LU Moment: Dr. Golden Wright celebrates 20 years at LU | S9 Ep. 11

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Podcast: S9 Ep. 11
Date: April 27, 2026
Title: LU Moment: Dr. Golden Wright celebrates 20 years at LU | S9 Ep. 11
Host: John Rollins

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JOHN ROLLINS: Welcome to the LU Moment, where we showcase all the great things happening with Lamar University faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I'm John Rollins, Associate Director of Community Relations and Public Affairs here at LU, and I want to welcome you all to this week's show. My guest today has training in classical ballet, modern dance, choreography, and social dance. Dr. Golden Wright, welcome to the LU Moment.

DR. GOLDEN WRIGHT: Hey, thanks for having me. This is awesome, really.

JOHN: I should say welcome back, because you were my very first guest. It was in August of 2023.

GOLDEN: Boy, time flies, doesn’t it?

JOHN: It really does. And if you remember, we were talking about Centennial Fest at the time, so that was a big project.

GOLDEN: Yes—100 years of LU, for sure—that went amazing. It was great seeing everybody out on campus.

JOHN: It was a truly special event, for sure. Golden, have you hit it already 20 years? Or is later this year?

GOLDEN: End of this year will be 20 years—came in the fall of 2006.

JOHN: Wow, two decades at Lamar University.

GOLDEN: My interview anniversary on campus is coming up this week.

JOHN: Okay, there you go. And you know, I remember when you came on, you told me originally—and don’t let me misquote you—but I think your original plan was to stay about a year, and then things kind of just shifted and changed.

GOLDEN: The universities, because I came in as a visiting position.

JOHN: Oh, that’s what it was, yeah.

GOLDEN: And I ended up being in a visiting position for two years, and then ended up being on the tenure track, got tenure, became a department chair, got full professor, and now Dean. I mean, it’s been a wonderful ride.

JOHN: Yeah, I mean, obviously there’s something here you love—you’ve been here 20 years. So, as you just said, you’re dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication now. So, let’s hear a little bit more about your background and have you introduce yourself, and then we’ll go into more specifics about the college.

GOLDEN: Sure. I’m a big fan of higher education. I actually have four degrees—an associate’s degree in process technology to work at a chemical plant, which nobody seems to realize. I’ve also got a BFA and MFA in dance, and I’m an alumnus from Lamar University. I earned my doctorate in educational leadership from here. Career-wise, I’m a retired dancer. I danced with Ballet Austin and a number of other regional companies. I started dancing when I was 16, and I was dancing with Ballet Austin by the time I turned 21, and I fell in love with it. I was involved in sports and theater prior to that. I still do sports and stay active in theater—I love going to it—and I’ve been in a play here and throughout college. But dance really became my passion, and when it was time to pull back on the amount of performance I was doing, I decided to go to school for it and wanted to share some of the knowledge that others had bestowed upon me. It’s been absolutely wonderful and gratifying to see students come in, get their training, and leave here with successful careers.

JOHN: Yeah, and you get to see it from beginning to end, right?

GOLDEN: I do. I do. It’s awesome.

JOHN: Probably several iterations of that now.

GOLDEN: Very much so.

JOHN: Being in that role, for sure. And I like that you bring up sports and arts and how these things can all coincide. You know, you can be a sports fan and still be into theater and the arts. So, I love that you bring that up, especially on a college campus. We’ve got so much going on, and the College of Fine Arts and Communication is a big part of that, for sure.

GOLDEN: And it’s vibrant. You know, you talk about sports and the arts—you see that crossover in the marching band and football, the pep band, basketball. The atmosphere it brings together is really wonderful, and the atmosphere here at Lamar University is vibrant in all of those areas. And it’s been great seeing athletics really thrive over the last couple of years, and coming out of COVID, it’s great seeing what the arts are doing. All the creative things they had to do during COVID and bringing that into more traditional things—it really bears some wonderful fruit.

JOHN: That’s interesting that you bring that up. And I cannot remember who my guest was for the life of me, but we talked about that—you know, during COVID, I think you realized what were the things you missed the most. It was the arts, it was music and movies, and all these things that kept you entertained while you were sort of trapped in your home, right? So I think that’s a really good point for people to realize that these things are important—going to live theater, going to see a dance performance live in person. Which brings us into our next point. You know, in celebration of your 20th anniversary, there’s a dance performance coming up, so go ahead and tell us all about it.

