John Hartin scholarship endowment to support SPC Creative Arts students

The legacy of late South Plains College music legend John Hartin and his passion for uplifting aspiring musicians will endure in the form of a generous scholarship donation.

The Hartin family donated $15,000 to the SPC Foundation for the creation of the John Hartin Memorial Scholarship Endowment that will benefit students in the College’s Creative Arts Department. To be eligible, current students in an SPC Creative Arts program must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA.

"We are profoundly grateful to the Hartin family for this extraordinary gift to the Creative Arts Department. John Hartin was a true visionary who was instrumental in establishing our globally recognized commercial music program, which recently celebrated 50 years of excellence,” Stuart Moody, chair of SPC’s Creative Arts Department, said. “He believed deeply in providing a solid educational foundation for emerging artists, and this endowed scholarship ensures his legacy will continue helping future generations of students realize their dreams."

Hartin, who created the world’s first commercial music program at SPC in 1975, was instrumental in turning the institution into a steppingstone for talented music professionals, including Heath Wright, Natalie Maines, Josh Abbott and Lee Ann Womack. The program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2025, continues to thrive and grow, drawing on the principles Hartin introduced as a founding faculty member.

Hartin, a 1998 West Texas Walk of Fame honoree, worked at SPC for a few decades before co-owning the Texas Music Supply store in the Levelland Square.

For more information about supporting SPC students, contact the College’s Development Office at 806-716-2019 or dschafer@southplainscollege.edu.