Donor support expands Gogue Performing Arts Center's community impact

As a child taking piano lessons, Dan Ponder was reluctant to practice — until he was inspired by a live performance.

“I went to see Peter Nero in concert, and he seamlessly blended classical, jazz and pop music on the piano —it changed my life,” he recalled. “The audience was applauding, it was standing room only and he was having a great time. Seeing him gave me something I could aspire to.”

That’s why Dan and his wife, Mary Lou, both 1976 graduates of Auburn, are philanthropic supporters of the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center. Having watched the arts inspire people of all ages, they have thoughtfully focused their Auburn giving on causes that can change lives.

 “The arts are sometimes the thing that’s least supported, so we tried to be intentional about our support — that was our goal right from the start,” Mary Lou said.

Putting it together

Dan and Mary Lou’s Auburn story starts early — as far back as 7^th grade, when they first met.

Growing up in Dothan, they became friends after being seated near each other in their first year of junior high. When Dan headed to Auburn after high school, Mary Lou went off to Randolph Macon Women’s College in Virginia and a year of study abroad in England, but the pair kept in touch.

“This was 1974 to 1975,” Dan said. “There was no internet or texting, and phone calls were prohibitively expensive, so we started writing letters. Those letters made the heart grow fonder, and by the time she came back, I told one of my buddies, ‘That’s who I’m going to marry.’”

Mary Lou transferred to Auburn and earned a degree in history from the College of Liberal Arts, while Dan graduated from the College of Agriculture. They married and landed in Donalsonville, Georgia, where Mary Lou taught social studies in the local school system and Dan served as mayor, county commission chairman and, eventually, a representative in the Georgia General Assembly.

Living in Donalsonville, the Ponders had limited access to the performing arts, often driving to see shows at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta or to community theaters in Dothan, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida. But whenever they traveled, they made time to enjoy the arts.   

“If we were in London, we’d go to the West End; in New York City, we’d go to Broadway,” Mary Lou said. “Any time we were on a trip, we made sure we went to a concert or play.”

Come from away

After 47 years in Georgia, the Ponders sold the family business and moved back to Auburn — just as the university was breaking ground on the brand-new Gogue Performing Arts Center. They signed on to be some of the facility’s earliest donors.

“It was literally just coming out of the ground,” Dan recalled. “We were trying to figure out what causes we wanted to support on campus, so we narrowed it down both logically and emotionally, and the Gogue was a perfect match.”

Their first major commitment established the Mary Lou and Daniel E. Ponder, Jr. Stage at the Bill and Carol Ham Amphitheater. As demand for the venue grew, it became clear an expansion was necessary. In 2025, construction crews enclosed part of the original stage to create a new indoor performance and event space, called the Studio Theatre, complete with a glass wall overlooking the expanded amphitheater and Ponder Stage.

The Ponders were pleased their initial gift helped the theatre move quickly to expand audience capacity.

“That one was like hitting two birds with one stone,” Dan said. “You get an expanded, more intentionally designed amphitheater, and you get the Studio Theatre at the same time. We hitched our gift to a moving target and just kept supporting it, and we’re thrilled with the way it’s turned out.”

The Studio Theatre allows the Gogue Center to host smaller acts — like chamber music ensembles, cabaret singers and improv groups — that don’t fill the larger Woltosz Theatre but still bring value to the community. The Ponders also support the theater’s K-12 School Performance Series, which brings elementary and high school students to campus for live events and hits close to home for Mary Lou.

“There have been so many cuts to the arts in K-12 budgets,” she said. “But the rural school system where I taught would rearrange the budget to make sure that music and drama were still funded. I think it’s important that kids get an opportunity to experience the arts.”

On the town

These days, Dan and Mary Lou spend evenings at the theater and game days on campus with their grandchildren. Having a world-class performing arts center in their own backyard has been transformational.

“If we have any regrets, it’s that we didn’t move here earlier,” Dan said. “The Gogue is just perfect for this stage of life. We used to have to travel to experience the arts, and now they’re coming right to our hometown.”

In addition to the Gogue Center, the Ponders are generous supporters of the College of Agriculture, the College of Human Sciences, Auburn Athletics and several other campus units. Dan said the intentional support of donors is helping the university move forward in very deliberate ways.

“By being intentional, you’ll feel a little more fulfilled, because you’re giving to something you decided was part of your own plan,” Dan said. “And talk about being intentional — when you hear that Auburn University has the greatest student experience and the happiest students, you know that’s not by accident.”

Mary Lou said giving back to Auburn felt natural after all the university had given them.

“We are happy that we can support things that are important to us while also contributing to the university’s overall mission,” she said.