WINONA, Minn. – The appearance of “Saturday Night Live” comedian Michael Che at Winona State cost $55,000 – the most ever paid for a campus speaker or performer in the university’s history. This includes poet Maya Angelou, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for literature, and Linus Pauling, who held two Nobel Prizes, one for chemistry and one for peace. The Che appearance, on March 24, was for the university’s periodic Lycem event. It was arranged by George Micalone, student activities director. Asked about the contract he negotiated for Che’s appearance, Micalone characterized it as a bargain “significantly under” Che’s asking price. The contract was through the Leather Suit speaker bureau in New York. Micalone acknowledged that Che’s fee was “more money than traditionally spent for past Lyceum events.” The money, he said, was available because the Lyceum budget had been untapped for two years due to the CoVid pandemic. A reserve had been built up, he said. Che’s two-hour Winona State appearance was formatted as an on-stage conversation with university President Scott Olson. The turnout was 550 people, which broke out the cost at $100 per head. Students attended free. Some of the $55,000 expense was offset slightly by tickets to the public for $15 to $20.
Micalone. Director of the Student Union and student activities at Winona State.
Micalone profile
George Micalone joined Winona State as director of activities at the student union s in 2019. Earlier he was at Iowa State University 16 years in a similar capacity. At Winona State he works with the Student Senate’s amusements and activities committee. He holds a master’s degree in counseling and student development from St. Cloud State University and a bachelor’s in business from Bryant University. He has 20 years experience booking and managing artists for campus events and prides himself for good relations with booking agencies. Micalone asked that Winona State’s $55,000 fee to Che not be reported by the Winona Journal.. Agencies prefer that their contract details not be available to the public, he said. “Sadly my relationship with these agencies could be tarnished if the information is shared,” he said.
Lyceum profile
Winona State reinvented its speaker program in the 1990s under a new banner — Lyceum. In ancient Greece the Lyceum was where Aristotle taught. The term fell into disuse over the centuties until Napoleon revived it in 1802 for secondary education. Since then it’s come into broader use for its Greek and French high-brow affectation. At Winona State the Lyceum was conceived as a town-and-gown event for scholarly enrichment. As the university’s general funding came under pressure from enrollment declines, Lyceum funding became more a partnership with Student Senate, which kicked in dollars from student activity fees to help finance events. Gradually the Lyceum series became more subsumed into the Student Senate t activity fee budget, whose earlier purpose was mostly an annual spring rock concert.
Lyceum. Alternatively called “gymnasium” in ancient Greece. Where Aristotle taught in Athens.
Talent contracts
The Winona State contract for the Michael Che appearance runs nine pages. Compensation was a flat $55,000 – minus a 2% state tax on non-Minnesota performers, entertainers and speakers, roughly $1,100. Some earlier Winona State contracts through speaker bureaus have specified corollary requirements, like chauffeuring to and from airports, first-class lodging, and, in the case of one rock group, a supply of premium whisky, brand-name waters and silk bed linens. Despite that contract, the university reneged on the liquor and other punker egocentricities, and the group moved on to its next gig and never filed a breach of contract claim. A speaker bureau’s asking price is negotiable with lots of variables. If a tour has a vacant date, venues in the area may get a substantial reduction rather lose a revenue day on the road. On Che’s Minnesota swing, for example, he went from Winona State to Sisyphus Brewing and then Katie Steller’s fashionable hair salon in northeast Minneapolis. The Minneapolis audiences were much smaller than Winona State, and he appeared for much less than $55,000.
UPAC as a plum
For groupy-minded students, membership on the Winona State Student Senate’s University Programming and Activities committee is sought after. With celebrity performers, UPAC members get to hobnob, if only momentarily, with mid-level pop culture figures. An example was Nelly when he was a rising pop performer. Students sometimes drive them to Winona from an airport, escort them to their lodging, and get them around campus. It can be a real high for a 19-year-old.
Student activity fees
Winona State students pay a mandatory activity fee that on average is $1,114 a year. The exact amount varies depending on course loads — the more courses, the more the fee. The activity fee is in addition to tuition, which itself ranges from $8,100 to $14,600. The fee covers student activities, health services, technology support, access to varsity sports events, gym access, student union programs, Student Senate salaries, and membership in the Minnesota State University Students Association. Another mandatory fee is for laptops, $970 per student.