Spring 2007

Lansells Give Back to Music and Miami

Col. Bob and Suellen Lansell may have no greater love than for each other and their family, but their love of music and Miami University has never been far behind. It was, after all, near the Miami campus during January 1961 when a bass gazed out over choir practice and caught the eye of a pretty soprano across the way.

That is why, earlier this spring, the Lansells, both 1962 graduates, paid tribute to their love of music and Miami University through a gift to Amos Music Library.

"We've always loved Miami ," Suellen said. "It was where we met, and our association with music is what brought us together."

The gift helps further develop the library's collections of more than 14,000 books, 17,800 scores and the collected works of almost every major composer. For Suellen, a former teacher with a love for libraries, and Bob, who used a similar library while recently completing a music degree, it is an ideal way to give back to a place that has given them so much.

Bob was a four-year member of the Air Force ROTC at Miami and also was active as both a four-year member of the Glee Club and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Suellen majored in education and was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority and Miami 's women's choir, The Choraliers.

The two met while singing in the Methodist church choir in Oxford . After graduation, Bob spent a year in contracting school for the Air Force before the couple was married.

Now retired, the residents of Springfield , Va. , are still singing. After a 30-year career working in contracting for the U.S. Air Force, Bob returned to school and earned a music degree from George Mason University . He now serves as the director of music at a nearby Lutheran church, where he and Suellen sing in the church choir. They also sing in a 140-member choral society that performs in Washington , D.C.

"We're still very much into music," Bob said. "Not only singing in the choir but also performing with hand bells and singing in a smaller ensemble. We even work with a children's chimes choir."

Though the better part of their lives have been spent in the Washington , D.C. area, the couple has remained close to Miami . Their two children, Scott '88 and Laurie '89, are Miami graduates, and their eight-year-old granddaughter already has made a verbal commitment to continue the family's Miami tradition.

Along with successfully recruiting their own children and grandchildren to Miami , Bob and Suellen also serve as volunteers in Miami 's Alumni Admission Recruitment Network, where they represent the university at various college fairs and contact prospective students who have been accepted to Miami .

"We just try to encourage students to schedule a visit," Bob said. "The school sells itself. Just like our own experience and that of our children, any student who visits Miami is enthralled by the place."

Bob and Suellen are planning a campus visit of their own this summer when they attend their 45-year class reunion during Reunion Weekend (June 14-17). As part of the weekend's festivities, Bob will take part in the 100th Anniversary of the Glee Club.