October 08, 2009
Washburn University to honor Marianne Webb
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Honors are not new to Marianne Webb, Distinguished University Organist and a professor emeritus of music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, but an award from her alma mater has her especially excited.
Webb will become a Washburn University Alumni Fellow as selected by the College of Arts and Sciences there during a special ceremony on Oct. 16. The ceremony is part of a long weekend’s worth of activities coinciding with homecoming festivities at Washburn, located in Topeka, Kan.
While she is re-visiting Washburn, Webb has the opportunity to relive her student days by attending classes. She is also a guest in the homecoming parade, and may attend the homecoming tailgating festivities and football game, as well as a reception for the 2009 Alumni Fellows. She will receive her award during a Fellows’ luncheon at the alumni center.
Webb earned her undergraduate degree from Washburn, and pursued graduate studies at the University of Michigan and, through the Fulbright program, in Paris, France.
Her many accomplishments include the Edward A. Hansen National Leadership Award from the American Guild of Organists National Council, the Avis Blewett Award from the St. Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Distinguished Service Award from SIUC. In addition, the pipe organ in Shryock Auditorium at SIUC bears her name.
Webb is responsible for the Marianne Webb Special Collection in Morris Library, and is co-founder of the Marianne Webb and David N. Bateman Distinguished Organ Recital Series at SIUC.