Lawrence Jasper

Dr. Lawrence Jasper
Biography for Distinguished Faculty Award, Spring 2020

At the start of a teaching career that has now touched seven decades, Dr. Lawrence Jasper received his first teaching assignments courtesy of the U. S. Navy from 1968 to 1972—training pilots on operational flight simulators. He was soon able to return to his lifelong passion for the arts, and he taught theatre and drama courses while earning his Masters and Doctorate degrees in Theatre.

He joined the faculty of our Department of Theatre and Dance in August 1981, at a time of major transition in the department. Larry was asked to assume the teaching responsibilities of three faculty members who had retired in the previous semester. He did superbly in his many new preparations in undergraduate and graduate courses in theatre history, dramatic literature, criticism, theory, and composition, as well as in seminars in graduate research methodologies.

Professor Jasper’s scholarly orientation was immediately reflected in his research activities. His book-length assessment of the state of scholarship in his discipline, that is also a resource and research guide, was commissioned by one of the premiere professional organizations in our field: The Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Additional publications have included articles and book chapters in reference works that have been translated into a number of languages, representing his fine scholarship on several continents. Larry has also served as chair and/or developed scholarly papers for 46 conference panels; and he has accepted a number of invitations to chair and serve as adjudicator on numerous national competitions for scholarly papers in theatre history and dramatic literature.

Larry has cautioned against the soporific effects of lengthy lists, so what follows here are just a few representative examples of his more than 60 contributions in this area.

1. He served as National Coordinator of the Performance Critique Project for annual conferences of the prestigious American Theatre Association—serving at the invitation of the President of the Association.

2. He served for eight years as Performance Adjudicator and Board Member of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival’s Region VIII (responsible for six western states). The Board decides which of the best university and college theatre productions will be invited to the annual KC/ACTF Regional Festival and takes part in facilitating each year’s Festival.

3. Dr. Jasper served for six years as Chair of the annual “Student Theatre Critics’ Workshop” for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, Region VIII—serving at the invitation of the Chair of the Region. Each year, this program provides scholarships to the best student critics from the eight KC/ACTF Regions. Scholarships include all-expenses-paid summer seminars with established professional theatre critics— held at the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut.

4. Professor Jasper Developed and Chaired nine scholarly and creative panels and projects for National Conferences on “The Nature and Practice of DRAMATURGS in Theatrical Production.” Panels and projects that he developed and led included professional dramaturgs, literary managers, and directors from the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego; the Stratford Festival of Stratford, Ontario, Canada; and the Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.

5. He served from 2016 through 2018 as Member/Chair of three International Competitions for Scholarly Papers for the American Theatre and Drama Society—serving at the invitation of the President of the Society.

6. Again, for brevity, what follows is a final example, indicating that Dr. Jasper’s professional contributions, leadership, and commitment to teaching continue to be recognized on the national level: In January 2020, the proposal he co-authored for a series of “New-Faculty Mentorship” projects was accepted for presentation at the next national conference of The Association for Theatre in Higher Education. The projects will consist of two distinct, interactive, multiple-day, Mentorship Programs for New College and University faculty.

Closer to home, Professor Jasper has made voluminous contributions to enhance the life of the Theatre and Dance Department and our campus community. For example, he designed and taught multiple new courses for Department majors, and courses jointly taught with other disciplines. He helped design the “Theatre Studies” baccalaureate program, which serves the largest percentage of the Department’s undergraduate students, and his development of the general education requirements for that program received unanimous faculty approval in 2017. Grant writing has also been a special interest of Dr. Jasper's.  He has given workshops on the subject to professional organizations and successfully secured funding from both campus and external sources. These grants have supported both scholarly and creative research projects, providing numerous opportunities for direct participation by theatre students and faculty.

A scan of Larry’s committee service, as both member and chair, also reveals remarkable and ambitious accomplishments. Briefly, these include his service on the Department’s Personnel Committee (ten years), Executive Committee, Graduate Committee, Curriculum Committee, the College of the Arts Scholarship Committee, the University’s Academic Senate, Faculty Personnel Committee, Research Committee, Library Committee, Academic Appeals Board, and his service on a number of both Department and University faculty and administrator search Committees.

Professor Jasper also had a long and successful involvement with the President’s Scholars Screening Committee—the committee that rigorously examines hundreds of candidates each year for CSUF’s premiere scholarship program. He served as a member from 1998 to 2004; and, upon appointment by President Milton Gordon, served as Chair of the Committee from 2004 to 2007.

Deserving special mention from the Department of Theatre and Dance was Dr. Jasper’s outstanding contribution to composing the 2018 document that enabled the Department to earn an unprecedented ten-year re-accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

In addition to the selected list above, there is a contribution that Larry has made to enhance the life of the Department’s students, faculty, and staff that is not easy to classify. He found time to develop, and then to lead for the next THIRTY FIVE YEARS, the annual “End-of-the-Year Awards Gathering and Softball and Basketball Challenge Games”! His tireless efforts to maintain this annual tradition helped bring a special sense of “community” to our Department each year, and provided unique opportunities for us to congratulate all of our graduates.

What is most clear in the foregoing is that Dr. Jasper’s first love has always been for teaching and for his students. In fact, he numerous times turned down nominations for election to Department Chair over the decades, citing his desire to remain in the classroom. His knowledge and love of his field, his commitment to his students, his approach to teaching that is demanding but always fair, and his well-known sense of humor, have combined to make Larry one of our most highly-respected faculty members, and a student favorite.

As a final note here, on Professor Jasper’s life thus far as an educator, it seems a fitting tribute that his teaching was singled out for special recognition by the University Honors Program. For his development and instruction of the Honors Course entitled “Theatre and Issues in American Society” (treating social justice issues of Racial and Gender inequities), Dr. Jasper received the Outstanding University Honors Professor Award. The award was presented with this telling observation:

“Professor Jasper is a tremendously inspiring individual who continues to exemplify the excellence and integrity that is expected of Honors Faculty. The University Honors Program and its students wish to recognize him for his remarkable performance.”

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We have only been able to mention a few highlights of a career that has touched seven decades and continues strong, but for these reasons and more, I am happy to announce Dr. Lawrence Jasper as the recipient of the College of the Arts Distinguished Faculty Award.

Congratulations Larry!