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An Interview with Rich Crosby Dan Krueger: Dr. Rich A. Crosby, Eta-Omicron (Cincinnati) '75, is the Fraternity's national president and he has agreed to sit down for a couple of minutes while in Evansville with his Province 25 Spring Fling to talk about his experience as president and give his final thoughts to our alumni. Let's start by going back to 2003. What led you to want to run again for national president after doing it for three year from 1994-97? Rich Crosby: Really, I was talked into it. The CPRs at the 2002 CPR's Convocation approached me and asked me if I would consider running for president again. I hadn't planned to as I was happy being the Province Governor Chair. But this was the time when we were debating about the philosophical direction of the Fraternity and [restoring] the Object, which we have done now. They identified me with that part of the Fraternity's leadership that wanted to restore Mills's vision. After thinking about it a little bit, I decided, "Yes, I will do that if they wanted me to." That was six years ago. It's been quite a long haul, but very rewarding. I'm happy with where the Fraternity is now and where it's going so if I've had any small part of that, I'm glad. Rich Crosby with 1997 Man of Music William Warfield DK: If I'm correct with my research, I believe that you are the person that has held the position of president, while not consecutively, the second most amount of years since Archie Jones, Alpha Mu (Minnesota) '29, who held it for 10 years from 1950-60. RC: Yes. He had 5 two-year terms. DK: And you've had. . . RC: . . . 3 three-year terms. So I am one year shy of Archie Jones's record. DK: How does that make you feel? RC: In some small way you think, "Wouldn't it be cool to beat the record." But nine years is a long time and it takes a lot of energy to do this job. If anyone thinks it's all just glory and standing up and taking applause, there's a lot of work that goes on. I'm OK with having the second longest service record. DK: Back in '94-97, there wasn't the ability to run for a second term and that changed in 2000? Crosby conducting the Step-Sing at the 1997 National Covention. RC: That changed in '97 and it was because of me. The National Collegiate Representative at the time, Jeff Lockhart, Xi Kappa (VanderCook) '93, had asked me if I was willing to run again and I said, "Well, I can't. The (National) Constitution forbids that." And he said, "Well, why don't we change the Constitution?" My response was "If the Fraternity wants that, I'm happy to serve, but I'm not going push that. It's improper to push my own agenda like that. A move started among the CPRs and some of the (province) governors to change the Constitution so that I could run again. I naively thought I could stay above the fray and let the Fraternity have its will. There were some folks who saw a conspiracy behind that and they thought that I would blindly appoint or replace governors who would side with me to change the Constitution to serve my own agenda. When I realized that, I made an announcement to the NEC (National Executive Committee). I said, "Listen guys. You need to decide this idea of presidential succession on its merits alone without it applying to me. I'm telling you right now, I will not be a candidate in 1997 for president. So you decide if presidential succession is a good idea or not." And they did. They decided they wanted to do that. My successor, Terry Blair, Beta Mu (Central Methodist) '79, decided not to run again. In 2000, Darhyl Ramsey, Lambda Omega (Carson-Newman) '67, was elected and he was interested in being a candidate again so he would have been the first one to succeed himself, but I was elected instead. So I was the first one with the opportunity to succeed myself. DK: What do you see as being the difference from your presidency from '94-97, in comparison to the '03-09 years. RC: '94-97 was a very difficult time in our history. The Fraternity was split almost 50/50 about whether or not we should continue with our professional identity, or whether we should be the type of social, special-interest Fraternity that I think we really are and that we decided to be. It was a very difficult fight. It was mostly the younger leaders of the Fraternity who had discovered the writings of Mills and (Percy Jewett) Burrell and were inspired by that sort of idealism that we were pushing to change. The older generations that were in the leadership at the time had grown up under the professional (era) and they weren't comfortable with that change. It wasn't something they had signed on for. There was a lot of strife about that. I left the presidency in 1997 a totally exhausted person just trying to keep the Fraternity together while it was trying to decide its course.  That was rough and I didn't think that I was particularly successful because the issue was not solved. But then after taking three years off, I started to feel the sap rise again and thought, "Well, I could do the leadership. Maybe I could at least be Province Governor Chair and make sure all the new governors coming on board are trained with the right set of values and priorities. I went for that and was elected in 2000. When I took over in 2003 again, it was a whole different ballgame. Most of the folks who had fought so hard about this (issue) were pretty much gone. The last few either left or were replaced in the first couple of years of the '03-06 triennium. It's a total night and day contrast. This service as president, this last six years, has been a pleasure, but it was very challenging in '94-'97. I wouldn't ask my worst enemy to go through that. It's all worked out for the best. When you see a result like this, you realize pretty much any price is worth it to have this kind of success. I wouldn't trade any of it. DK: On a more personal level, you've not only grown as a leader, but musically as a composer. Has there been any connection from your leadership experience that has given you the motivation to explore your talents in composition? RC: When you think about phrases like "sing according to your Crosby (lower right) with the 1991-94 National Executive Committee. inspiration, write what music you will, let there be nothing but the truth in music," I've taken that all to heart. I've spent most of my career as a re-creative artist being a performing pianist and then hand injuries sidelined me from that career. The creative energy needs to find some kind of outlet and I've always tinkered with the idea of being a composer, but the stuff I wrote