Black Hawk College: Retired Professor, Musician Creates Scholarship For Jazz Students

Press release from Black Hawk College:

August 11th, 2021

Dr. Edgar Crockett spent 29 years teaching thousands of Black Hawk College students about music and sharing his musical talent with them and the Quad-Cities community.

Even though he retired July 31, he will continue to have an impact on BHC students through the new Black Hawk College Foundation Jazz Scholarship.

For nearly three decades, Dr. Crockett – an acclaimed trumpeter – and his students played gigs around the Quad Cities and set aside the money they made from those gigs to create the scholarship.

“We wanted to help students while helping to build the jazz program at Black Hawk College,” he said. “Since it is an endowment, we hope the scholarship will assist students for generations.”

The first scholarship will be awarded in 2023 and will be available to music majors who are enrolled in a BHC Jazz Ensemble.

The BHC Foundation at the Quad-Cities Campus has three scholarships for students who are majoring in music but this is the first scholarship specifically for jazz musicians.

“The beautiful thing about jazz is that it is continually changing. Every time jazz musicians play a piece, it should be different from the last performance,” Dr. Crockett said.

“In the same way each passing generation covers jazz standards from a different perspective,” he said.

Over the years, the students in the BHC Jazz Ensemble have performed hundreds of concerts and entertained thousands of people.

“The BHC Jazz Ensemble adds so much to our community,” said Zenaida Landeros, executive director of the BHC Foundation. “Dr. Crockett’s years of work and commitment have built a legacy here at Black Hawk College and beyond.”

“Black Hawk College is a fantastic place, and it has been a great privilege to work with so many wonderful people for 29 years,” Dr. Crockett said. “It was an honor to serve the students alongside the faculty, staff and administration.”

For more information about the Black Hawk College Foundation Jazz Scholarship, contact Zenaida Landeros at landerosz@bhc.edu or 309-796-5052.

This press release was produced by Black Hawk College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.