GOLDEN: My wife and I are real supporters of higher education, and she’s got her bachelor’s and master’s and extra certification. We feel that that’s something that’s absolutely wonderful for individuals to further their careers. And in doing so, Lamar just got named the university where students graduate with the least amount of debt in Texas, which was absolutely awesome. And I think that comes from the community that we have around us and the individuals who’ve graduated from here giving back. I think scholarships are a big part of that. Over the years, I’ve had alumni talk about wanting to come back and do an alumni piece, and it didn’t work because we had Harvey one year, and that was one year I was going to do it. Then we had COVID, which was another year we talked about doing it, and that ended up not working out. So for a number of years, it just didn’t work out in the schedule with what we were trying to do. The first year I was dean, I decided not to choreograph that year. I wanted to concentrate on being dean and figuring out what that job entailed and how to best serve the college. So the 20th anniversary seemed like a really great time to be able to do something—to bring alumni back onto campus, have current students and myself perform in it as well. My wife and I really wanted it to go to a good cause, so we’ve decided to develop a scholarship in dance, and all the proceeds from this 20th anniversary concert will go straight toward that scholarship. And Angie and I are going to go ahead and fund it to make sure it becomes an endowed scholarship.

JOHN: Oh, there’s a philanthropic piece to this as well.

GOLDEN: There is, there is.

JOHN: I love that.

GOLDEN: And I think that when I became dean, I realized that we were too much of a best-kept secret as a university, and that’s a problem. We need to tell our story better, especially in the fine arts—let people know what we’re doing in the moment. We had a Sights and Sounds magazine, which was amazing, but it talked about what we did in the past. So we converted it to a newsletter that talks about what we’re doing in the present. And so hopefully, by doing this concert, it’s a way of being able to tell our story now about where we’ve come from, and get current alumni back involved and engaged with what we’re doing, and revisit some of those really wonderful moments we’ve had with students.

And so it’s been a great project of mine. I’ve been working on it about a year. We started our first rehearsal last June, so we’re right at 10, 10 and a half months, coming up on a year. And so it’s been amazing being in rehearsals with alumni, reconnecting, finding out where they are, sharing the space with them. Yeah, so it’s a great project, and Angie and I are both really excited to see the opening night on May 1.

JOHN: So speaking of May—so is it May 1 and May 2?

GOLDEN: It is.

JOHN: What are the times on those?

GOLDEN: 7:30 each night in the University Theater.

JOHN: Okay.

GOLDEN: And both shows are exactly the same. The show is family-friendly. There’s great—so I hope that there’s something for everyone. I think that when they come to the show, they take something away from it, whether it’s a feeling, a story, something different that they haven’t seen, or an experience that they can take with them. Yeah, so I’m really looking forward to seeing not just those performers who’ve worked so hard and that I’ve shared the rehearsal space with, but also to see the individuals who come into the audience that I haven’t seen in years and get an opportunity to catch up with them.

JOHN: Yeah, fantastic. So, let’s go ahead and dive a little deeper into the College of Fine Arts and Communication. I know there are several departments involved. Do you want to kind of give us your elevator pitch, or whatever you’d like to share about your college?

GOLDEN: Sure. Well, you know, one of the things I hear on college campuses is there’s nothing to do, and which couldn’t be further from the truth. Coming to the end of a semester, it seems like there’s something every single night, starting tonight. I have something every night until my concert opens. So, you know, the wind ensemble performs at the Julie Rogers Theatre. We’ve got a film showcase by the Communications Department happening at the Jefferson Theatre. We’ve got an opera that takes place on a Friday and Saturday. A dance concert by the faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance is happening on a Thursday and Friday. Each department has something. The Art Department has their student thesis show going up, and then they have a closing reception on commencement day. They used to do an opening like they do every other concert, but they started doing it on commencement day so that when parents come in and those students are graduating for their senior thesis, they can go check out their work right afterwards and see it in that gallery setting -- which is so different than any other gallery opening that we see. So there’s something happening almost every day of the week. There’s something happening not just on campus, but downtown as well. So it’s vibrant. That’s such a great word for what’s currently happening on campus as well as in the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

JOHN: And I think it showcases how connected Lamar University is to the local community. And you know, this college in particular, like you said, film students will be at the Jefferson. We’ve had all kinds of things where we invite people onto the campus. You know, whether it’s—we just had a theater production that was put on by our students. They wrote the play. I mean, it was incredible. And we invite the community out, like your dance performance, any dance performances that we have—Dance Unleashed, you mentioned. These are opportunities for the community to engage with us, come on campus, see what we’ve got going on, see the talent. And a lot of that comes from the College of Fine Arts and Communication, so it’s pretty incredible.

GOLDEN: I love that we’re one of the faces of the university. We really are. And it’s great, like there are organizations like the Symphony of Southeast Texas and AMSET, and I’m going to get in trouble because I’m naming a few and not naming others—but there are so many things that we’re a part of. The Symphony of Southeast Texas—we had a number of choral students and instrumental students who played in their last concert, yeah, and that’s just such a great collaboration. And what goes on with AMSET, we have this high school exhibit that takes place, where they take their work there and then it’s exhibited here. So those students get to put that on their resume, see what that’s like, and talk about their work, and it’s juried by individuals in the community. It’s just amazing—the relationships and how widespread the College of Fine Arts and Communication gets involved with the community in Southeast Texas.

