Retiring music prof honored

Graduates of Chico State’s Recording Arts Program watched a very surprised Raymond Barker, a professor in the Music Department, as he was told the program’s recording studio would be named in his honor.

He heard the news at a recent alumni event to unveil the program’s renovated studio, which has undergone a $125,000 transformation that includes a new console. Barker started the program back in the mid-’80s. It was one of the first of its kind in the state.

Barker, who is about to retire, also was surprised during the evening to hear of the establishment of an endowment in his name. The Raymond Barker Recording Arts Scholarship—with nearly $20,000 in donations—is the department’s first scholarship dedicated exclusively for recording-arts students.

Barker’s family, including his wife, Roma (pictured with him), was in on the surprise. The event kicked off Chico Experience Week, the Chico State Alumni Association’s 10-day celebration of all things Chico and the university.