue

Robert Whitmoyer ’80 recently retired from the Selinsgrove Area School District, where he worked for 36 years as a music teacher and choral director, and then as a dean of students. Living locally gives him plenty of opportunities to serve Susquehanna, though he is driven by something deeper than proximity.

“SU provided me the skills to prepare for a career in music education and obtain a graduate degree,” he says, referencing his master’s in music education from Penn State University. “I am eternally grateful for this.”

Some of his contributions serve other Susquehanna alumni, such as acting as the Class of 1980 reporter for many years, assisting in planning numerous reunions, and leading the 30th class reunion committee.

Whitmoyer also continues to support Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which he joined as a student. “One of the guiding principles of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is ‘loyalty to the alma mater,’” he explains. It’s a principle he fulfills by advising Susquehanna’s chapter, and volunteering for regional and national fraternity activities.

Students in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia also benefit from Whitmoyer’s hospitality. He has offered his house for meetings, picnics and receptions for the fraternity and other music alumni, among others.

Whitmoyer gladly shares his professional expertise as well. He has served as a mentor for student teachers and educational psychology interns, assisted with career development fairs, and appeared on panels to discuss topics in education. He also served on an education committee made up of SU faculty and area teachers. Whitmoyer has a history of sharing the stage as well-performing alongside students in a 2008 concert at Carnegie Hall and in annual Christmas Candlelight Services.

As a volunteer at college fairs, Whitmoyer assists the university in bringing new students to the community he continues to enliven and shape with his service.

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