Alumnae in the news

Frederica de Laguna ’27, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emerita of Anthropology, is the 26th recipient of the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal. UPM established the medal in 1889 to honor exceptional achievement in excavation or publication of archaeological work. It was presented to de Laguna for her groundbreaking archaeological and ethnological investigations in Alaska at a Museum luncheon in her honor on October 15.

On November 16, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) joined members of the state General Assembly to honor Eleanor Jones Morris ’41, M.A. ’70 of Chester County, for her outstanding work in historic preservation. For more than 30 years, Morris has worked to preserve both historic properties and open space. She co-founded the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust in 1967 with her late husband, Samuel Morris, a former state representative and a member of the PHMC. Since 1972, she has served as the trust's president, and through this effort, more than 7,000 acres have been preserved, including many historically significant properties.

Poet, playwright and spoken-word artist Sarah Jones ’95 performs a one-woman show, Surface Transit, Off-Broadway at the American Place Theatre. Jones portrays eight different people riding on a bus; their monologues examine the victims and perpetrators of racial intolerance. Elle magazine (12/99) praises Jones’ "finely nuanced acting," her "ability to blend wit, honesty, outrage and compassion" and her "unflinching takes on the ‘isms’ that plague society." Surface Transit is soon to be a TV special, executive-produced by Spike Lee.

Mary Maples Dunn, PhD ’59, history, served as the interim president of Radcliffe College during the summer and fall of 1999. In September she became acting dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, following the merger of Radcliffe and Harvard. Pre-viously, she directed Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library. Dunn was president of Smith College from 1985 to 1995. She began her academic career at Bryn Mawr, first as a professor and undergraduate dean, then as deputy to president Mary Patterson McPherson, PhD ’69. She is an authority on William Penn, the history of women and religion in America, and colonial American history.

McBride Auction

he McBride Endowment Fund-raising Auction will be held April 29, 2000 from 7-10 p.m. in Thomas Great Hall (the Saturday night before the May Day celebrations) to meet the $100,000 goal required to start an endowment fund. The event is co-sponsored by McBrides and the Bryn Mawr Club of Philadelphia. A variety of goods and services will be auctioned.

The entrance cost will be $30, which will include light refreshments and an open bar. Tickets will be available at the door and by mailing checks to the McBride Fundraiser, Box C-1688, Bryn Mawr College, 101 North Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2899.

Faculty obituaries

Elizabeth Foster, Andrew W. Mellon Professor Emeritus of History and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1966-1972, died on November 27, 1999. Born in Chicago, she earned her undergraduate degree from Vassar College in 1933. She completed a master’s degree in sociology at Columbia University in 1934 and a doctorate in history at Yale University in 1938. She married Richard Foster and raised four sons before returning to teaching in 1953 at Ursinus College. She joined BrynMawr College in 1965 as a professor of history and became dean of the graduate school the following year. She was the author of several books and numerous articles on Stuart England and the English parliament. Foster received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1977 and the Wilbur Lyon Cross Medal from Yale in 1979 before retiring in 1981. She was a member of the American Historical Association, the Conference on British Studies, the Royal Historical Society and the British Museum.

She is survived by her husband, Richard W. Foster of Wayne, PA, and by her sons, Richard C, Timothy, Benjamin and Daniel. The College will hold a memorial service on March 25 from 2-5p.m. in Wyndham.

Hugues Leblanc died September 10, 1999 at Casey House Hospice in Rockville, MD. A professor of symbolic logic and philosophy, he taught at BrynMawr College from 1948 to 1967 before joining the faculty of Temple University. He taught there until he retired in 1992 as chairman of the philosophy department from 1973-1979. After he retired from Temple, he taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal until 1996. The author of eight books and hundreds of papers, he contributed to his field by expanding research in free logic, truth-value semantics and probability. A Quebec native who held citizenships in the United States and Canada, he earned his doctorate from Harvard University after receiving a master’s degree from the University of Montreal. He is survived by his son, Stephen; daughters, Gabrielle and Suzanne; his former wife, Virginia and three sisters.

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