Scripps College President Nancy Y. Bekavac announced the appointment of Jane O’Donnell as the first Bessie and Cecil Frankel Professor of Music. O’Donnell has been a member of the Scripps faculty since 1975.
"The establishment of this chair," said Bekavac, "is the culminating gift of a most remarkable couple, Bessie and Cecil Frankel. Through their gifts the past 40 years, they invested in the future of women’s education by providing both a residence hall and support to the music faculty. From their original bequest to the most recent gift to the College, the Frankel family has assured the support of one of the best small college music programs in the country.
"We are particularly delighted," she continued, "that their gift makes it possible to honor one of the leaders of the Scripps faculty. Jane O’Donnell has taught generations of Scripps women and broadened the perspective of numerous students from all the Claremont Colleges, both in her teaching of music and women’s studies. Throughout her career at Scripps, she has been a generous, balanced, and dedicated colleague. The College is delighted to recognize her now."
O’Donnell has taught courses in music history, the humanities, voice and diction, as well as the music component of an introductory course in women’s studies. She has a long list of distinguished solo vocal performances, both regionally and nationally. As an active member of the Scripps Women’s Studies Field Group and chair of the Scripps Strategic Planning Curriculum Sub-committee, she has played an active role in strengthening women’s studies at Scripps and taken a lead in the College’s deliberations about its special role as a women’s college. In 1996, she was appointed coordinator of the Intercollegiate Women’s Studies Program and served in that capacity for two terms.
Dean of Faculty Michael Deane Lamkin commented: "With her extensive knowledge and hard work, Jane O’Donnell has contributed to the College in many ways that have a profound effect not only on the present but the future of our institution."