Through that collaboration, as well as some funding from the University Park Allocations Committee (UPAC), the Sonny Fortune Quartet will perform free for students.
"Many students don't get to experience jazz without having to pay," Vandiver said.
"I wanted [the center] to be a sponsor for good jazz events -- for free," she added.
This collaboration marks the beginning of an extended relationship between the Jazz Club and the ARC, said Chris Byrne, Jazz Club faculty adviser.
Byrne said it's important because he feels this art form deserves more of the spotlight.
"ARC and the Jazz Club have begun a long-term collaboration, because jazz is an important example of African-American leadership and achievement that has been virtually worshipped worldwide, yet under-appreciated in the United States," he said.
Some said Fortune would present an enthusiastic performance to the audience, and Fortune said he hopes the audience will be able to feel his enthusiasm.
"There's an excitement in my playing," Fortune said. "I'm pretty exciting. So much so that it excites me, and I'm certainly hoping the listeners are excited."
Fortune said that when he first started listening to jazz music, he didn't like it.
But he said -- to his surprise and delight -- it eventually worked for him and has never lost its appeal, even after almost 50 years.
"It's a subject that meets all your expectations," he said. "As I grow older, I see more elements to reach for in this art form called jazz. I've never outgrown it."
Vandiver said she hopes that events like this performance can become a tradition at Penn State and can bolster appreciation for jazz.
"The goal is to use the concert as a kickoff event, starting a dialogue about jazz to encourage more student involvement in jazz at any level," Vandiver said.
The jazz atmosphere at Penn State has improved over the years, Welmon said.
He said he is surprised at how many young students know the art form, artists and music.
"The audience has grown and become much more sophisticated," he said.
Fortune said audience members, while sometimes unpredictable, should enjoy the performance through the joy he conveys in his work.
He said that even though jazz might not overwhelm everyone, and the music he plays might not be what is considered by most to be popular today, the concert is still going to be an experience from which the audience will take pleasure.
"We play some very special music in a very special way," he said.
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