These are the remarks of Donald Olah, Class of 1978 on April 25, 2026
Good morning everybody, and thank you for coming. Today we meet for the purpose of honoring a great guy! Whether you knew him as “Mr. Milburn”, “Dr. Milburn”, “Dave”, “Slide” or “Doc”, he was so many different things to those of us who had the privilege of studying with him. He was a teacher, a mentor, a role model, and a friend to all of his students. Dr. David Allen Milburn began his career as a professor in the Department of Music here at Wesleyan in 1966. He was hired to be Director of Bands and Brass Instructor. And he excelled at those tasks. For many people, that would have been “good enough”. But Dr. Milburn looked at his students and saw opportunities to break new ground together with them. Of course, what Dr. Milburn is probably best remembered for is starting Wesleyan’s jazz program. He wanted to start a “Big Band” type of group that was to be named “Jazz Ensemble”. Now, we all have been used to having the Jazz Ensemble on campus for decades now. So this program is, at times, taken for granted. But at that time it was a new, and some might say radical, concept. The idea of starting a Jazz Ensemble at Wesleyan was not universally embraced at first. Because, even though jazz had been embraced as a true American art form for many years, there were those who believed it was a departure for a Department of Music that had been traditionally focused on so-called “serious” Classical music. Dr. Milburn and his students were persistent, however. They worked very hard to make the Jazz Ensemble a reality. And eventually it became a great success. The Jazz Ensemble became a creative outlet for students, a recruiting tool for the college, and one of our premier music groups that went on tour to represent West Virginia Wesleyan College as good will ambassadors.
In the minds of many, Dr. Milburn is so linked with the Jazz Ensemble, it is impossible to think of one without the other. But we must not minimize his other contributions to musical life at Wesleyan. He started, at various times, a Brass Ensemble and a Symphonic Wind Ensemble. And these groups were were very good things indeed. With all of these music groups I’ve mentioned, along with encouraging students to form their own small ensembles, his goal was always to maximize performing opportunities for as many of his students as possible. While I attended Wesleyan in the 1970’s, Dr. Milburn even came to the realization that there were enough students interested in jazz to form a second jazz band, which he called “Jazz Ensemble II”. Again, this was something he was not required to do. But he recognized its value in giving even more students opportunities for public performance. Also, we should not forget that for the last twenty years of his career here, he was our Music Department Chair.
One thing that I can say about Dr. Milburn with certainty is that he was absolutely studentcentered. When I first began talking with the folks in the Department of Advancement about the naming of this office, I related some stories about classmates I knew who, because of their circumstances, desperately needed help, and how Dr. Milburn stepped in personally to advocate for and assist those students. And yes, I was one of those students myself! After I f inished telling the stories, Kristi Wilkerson commented “That’s so Wesleyan!” That’s so Wesleyan. That phrase really stuck with me. And I believe Dr. Milburn would had thought that was a great compliment! Yes, he was “so very Wesleyan”. How could he help being anything else, with a thirty-eight year career that influenced generations of our students? For the past few months, I have been trying my best to publicize today’s dedication ceremony on my Facebook group “West Virginia Wesleyan College Music Alumni” as well as on the Wesleyan Jazz group. One woman who was a student of Dr. Milburn’s told me that she regretted being unable to attend, because her son had to compete in a Jazz Band Festival that weekend. That made me smile, and remembered a quote I once read from British author Sir Terry Pratchett: ”No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away”. That young man, competing in the Jazz Band Festival- if that’s not a ripple, then what else would you call it? Yes, ripples. I truly believe that the ripples started by Dr. Milburn continue, up to this very day and beyond.
This office that we dedicate in Dr. Milburn’s name today is now occupied by Adam Loudin, in whose capable hands has been placed the Wesleyan Jazz Studies program. I know we all wish him well in this endeavor, and I would like to personally wish him a great career while he’s here at Wesleyan. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few people. The original idea for dedicating this office to Dr. Milburn’s legacy belongs to my very good friend, Jimmy Watson, class of ’79. His personal circumstances unfortunately prevented him from moving his idea forward. I remember talking with Josh Stump at Homecoming four years ago about this idea. He suggested that maybe I should be the one to move the effort forward. At f irst I was reluctant, but I eventually agreed. I just want everyone to know that this idea has been “in the works”, so to speak, for quite a while. I had lots of questions about how to proceed, and Josh has been with me every step of the way. Thank you Josh, for all your help. Of course this project could not have moved forward without the help and support of Kristi Wilkerson and Adam Loudin. Thank you both for all of your work on behalf of this. Lastly, I would like to thank the College community as whole, especially former students of Dr. Milburn for working with me on this. It has been my honor and privilege to have a role in bringing this to fruition.
One final thought- I would indeed be remiss in my duties if I failed to mention three additional ways that we can all honor Dr. Milburn’s legacy. Financial contributions can be made to the Dr. David Milburn Scholarship Fund, The Friends of Jazz Fund, or the Endowment for Jazz Studies. Contributions can be made by anyone, at any time, in any amount. It’s easy to designate your contributions to a specific fund. Just go to the WVWC website and select “Give” from the menu. If you have other questions about designating you contribution, just call the good folks at the Department of Advancement. I’m sure they would be happy to help..
And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor, privilege, and absolute pleasure to present to you the Dr. David Allen Milburn Office!