The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 2//Fall 2012 | Page 6
Featured article
Composing a legacy:
Honouring
H
ow do you honour a contribution as significant as the one
that Dr. Jacobus (Kobie) Kloppers has made to
King’s? How do you encapsulate his impact on students in
one article? It simply can’t be done. As the last of the original
six professors from 1979 still on staff at King’s, we attempt to
honour Dr. Kloppers as he ends his teaching career during the
2012-2013 academic year and continues his retirement.
Dr. Kloppers began teaching at King’s when the school was in
its original location at the Wawanesa building on 108 street. He
remembers faculty unloading the content of a new library into
the basement (King’s got a great deal on purchasing 33,000
volumes from the former St. Patrick’s College in Ontario),
having students travel to churches around Edmonton to find
organs to practice on, King’s struggling to get recognition and
accreditation for all its courses/programs, and staff wearing
many hats in those early years.
Under Dr. Kloppers’ direction as Chair of the Music Department
from 1979 to 2008, it developed from a two-year Church Music
Diploma to a three and four-year degree-granting program—in
fact King’s became the first Christian University College in
Canada to offer a full four-year Bachelor of Music. Later an afterdegree Artists’ Diploma and Performer’s Certificate were added.
King’s moved from a temporary, second, rented campus on 97
Street to its current location where the music program ob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