When the FAMU Marching 100 takes the field for Homecoming, this Saturday, director, Shelby Chipman, Ph.D., will have a milestone of his own to celebrate: 10 years leading the storied ensemble he once knew as a student.
Appointed in May 2016 by former FAMU President Elmira Mangum, Chipman has spent a decade at the helm of one of the nation's most recognizable collegiate marching band, steering the Marching 100 through a period of renewal, revitalization and renewed visibility. Through his strategic leadership, a commitment to musical excellence and and performances on prominent national and international stages, Chipman has helped restore the program's stature and strengthen its position as a trendsetter in the world of collegiate marching bands.
Chipman, a FAMU alumnus, studied under legendary band director William P. Foster and later worked alongside generations of musicians and educators who sustained the university’s musical tradition.
Chipman had been part of FAMU’s music department for about 15 years, prior to his ascending into the leadership role. Rising through the ranks of an associate professor of music and director of symphonic bands, he holds responsibilities alongside his leadership of the marching and pep bands. Before joining the university, he taught music in the Miami-Dade County school system, where he was named Teacher of the Year for the 1993-94 school year.
Chipman instead assumed the directorship four years later, succeeding Sylvester Young, Ph.D., a 1969 FAMU alumnus who came out of retirement to lead the ensemble from 2013 to 2016. Young had previously directed the Ohio University Marching 110 in Athens, Ohio.
Young, who worked closely with Chipman before stepping aside, said his successor was well prepared to lead the program.
“There is no one else more qualified to direct this program but Dr. Chipman,” Young said. “He was 100 percent by my side during my tenure, and it is now his time to take the lead. He is going to take this band to a new and higher level.”
Mangum, who appointed Chipman, described him as an innovator capable of advancing the program and taking the band program to new heights.
In 2024, the program earned the ESPN Band of the Year distinction.
For Chipman, the occasion brings his journey full circle. Trained under Foster and White, he now bears the responsibility of preparing a new generation of musicians to carry that legacy forward, representing the university on a stage that extends well beyond campus.
As the band prepares to take the field this Homecoming, Chipman’s milestone offers a moment to reflect on a decade of leadership at an institution where music is woven into the fabric of academic and campus life.
Ten years after his appointment, Chipman remains at the podium leading the ensemble that helped shape him, sustaining a tradition that has defined generations and ensuring that the sound of the Marching 100 continues to resonate far beyond the university’s gates.
Hubba Doc!