The music department at Southwestern Oregon Community College has a history of attracting faculty who become institutions in their own right. The likes of Christian Rosman and Keryn Frazell taught students in Sunset Hall for more than a quarter-century before retirement beckoned.

But in recent years, due to budget restraints, the school has been unable to offer a tenure-track position to music instructors. As a result, several professors have come and gone in quick succession, much to the chagrin of students and community members.

The situation changed when the Legislature decided to loosen its purse strings and bestow more dollars on higher education. With the additional funding, Southwestern re-established its tenure-track music position in July. Following that decision, the school hired Michael Turner, a guitar player with 17 years of experience teaching in Oregon colleges.

Charlotte McLauchlin, a part-time music instructor in her third year at Southwestern, is excited about the hiring of a tenure-track instructor.

“It gives us the feeling he will stay here for a long time,” she said. “I don’t feel like we will be recycling this position every year.”

An Ohio native, Turner arrived in Oregon in 1990 as an associate professor at Southern Oregon University. After nine years, he moved up Interstate 5 to Rogue Community College in Medford, but found it didn’t suit him.

“They didn’t have the commitment to the music program that Southwestern has,” he said.

Rather than pursuing a position at a larger school with dozens of full-time professorships, Turner opted to take Southwestern’s offer.

“At those schools, you get pigeon-holed in one thing,” he said. “I want to be a jack of all trades. That is much more appealing to me than just being a specialist.”

Like his predecessor, Mike Rossi, Tucker comes by way of the rolling plains of Denton, Texas, where he attended the University of North Texas. His studies in music theory there played a significant role in his hiring.

McLauchlin, who served on the college’s interview panel, said she asked each candidate to give a theory lesson at the end of his interview. Turner did not disappoint.

“Mike was a fabulous teacher,” she said. “I was completely sold.”

Some people required being sold. Rossi had become a popular figure with several community groups, including the Bay Area Concert Band, which he helped direct. With his departure, some expressed concerns about Southwestern’s commitment to music. Paul Vandervort, a second-year student at Southwestern, who also plays trombone in the band, was one of them.

“I was worried for a little while,” he said, “but now that we have (Turner), I’m not worried at all.”

Although he only met him a week ago, Vandervort believes Southwestern got a good teacher.

“He knows what he’s talking about and has a very good ability to transfer his knowledge to a student,” he said. “He’s good at relating to people and can pass along lessons to people of all ages and skill levels.”

Turner said watching this learning process unfold is one of his main motivations.

“I love to see students’ eyes light up when they finally understand something,” he said. “You want them to know more than when they started.”

Students at the school can expect to learn about some new areas of music in the coming terms. Turner said he plans to develop several new classes, examining music literature and the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I am interested in getting into the realm of more contemporary music, getting more into guitar music,” he said.

He already has developed a knack for at least one element of modern musicology.

“I do a lot of composing on computers and he already knows the programs I use,” Vandervort said.

Turner also said he wants to get out into the community and recruit more local students.

“I am going to go out to schools, visit choir directors and tell them we have a viable program here,” he said. “My experience has been that many community colleges don’t support music and that is not the case at Southwestern.”

Although the school has a tenure-track music instructor, McLauchlin would like to see another position created.

President Judith Hansen agreed that the department could expand further.

“It really needs two people, indeed, full-time people” she said.