Posted by Sean Flynt on 2011-05-02

Longtime Samford music professor G. William Bugg will present his farewell vocal recital this Saturday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Brock Recital Hall.

The free public event, Sponsored by Michael J. and Mary Anne Freeman, caps a distinguished career of more than three decades.

Bugg, who joined Samford's faculty in 1977 and became a fixture of Birmingham's arts community, will retire from the university at the end of this semester.

"For the past three decades Dr. Bill Bugg has represented Samford University on stages from Brock Hall to Carnegie Hall," said School of the Arts dean Joseph Hopkins. "As director of Samford Opera and as a leading figure in the National Opera Association, he has made an impact on the art of opera in Birmingham and across our country". 

Bugg is happily without immediate post-retirement plans, having worked since the age of 10 when his baker father started him chopping cherries for cookies. " I want to see what not working is all about for awhile at least," Bugg said, though he admitted that period might last "five minutes or so".

As the familiar baritone departs the Samford faculty, he is certain of at least one thing. "I will remain intensely interested and committed to Samford and Samford Arts," Bugg said. "I hope I have the wisdom and self-control to stay out of the way and let the good things that are ahead for Samford come to be".

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.