Dr. Wiley L. Housewright, born in Wylie, Texas in 1913, received his B.A. degree from North Texas State College in 1934. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music and at Columbia University, where he received his M.A. degree, and at New York University, where he received the Ed. D. degree in 1943. Before coming to Florida State University (FSU) in 1947, he served as director of music for the Fort Worth public schools and the Batavia, NY public schools, and assistant professor of music literature at the University of Texas. In 1947, he joined the FSU faculty.
While at FSU he was active in advisory roles for foundations, such as the Ford Foundation's Program in the Humanities and the Arts. Well known in professional groups, he served as president of the Southern Music Educators Conference and on the executive committee of the Music Educators National Conference. In 1948, he organized the FSU University Singers, a 71-voice group of men and women students.In 1955, Housewright served a summer professorship at Indiana University. On a Fulbright grant he lectured on choral literature and choral music in Japan during the 1956-1957 school year.
In 1961, Housewright was selected FSU's Distinguished Professor. That year he was also appointed by U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk to the U.S. National Commission for the U.S. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). During the 1960s, he chaired the Faculty Professional Relations Committee, which developed guidelines in such areas as academic freedom and faculty participation in civil rights activities, and he chaired the Faculty Committee on Contract Policy Recommendations, which discussed salaries and teaching contracts. In 1966, he was named Dean of the FSU School of Music by President John E. Champion.
In addition to these activities and accomplishments, Housewright authored several books, including An Anthology of Music in Early Florida (Gainesville, Fla.: University Press of Florida, c1999), A History of Music and Dance in Florida, 1565-1865 (Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, c1991), and Music for Florida Children: A Guide for Elementary School Music (Tallahassee, Fla., State Dept. of Education, 1954). He died December 13, 2003, in Tallahassee.
From the guide to the Wiley L. Housewright Faculty Professional Relations Committee Files, 1959-1968, 1963-1964, (Repository Unknown)
