Faculty, students, and alumni gathered on March 4, 2022, to recognize Jane Pinchin for her leadership at Colgate, particularly during the early years of coeducation. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)
Jane Lagoudis Pinchin, whose legacy as a teacher-scholar and administrative leader touches nearly every aspect of the University, died on Sunday, June 15.
Pinchin first came to Colgate in 1965 for a single year as an instructor, joining the first wave of full-time female faculty members at the University. After receiving her PhD from Columbia University, she returned to the English department in 1973 as an assistant professor, eventually becoming a full professor in the department. She went on to serve in several significant positions in the administration, including provost and dean of the faculty (1994–2001) and vice president for academic advancement (2002–05). She also led the University itself as interim president during the 2001–2002 academic year.
As noted in a citation marking her retirement from Colgate as Thomas A. Bartlett Professor of English emerita in 2015, Pinchin’s colleagues counted on her wisdom and her deep commitment to education for more than 40 years.
Pinchin led two academic divisions (University Studies and Arts and Humanities); founded the Manchester Study Group; oversaw the revision of the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum; pioneered the creation of Category I faculty appointments; and worked to establish the Women’s Studies Program, extended study and linked course programs, the Upstate Institute, and the Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education. She also served as acting director of the Picker Art Gallery (2003–05), chair of the Department of English (2005–13), and as a member of Colgate’s Bicentennial Committee.
Pinchin made distinguished contributions as a scholar and teacher. Her book Alexandria Still: Forster, Durrell, and Cavafy is an enduring work of scholarship that was first published in 1977, with a new edition in 1989 and a Spanish edition in 2005. Her teaching included departmental courses on the Brontës, E.M. Forster, and Virginia Woolf; Contemporary Fiction; and the General Education course in modernity. She also led the London English Study Group.
For many years, alongside her English department colleague Professor Jennifer Brice, Pinchin co-taught the Living Writers course, which allows students, parents, alumni, and community members to engage in conversation with world-renowned authors.
Pinchin was also an active volunteer in several capacities, including the Community Memorial Hospital Board of Directors in Hamilton and the Bowdoin College Board of Trustees.
Colgate’s Alumni Corporation created its Humanitarian Award in her honor in 2003. She received a Maroon Citation from the Alumni Corporation; the French, Alumni Memorial, and AAUP Professor of the Year awards; and special tributes from the classes of 2002 and 2011. She received an honorary doctor of letters from Colgate in 2018.
In 2019, after an anonymous donation from a family who wished to recognize the essential work of the Colgate faculty, a new residence hall on the upper campus was named in her honor.
Pinchin held a bachelor’s degree from Harpur College at Binghamton University and master’s and PhD degrees from Columbia University. Her husband Hugh M. Pinchin, who had been a professor of economics at Colgate, predeceased her.