Dr. Denise Murchison Payton, Director of Choral Activities at Fayetteville State University Selected as President of the Intercollegiate Music Association

Dr. Denise Murchison Payton, Director of Choral Activities at Fayetteville State University, has been selected as the next President of the Intercollegiate Music Association (IMA). The Intercollegiate Music Association (IMA) was founded in 1960 as a vehicle for enriching and enhancing the development of the students of its member institutions.

The founders believed that the IMA could present an opportunity for cooperative, non-competitive activities among the students who attended colleges and universities in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference. As the principle leader in the development of IMA, Dr. Gatlin believed that there should be a program in existence that inspired mutual improvement, growth, cooperation, and respect in the arts among students and faculty. Through their collective efforts immeasurable human, artistic and academic values would accrue. The first conference occurred May 11-13, 1962, at Elizabeth City State University.