Minority Students and Faculty
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From the earliest years, Evangel encouraged Christians from minority populations to affiliate with the school. Believing that cultural diversity enriched a campus, President Ashcroft, in particular, recognized and promoted the value of mixing and integrating people with differing cultural and racial backgrounds. Music Department leaders have played a significant role in increasing ethnic diversity within the Evangel community. Great value has been placed on recruiting outstanding and capable Christian ethnic musicians for the student body as well as for the faculty. Li Chung Chei, a talented singer and musician born in China and holding a Master’s degree from the American Conservatory in Chicago, joined Evangel’s Music Department in 1963 and taught voice until 1969.
Evangel’s first black professor was pianist Herbert Johnson (a 1978 Evangel music alumnus). After completing his Master’s degree at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri (UMKC), he joined the faculty at Evangel to teach piano (1880-1986). He later completed his doctorate in piano performance at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
African-American, Odessa Knight, joined the Evangel faculty in 1981 teaching applied voice and piano for several years. Students from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds have been a normal and accepted part of the music program through the years. Their contributions have been significant.