CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny announced today that Bob and Judy Charles have donated funds to create a $1.5 million endowed chair at the University of Colorado's College of Music.
The new chair represents the second such endowment for the College of Music in the last seven months and the two endowed chairs are the first ever for the College of Music in CU-Boulder's 125-year history.
According to Daniel Sher, dean of the College of Music, this unprecedented support for endowed chairs is testament to the dedication of a large number of faculty and staff.
"We've quietly been building one of the best music schools in the western U.S. and it's very gratifying to see recognition like this in the form of faculty support," Sher said. "Endowed chairs help us to attract the best teaching talent in the nation, and in turn, that attracts top student-musicians to our programs."
CU-Boulder's master's in Music program was ranked 20th in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's latest ranking of Best Graduate Schools in Music.
Bob Charles, a native of Chicago, moved to Boulder in 1965 with his wife Judy to manage Boulder's original McDonald's restaurant on 28th Street. By 1969, he owned that store and had opened another McDonald's on Baseline Road. In the early 1990's, he operated 13 McDonald's franchises and was heralded as "Burger Baron of Boulder County." He pioneered and innovated the double drive-through concept, co-developed McDonald's "happy meal," and helped institute use of tray liners to promote community events, in-store events and in-store meal deals.
"We feel very strongly about the value of a good education and have tried for years to support education at all levels," said Charles. "Although many departments at CU have been part of our lives since 1965, it's our pleasure and honor to endow a chair at CU's College of Music. They are not only an incredibly hard-working and committed group of individuals, but both the faculty and students have provided us with years of great performances."
Charles received his bachelor's degree in botany from Wabash College in Indiana. In 1962, he received a master's in horticulture from the University of Arizona, where he served on the faculty from 1962-63. He co-founded the original Ronald McDonald house in Denver and participated in the development of the new Ronald McDonald House. He also founded the McPride program for at-risk high school students. Currently, Charles is a member of the music advisory board at the College of Music at CU-Boulder, where he created the Adopt-A-Student Scholarship program.
Judy Charles, a second generation CU-Boulder alumna, received a bachelor's degree in education in 1959. Judy served on the board of the University of Colorado Foundation, Inc. and participated on the search committee for CU-Boulder's dean of arts and sciences. She has served on the Boulder YMCA Board, Boulder Country Club Board and is past-president of Chapter CZ of PEO. She served on the search committee for the superintendent of the Boulder Valley Schools and was a member of the Board of the Ronald McDonald House in Denver.
The Charles' past support for CU-Boulder includes internships for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the College of Business, Norlin Library and the CU Athletic Department. They have provided scholarships to McDonald's employees and for academic achievement in the College of Business. In 1980, Charles was awarded the CU-Boulder Medal for service to the CU-Boulder community.
Endowed chairs provide supplemental compensation and incremental assistance to distinguished faculty positions within the university. They help attract, honor and retain the best teaching and research talent to a university. Endowments also allow donors to transfer their private assets to public purposes with the assurance that their wishes will be honored as long as the university exists.
"Endowed chairs are being sought for all schools and colleges at the university," according to Myrna Hall, the University of Colorado Foundation's vice president for development at Boulder. "Seventeen endowed chairs currently exist on the Boulder campus and we're looking to double that number in the near future."