Spelman College Quietly Eliminates One Of The Country's Few Jazz Programs For Women
Rising tuition and increasing student debt have called into the question the value of the arts and humanities on many college campuses. At Spelman College, a selective, historically black women's college in Atlanta, one particular cut has come as a surprise to some alumnae: the elimination of the college's once esteemed jazz program, a rarity in a heavily male-dominated artistic field.
"We're talking about a historically black college," says saxophonist Tia Fuller, a 1998 graduate whose performance credits include pop icon Beyoncé's all-female touring band and five albums as a bandleader in her own right. "It's our obligation to uphold this tradition of African-American music. This is our legacy."
Saxophonist Joe Jennings founded Spelman's jazz program in
