Mary Frances Bushong ’86 gifts estate to support McEuen Scholarship at MU Mountaineer Foundation

Mary Frances Bushong, a 1986 Mansfield music education major, has gifted her estate to support the Steve McEuen Low Brass Scholarship through the Mansfield University Mountaineer Foundation.

Steve McEuen taught trombone and low brass at Mansfield for 36 years and had a lasting impact on generations of music students. He passed away in 2019. The McEuen Scholarship was established by his wife, Dr. Susan Laib, to support future Mountaineer music majors who play low brass instruments (trombone, euphonium, tuba).

Bushong came to Mansfield as an undergraduate student in 1981, following in the footsteps of her band director at Lower Cape May High School. A trombonist, she was involved in a variety of Mansfield ensembles and toured with the wind ensemble, concert choir, and jazz band. “As a small school, Mansfield allowed you to do so much and be involved in all the different styles.”

She spent much time with McEuen in the trombone studio and fondly remembers his annual Thanksgiving meals that students would look forward to each year.

Bushong recalled the experience of being in Professor Don Stanley’s wind ensemble and later modeled her own rehearsals after what she had learned in his classroom. Following her graduation from Mansfield in January 1986, Bushong taught band at Washington Township in Sewell, N.J., for 35 years. She went on to earn a master’s in music education from Rowan University and a Ph.D. in music education from Temple University.

Bushong was involved in the Philadelphia chapter of the international music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota, then became a Province Officer. She has served on the organization’s National Executive Board for the past six years.

She has been involved in several choirs and bands throughout her life and currently performs in a Brass Society Band along with a Civil War Band, which plays period music in uniform. She performed at Carnegie Hall with fellow Mansfield alumni in January 2024.

Bushong returns to Mansfield often and continues to maintain close relationships with several floormates who met as first-year students in Cedarcrest Hall.

“My heart is here,” said Bushong. “I want students to have the same experience and opportunities that I did at Mansfield.”

To learn more about the Mansfield University Mountaineer Foundation or to make a gift, visit mountaineerfdn.org.