Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Award

Celebrating our alumni leaders

This award was established in 1983 to recognize those alumni who have made significant contributions to their professions or to their communities over a long period of time, and thus reflected very favorably on the College of Charleston.
 

2012 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

Mel Marvin, Class of 1962

Mel Marvin, composer, director and educator, has had a long and successful career in both the commercial and non-profit sectors of American theatre for the last forty years, with 30 musicals, 47 plays, 2 movies and 2 operas to his credit.  On Broadway, he was a co-conceiver of TINTYPES (for which he received a Tony nomination) and of FASCINATING RHYTHM, and he wrote the scores for the Broadway productions of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s YENTL and Christopher Durang’s A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM. His musical version of DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS ran for two sold-out Christmas seasons before it went on tour in 2008. 

Marvin's career began while he was a student at the College of Charleston, when he wrote his first musical, JUBALEE, with Pat Robinson, wife of Emmett Robinson, who was then director of the Footlight Players at the Dock Street Theatre.  The musical was a big success, and Marvin turned down his acceptance to the Medical University of South Carolina to pursue a career as a theatre composer in New York City.  He has always credited the Robinsons for his success.  Marvin returned to Charleston several times to write about his roots – once, again, with Pat Robinson for another musical, RARE FINE TOWNE,  in 1977 for SONG FOR A NEW LAND, A MASS FOR THE THEATRE, written with Julian Wiles '74, artistic director of Charleston Stage, and for GREEN POND, a 4-character musical about two couples who spend a summer in the South Carolina Lowcountry, written with his friend, Bob Montgomery. 

Since 1989,  Mel has taught at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he is currently Associate Arts Professor and  Head Faculty Composer of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, an award-winning Masters Program for composers, playwrights and lyricists.  In 2012, he received Tisch’s David Payne Carter Award for Teaching Excellence.
 

Distinguished Alumni Award Past Recipients

 * Deceased