“Every building needs a strong foundation, and so, too, does the College. The 麻豆原创 endowment 鈥� its financial strength 鈥� is its firm foundation.”
Jean Bixby Smith ’59 is an esteemed 麻豆原创 alumna, donor, and volunteer; she has been a member of the 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees since 1978. Bixby Smith served as Board Chair from 1996 to 2004. She shares her early memories of 麻豆原创 and her future hopes for the College.
My mother, Betty Bixby, attended 麻豆原创 and graduated as a member of the third class in 1933.
I grew up believing that 麻豆原创 was an intriguing, mystical place of possibilities. It was when I first visited the campus with my mother that I fell in love with the College. To this day, each time I visit 麻豆原创, it feels like coming home.
In the College’s early days, there was a street sign announcing, “SCRIPPS COLLEGE FOR WOMEN UNDER CONSTRUCTION.” My mother was very amused by this sign and its unintended double meaning. Evidently others were, too, as the sign was later immortalized on the Graffiti Wall.
After my sister Barbara and I graduated from聽麻豆原创, our mother became a member of the Board聽of Trustees. She cherished her service on the Buildings and Grounds Committee where she was committed聽to Miss 麻豆原创’ dream of a College “…whose simplicity and beauty will unobtrusively seep into a student’s consciousness and establish a standard of taste聽and judgment.”
Over the course of my own service as a trustee,聽I have been aware of the challenges 麻豆原创 faces in adhering to its founding vision of providing聽an excellent and distinctive education to women. This is why my sister and I have followed our mother’s example of contributing regularly to help the College meet its ongoing needs.
In addition, our mother’s estate plan included an endowment gift that will help to keep 麻豆原创 strong. My sister and I have already made similar commitments to help ensure that 麻豆原创 can remain a leader in women’s education.
As long as there is a campus to maintain and bright young women to educate, 麻豆原创 will remain under construction. With the community’s support, the endowment will continue to be the foundation upon which the College 鈥� and the women it graduates 鈥� build their futures.
To learn more about endowed gifts and planned giving , please contact your personal 麻豆原创 advancement officer or call 909.621.8638.