CMU Alumna and professor earns MAC accolade

CMU Alumna Marybeth Minnis (BME '79), the Assistant Director of the School of Music and Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Central Michigan University, has been honored by the Mid-American Conference as CMU's winner of the Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success.

Minnis has been Principal Bassoonist of the Saginaw Bay Orchestra since 1985 and frequently performs with other area orchestras. An active chamber musician, she performs and tours with the Powers Woodwind Quintet.

Professor Minnis has performed and/or presented at several International Double Reed Society conferences, TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association), the Michigan Music Conference, regional CBDNA Conferences, and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago.

She received degrees from Central Michigan University (BME) and the University of Michigan (Masters in Bassoon Performance). Her teachers include Lewis Hugh Cooper and Robert Barris.

The Mid-American Conference Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success is given out to recognize the outstanding efforts of MAC faculty to support and develop students both inside and outside of the classroom. 

 This student-focused award is distinguishable from academic or research-based awards as it celebrates the commitment of the MAC to a holistic student experience and the creation of an environment that supports success in school and life.  

Eligibility for this award is broad to identify a wide range of outstanding means by which faculty are significantly impacting students, and to create an opportunity to recognize the various ways that student success is supported within the MAC. 

It is the hope of this award that the twelve nominees represent a diverse community that demonstrates support for student success throughout their entire collegiate experience.