•You Can Call Her Doctor Our December graduates aren't the only ones celebrating an educational milestone this month. Leslie J. Blackwell, assistant professor of music and music education and director of choral activities, was granted a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Kentucky last week. A native of Atlanta and graduate of Gordon College and the State University of West Georgia with a master's degree from Georgia State University, Blackwell taught elementary and secondary music for twelve years in the metro area before pursuing her doctorate. She auditioned for and was accepted at the Universities of Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Kentucky. She also was offered teaching assistanceships at each. Colorado was her first choice until she found out the professor she wanted to study with, Lynn Whitten, was retiring. Ever resourceful, Blackwell packed up her disappointment and decided upon Kentucky where she could study with the next best thing, one of Whitten's former students. Kentucky also offered her two TA opportunities; one in choral and one in theory. Blackwell believes the smaller program at Kentucky gave her more opportunities to direct and to teach than she would have received at the other schools. Then fate led her to Kennesaw State. A choral position opened at the growing school, but Blackwell had not completed her dissertation. "My professors urged me to apply any way," she recalls. Things started to line up. KSU vocal professor Oral Moses knew people Blackwell knew. One of her professors bumped into Joseph Meeks, then chair of the KSU Department of Music, at a wedding. "The next thing I knew, I was one of six candidates," Blackwell says. "All of them had completed their degrees." When they offer came through, Blackwell was thrilled to move back to the area. "You just don't get back home. It almost never happens." Blackwell has spent the last several years balancing her teaching load, directing four student choral ensembles, directing choral programs at various churches and serving as artistic director for the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus. All while working to complete her dissertation. Now that she can put the "Dr." in front of her name, she has to figure out what to do with her "extra" time. "I think I'll get a life," she jokes. As long as that life still includes overseeing the tremendously successful and growing choral programs at Kennesaw State, nobody will be complaining. Congratulations, Dr. Blackwell.