Joyce P. Cavarozzi

is honored with a Brick from Chris and Karen Cavarozzi, Gene and Janice Mulcahey, Adraine V. Pennington, and Dallas and Linda Pennington.

Joyce Cavarozzi is the daughter of Howard and Adraine Pennington of Cincinnati, sister of Janice Mulcahey and Dallas Pennington, and mother of Christopher. It is entirely appropriate that those names appear first in this brief narrative, for Joyce has always given, quietly and unselfishly, total love and devotion to her family... and to those friends she has made a part of her family. As her mother wisely says, "She is one who has always believed that giving to and helping others is one way of honoring God on earth."

Indeed, this same passionate commitment informs her entire life. After earning degrees from Ohio University and The Ohio State University, Joyce joined the faculty of what was then the Division of Theatre at WSU. It was soon evident that for her, teaching was not only an honorable profession, but also a joyful vocation. She has nourished, supported and cherished generations of students, many of whom still count her as a mentor and friend.

Over the years, her creative dedication and incredible energy have done much to help build the Theatre program into one of the finest in the region. Her excellent work with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, including a term as Regional Chair, has made the University Theatre recognized nationally. Teacher/artist, director, costume designer, cheer leader... it is little wonder that the campus tends to think of Joyce as the symbol of the University Theatre.

This same pride of institution has made Joyce one of the champions not only of the School of Performing Arts and the College of Fine Arts, but of Wichita State University as a home of academic excellence. She has served the school in countless committees, workshops, and outreach programs, and was chosen to be President of the Faculty Senate during a period of administrative transition.

Perhaps her most fervent enthusiasm is, ultimately, for the total art of Theatre. A talented, sensitive actor herself, she preaches the gospel of theatre as the most human of the arts to any audience who will hear.

But, the crucial point must not be missed. Joyce did not set out to become a dutiful daughter or respected teacher/artist or any of the other worthwhile things she is. Rather, she is all those things because she gives herself wholly to every experience. She lives life; she does not simply endure it, When she drives, she does not safely go from here to there on the interstate. She turns off on the little by-paths, explores the pueblos, talks to people, even samples white-water rafting. And in so doing, enriches her journey with adventures that most of us simply pass by. In her mother's words, "So, Joyce, it is with love that we honor you for being the kind of person you are."

September 12, 1998