MANSFIELD – Richland Academy is celebrating 30 years of arts education in Downtown Mansfield. Looking to the future, RAA is announcing the retirement of Marianne Cooper, founder and executive director of the academy.

Cooper has always been actively involved and passionate about the arts scene in Mansfield, having participated in numerous choirs, theater productions, community events and other arts-related endeavors. Having realized the enormous talent that existed in Mansfield, Cooper founded Richland Academy in 1991 with the purpose of creating a community center where individuals of all backgrounds could pursue their creativity and hone their skills in dance, music, visual arts, theater and, later, martial arts. Richland Academy’s founding president was the late Dr. Tom Croghan, who also served as the founding president of the Renaissance Theatre.

Cooper graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor of science in music education and later from Bowling Green State University with a master of music while pursuing Ph.D. work in education administration. She also studied at Tanglewood under Copland, Bernstein, Munch and Ross. Marianne taught music in various public schools, then later became an associate professor of music at Ohio State University at Mansfield teaching music education classes, choral music, voice and musical theater. She toured nationally with the Norman Luboff Choir and also appeared in music theater, opera and oratorio in three surrounding states. She also conducted three European Choir tours and one National Tour with the Ohio State University Singers at Mansfield. After retiring and becoming an emeritus associate professor of music, Cooper founded and has served as the executive director of Richland Academy of the Arts for over 30 years. In honor of that accomplishment, North Central State College inducted Cooper into their Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2012. 

Looking to the next 30 years, Richland Academy has been involved in rebranding, building a new website and implementing a new strategic plan, all of which Cooper knows will propel the academy forward for another 30 years. For RAA’s 30-year anniversary, a celebratory evening event will be held at Richland Academy on June 11, 2022.  

For more information on things happening at Richland Academy, call Richland Academy at 419-522-8224 or visit www.richlandacademy.com.