when I was in my 20s was not terribly original. It frustrated me because it sounded like something anyone else would do. Whoever came up with that phrase that no one should write a novel until they are past 40 because they haven't lived enough until they reach that age where they have something to say, they were really right on. The best things, my most mature stuff, started in 1999 when I was 42. It sounds much better than my earlier works. With the lack of performing, I wanted to do more creative stuff. When you are someone like me who's single and has no children, your legacy is a different thing than flesh and blood. My legacy is Phi Mu Alpha and whatever original music I write and leave behind. That will be here long after I am gone. I always have that in the back of my mind that someone will know I was here. Someday when I'm not around, (they'll say) "that's the guy that was president and he's the one that had that picture on the wall with his hand under his chin. (Crosby laughs as he poses to reference one of his pictures.) DK: Which one? There are a couple of them. RC: Well, actually, I like the new one with the baton. That's probably the best picture I've ever taken. Considering the subject matter, I think the photographer worked miracles. But, the spiritual nature of Phi Mu Alpha and what it tries to bring out in a person, that's definitely had an effect on my creativity. I feel like the type of person I've become and the things I have to express would not be the same if it weren't for my experience in Phi Mu Alpha. The things that people are hearing in my music now are directly related to my 34 years of experience because it made me the type of person I am and what I have to say all comes from that. DK: Your experience with the Fraternity can be trailed all the way back to the mid-80s with the CPRs Council. . . RC: I was CPR for Province 3 in Christmas of 1985. DK: You were one of the originators of the council. Is that correct? RC: An early one. I was not one of the originators. I took part in the early years when it was really gathering steam, but guys like Curtis Shirley, Epsilon Upsilon (Evansville) '79, and Ed Klint, Alpha Xi (Illinois) '78, and Brian Stratton, Delta Omega (Southeastern Louisiana) '79, were the originators of it. DK: Going back almost 25 years, you've had some type of key involvement with the Fraternity. You've been a CPR, a PG Chair, a PG. . . , RC: Since 1988. DK: . . . National President. Am I missing anything else? RC: National Secretary/Treasurer, Committeeman-at-large. . . DK: The SEF Board. . . RC: Yes, I've been a trustee on the SEF for at least 15 years. DK: So what does Rich Crosby do as of July 2009? RC: I think I am definitely planning on remaining as governor for the guys in province 25. That's a great joy for me. Like this weekend. I've had such a good time being with them. They keep me young. I plan to stay on as governor for the foreseeable future. I have no plans to step down from that. If the SEF is interested in keeping me as a trustee, that's the kind of work I would like to do too. I don't really intend to do any committee work. I don't plan to serve on the Commission on Standards (COS) or strategic plan initiatives. I think I would just like to take a step back. This has been exhausting. As I tell people, "I'm tired." I'm not tired of the Fraternity at all, but I'm just very tired from doing this, teaching full-time, trying to compose and singing in a men's chorus in Lexington (KY). It's a lot. Crosby stands by the memorial headstone of Ossian E. Mills at the centennial in 1998. DK: Many people who do stuff for 25 years are close to retirement. RC: I know. I started this much earlier. A lot of the people prior to me who became national president were getting their start in national leadership at this age. I've been pretty much through all of the offices now and I'm going to be 52 in April (2009) and I've done it all. Hopefully, I'll get to be the "grand old man" for decades to come. DK: We'll get to appreciate you as a past national president for many more years. RC: And I will eat it up. I'm looking forward to it actually. DK: As both national president and province governor, you tend to be much more accessible to our collegiate members to provide inspiration and motivation to continue the lifelong experience of Sinfonia. What message would you give our alumni to continue their journey? RC: That's an interesting question for me to answer because I have never really been out of the loop of active involvement since I was 18 years old. It's not the typical alumni experience and I realize that. I've been very privileged to always an opportunity to serve at a national level and I appreciate that. I realize that most alums have to focus on their career only or they'll start a family and that will take all of their time. Or they have a spouse that certainly needs a great deal of their attention and affection. I've been able to put all of that into the organization so it is an unusual situation. DK: . . . and we appreciate it. RC: Thank you. And I feel appreciated. But I feel that if the average alum just took advantage of whatever opportunities that there are to be involved locally to recharge their batteries, it will mainly be a self-journey about: "This is who I am and these values are a part of me. How do I express those in my daily professional or personal life? How do I stay in touch just enough to keep the batteries recharged and not feel like this is something I did when I was in college." That's a deadly thing. We don't intend that. We would like people to maintain some level of attachment and feeling like they are part of the action. I hope if there are alumni in their area, they would be involved with them, even if it's just socially, or something that is identified with Phi Mu Alpha and the values that they cared about when they were in college. Perhaps collectively they can find something they want to do, even if it's just a dinner. They might want to help the local chapter or they might say, "What can we do in our community?" As individuals, motivated by this type of idealism, one guy might say, "I can volunteer and help with these things because it's about the uplift of mankind. The recipe of each individual alum will be different, but hopefully the motivation, the "why," because of the values they signed onto when they were a member of a chapter will still be the crux of what's driving them. And then, come to (National) Conventions and similar opportunities and remember what all the excitement was about. And go out and change the world.