After 78 years of affiliation with Duquesne University, the Tamburitzans are planning to go solo.

Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare said Monday that the popular student Eastern European dance, music and cultural troupe will file paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service by the end of the month to become a separate nonprofit group and the university will ease its transition to independence.

“There is a transition plan for the Tamburitzans to basically become an independent nonprofit organization separate from Duquesne University,” said Robert Vukic, an alumnus of the troupe who heads the Tamburitzans Executive Council. “We're looking ahead at a date in 2016 to be determined.”

Vukic called the separation “very amicable.”

The council will form a separate nonprofit group for the organization, smooth the transition and seek money and revenue sources to ensure its financial viability.

The changing structure will not affect the current season of about 40 shows from Minnesota to Florida.

In a statement, university officials said a group of alumni approached the university in 2013 about the future of the group, affectionately called the Tammies. The group had a 40 percent decrease in applications over the years, university officials said. They did not say why.

The agreement between the university and the group will allow the Tamburitzans to recruit students from other universities in addition to Duquesne — increasing the pool of applicants and enabling the group to look more broadly for support from foundations, individuals and government agencies.

Duquesne will not totally divorce from the Tammies, which have 28 performers and about 600 alumni. The university will give the group more than $2 million in buildings, land, costumes, instruments, vehicles and equipment.

The university will earmark more than $4 million in operating support for Duquesne students who perform for the Tamburitzans and will provide operating support during the transition.

“The university is working to make this a soft landing,” Vukic said.

For years, the students with the Tamburitzans received full rides covering tuition, fees and room and board. Now, they receive partial scholarships. The cheapest tuition, which applies to degrees in such areas as liberal arts, education, business, and nursing, costs $30,070 this school year. The cheapest room and board rate is another $9,890.

The Tamburitzans joined the university in 1937, eventually becoming a symbol of its link to the region's immigrant Eastern European community. Former Duquesne President Donald Nesti caused a controversy in the 1980s when he canceled the group's world tour and fired four of its staff members, among other things.

Bill Zlatos is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-772-6353 or bzlatos@tribweb.com.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---