Whiddon, Rexford

Mr. Rexford Whiddon was born in Tifton, Ga. in 1944. His father was a minister and his mother a homemaker. He earned his Master of Music degree at Eastman School of Music and worked on his doctorate at Indiana University. His first teaching position was at a small Methodist school in Winfield, Kansas, Southwestern University. He came to Columbus College in 1970 as head of the Keyboard Division when the music school was only a year old. In 1981 he became Chair of the School of Music and spent a lot of time raising funds. He led the School of Music to begin recruiting internationally, which "catapulted the school to a much higher level of excellence." He earned the Distinguished Service Award from the Music Teachers National Association in 2005. He served as President of the state organization, President of the southern division, and on the executive board. He retired from CSU in 1944 and began working for the CSU Foundation as Director of Major Gifts.