JOHN: Yeah, it’s definitely an amazing reach that you all have, because the fine arts really draw people from all sectors—whether it’s younger kids, retired individuals, current students, faculty, and staff. There’s always someone who’s going to be interested in what you all provide, so I love that. And like you said, you’re so well connected to athletics. You go to a football game, you’re going to hear the band. They’re creating an atmosphere and environment. So y’all are very much ingrained in everything that Lamar University does.

GOLDEN: You know, having the Dishman Art Museum here and being able to exhibit faculty, student, and guest work, having KVLU and being able to talk about what’s currently happening and what’s going on nationally, regionally, and on campus—I know Jason Miller and crew has done a great job of making this a campus radio station, which is really awesome. And then you have University Press and LUTV that are just in line with that—keeping up with what’s happening and sharing that, telling our story.

JOHN: Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. And the experience that these students are receiving here speaks for itself. A lot of them go on to work at local news stations. You know, they’re out here working in PR, they’re going on to do great things. So I do want to ask—what is something that you would share with someone who hasn’t had the chance to experience a Lamar University fine arts event yet?

GOLDEN: I would say that I’m surprised I worked here as long as I did and didn’t see some of these things myself. And it’s addicting, because you see the talent and how great it is and how local it is, and most of these events are free to the public. You know, you can go to Houston and see professional shows, but the type of product that we’re putting out right now is absolutely amazing. And the reason why it’s so amazing is because the students are learning from active professors who are currently doing what they’re teaching. I’ll give you an example of that in theater—Joel Grothe is currently doing a show at Main Street Theater in Houston, and he’s currently acting, and he’s sharing that information of what he’s learning and what he’s learned throughout his career with those students. So I’m really blessed by the colleagues I have around me. And if you haven’t come out to see something, you know, let us know. Look up our calendar, look at lamar.edu/cofac, College of Fine Arts and Communication. If you type that in, there’s an events tab, and it has the departments. If you need information about it, call us—we’ll tell you whether it’s kid-friendly or not. We do want to challenge students to address topics that are current and what’s happening, and sometimes that’s not kid-friendly, but the majority of our stuff is absolutely kid-friendly. So whether it be opera or an instrumental group, a dance concert, a theater show, an art exhibit, a film showing—there’s so much going on, and there’s something for everybody. So we hope that they’ll come out and check it out.

JOHN: Okay, so you mentioned the website, lamar.edu/cofac. But if they want to check out any social media accounts or things like that, how can they stay engaged?

GOLDEN: Well, you can go to the college Facebook or Instagram, which is Lamar University College of Fine Arts and Communication, and we follow the different departments—so you have Art and Design, Music, Theatre and Dance, Communication and Media, any one of those four. And if you have a specific thing that you’re really interested in, whether it be a play or an art exhibit, you can follow each one of those, and it’ll tell you what’s currently happening in that particular area. So that would probably be the most up-to-date way to see what’s going on. A lot of times it’ll have pictures or short videos of what’s happening, and you get to know the students a little bit by doing that too.

JOHN: Yeah. Fantastic. So we're running a little low on time, but I do want to ask before we wrap up, what part of working at Lamar University do you find the most rewarding?

GOLDEN: That's really tough. I'm going to go through a couple of them.

JOHN: Yeah, it can be a few things.

GOLDEN: So it’s great—the “aha” moment, the moment when a student is able to do something that maybe they didn’t think they were able to. You see them get something that maybe was a little out of reach the year before, the semester before, the class before—the moment they walk into your office, or they come onto campus the first time you see them at one of our recruitment events. And then you talk to them and their parents about coming here. And then you see them in class. You see them on stage. You see them on the field. You see their work. And then you see them walk across the stage—that moment of shaking their hand, giving them a hug, congratulating them—is pretty amazing. Them calling you or sending you an email saying, “Hey, I want to let you know I got this internship” or “I got this job,” is pretty amazing in itself. But you know, we’re student-centered here, and most of the successes we strive for—those faculty, staff, and administrators—they look for those wonderful moments that take place for our students. And I’m really proud of the number of opportunities our students get, and that they take those opportunities and are successful. So probably number one is that walking across the stage—that’s pretty amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody upset on a commencement day, right?

JOHN: You know, I mean, that's an excellent answer. That's the culmination of everything they've worked for, and everything our faculty and staff have worked for to get them to that point.

GOLDEN:  …or parents, grandparents, loved ones, spouses, children, friends—everybody celebrating those individuals on that day. And our commencement is coming up on the 15th, and that moment is pretty amazing.

JOHN: Yeah, fantastic. I'm glad you get to live a bunch of those moments, right?

GOLDEN: I really do. It's pretty amazing being at the other end of the stage.

JOHN: Very nice. Well, thanks again, Golden, for joining me. Thanks for all that you do for the college and for the university as a whole well.

GOLDEN: Thank you for having me on LU Moment, and it was a pleasure to be back again, so I look forward to the next time.

JOHN: To catch the LU stories just like Golden’s, be sure to search “LU Moment” wherever you get your podcasts to keep up with the events, activities, programs, and people right here at Lamar University. This is John Rollins, your host. Thank you for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.