ASU alum saw need, gave back

Bob Bidewell was a junior at Poplar Bluff High School in Missouri when the Arkansas State University Band went to play there.

That performance made an impact that is still being felt.

After seeing the band, Bidewell decided to attend ASU, where he sang in the choir, played percussion in the marching band and was a frequent accompanist on piano to others. He graduated in 1976 with a degree in instrumental music education.

On June 22 Bidewell, 65, donated stock worth $100,000 to the ASU Foundation, with the request that proceeds from the sale of the stock be directed to the school’s Department of Music.

“With the coronavirus kind of ending everyone’s school year, I knew that there was a need,” says Bidewell, who lives in North Little Rock. “I talked with my financial adviser up in Poplar Bluff, and I said that it was time to do this gift. The school means so much to me, and I know that a lot of times the fine arts are overlooked. I thought that this would be a way that at least I could help the music department get through this rough bump in the road.”

It’s not the first time he has helped his alma mater with a donation. In 2011, he gave $25,000, and in 2017 he donated $15,000 for the renovation of the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

Carl Cates, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, said in a news release: “Bob Bidewell continues to be a great friend to the arts and especially to the Department of Music at A-State. His generous gifts have improved campus facilities and educational opportunities for years. I thank him for his exemplary record.”

Bidewell, who also has a master’s degree in music education from ASU, taught music in public schools for 10 years before becoming the music director at Lakewood United Methodist Church in North Little Rock. From there, he moved to St. Paul Methodist Church in Little Rock, where he was organist and music director.

He’s retired now, but music and theater are still integral in his life. He has performed with the Community Theater of Little Rock and the Argenta Community Theater.

“Theater has always been in my background,” he says. “I helped found the Studio Theater [in downtown Little Rock], and I have turned that over to the nonprofit board.”

He also plays bass clarinet and the occasional keyboard parts for the Little Rock Winds and sings in the choir at Christ Episcopal Church.

“I’ve been keeping busy in retirement,” he says. “I’m not going to stop.”

His most recent gift was planned even before the pandemic hit, but the timing ended up being “a bright spot in a dark time,” he says. “If I can help one kid get to do what I did, then I think I’ve done pretty good.”