Bill Wright left St. Joseph when he went away to college in 1957 and lost track of what was happening in his hometown. Although he came back for visits over the years, he hadn’t even realized that the St. Joseph Junior College had transformed into Missouri Western State University over the approximately 50 years he was gone.
“I had never been on campus,” he says of Missouri Western. “I didn’t even know it was there.”
When Wright retired and moved back to St. Joseph, he realized that a real community gem existed just east of I-29. One of the first people he met was Dr. Laurel Vartabedian, wife of Missouri Western’s president, Dr. Robert Vartabedian. “That’s how I found out about the University,” he says. “I was incredibly surprised that it was here.”
Through his friendship with Dr. Laurel Vartabedian, he developed an appreciation for the University’s arts programs. Wright recently gave the Missouri Western State University Foundation $50,000 to establish an endowed scholarship fund to be used for scholarships for Missouri Western students in the arts – music, art and theatre. He also notified the Foundation that it would be a beneficiary of almost $500,000 for the scholarship fund from his estate when he dies.
“I was impressed by everyone I met in the arts programs. There is incredible potential for the arts at Missouri Western,” Wright said. “Faculty members are excellent and incredibly talented; they are world class people.”
With Dr. Laurel Vartabedian and Karen Graves, Wright helped found the Missouri Western Arts Society in 2011 to help raise money for the arts programs. He currently heads its council. Additionally, he has helped fund student trips to the Kansas City Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Repertory Theater.
Wright graduated from the University of Kansas’s architecture program and began his career as an architect for a large firm in Houston, traveling all over the world managing projects. He then worked for University of Houston and later Rutgers University, managing their building projects.
From there he developed and operated the New Brunswick Cultural Center in New Brunswick, N.J., which included three theaters, dance studios for a resident ballet company and a gallery and offices for New Jersey’s fine crafts organizations by the time he left.
His final career move was to serve as executive director of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Michigan State University, where he stayed for 12 years.
Wright also served as a member of the New York League of American Theatres and Producers, and was a Tony Award voter for 12 years.
“I’ve had a great life. I just segued from one career to the other.”
“With his background and experience, Bill brings a wealth of knowledge about fundraising, special events, programming and marketing, which is invaluable,” said Laura Buhman, Missouri Western staff representative for the Arts Society.
Knowing about his careers and lifelong love of the arts, it should come as no surprise that when you ask Wright why he chose to support the arts programs at Missouri Western, his answer is a quote from the Broadway musical, “Hello, Dolly!”
“At the end of the play, Hiram tells Dolly one of my favorite lines ever,” Wright said. “‘I think money is like manure. It’s not much good unless you spread it around and make things grow.’”
“I had the money, and it was time to start seeding it to make things grow. I hope other people will get the idea, too.”
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