Nell Eurich
Lazarus, Longtime New College Trustee and Academic Leader,
Passes Away
Lifetime teacher, administrator twice
served as interim president
(January 30, 2008) New College of
Florida officials today announced the recent passing of
distinguished trustee and longtime champion of the College,
Nell Eurich Lazarus, who died peacefully in her sleep at her
home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, January 26.
A lifetime teacher, administrator and
consultant on academic affairs, Eurich Lazarus’
contributions to New College are profound and date back to
1962, when she joined an advisory committee to help design
the curriculum for the school, which was at the time still
under development. The following year, she became the
first woman to serve on the New College Board of Trustees.
She continued to serve the College as a trustee, first on
the New College board and later on the board for the New
College Foundation, until the time of her death. In
2001, she was honored by New College with a special
proclamation in recognition of her many years of devoted
service to the College.
In addition to her support as a
trustee, Eurich Lazarus twice served New College as its
interim president. In 1965, she bridged the gap between the
presidencies of George Baughman and John Elmendorf; and in
1975, when the College joined the State University System in
relationship with the University of South Florida, she
served as interim president of the New College Foundation.
“Nell’s keen intelligence, her passion
for education and students, her strong qualities of
observation, analysis and discernment all made her a leader
among peers,” stated John Cranor, president of the New
College Foundation. “In addition to providing steadfast
leadership at critical times in the history of the College –
even to the point of preserving the institution itself –
Nell consistently challenged our thinking with thoughtful
and pointed questions. She feared no authority, shrank from
no challenge, yet consistently demonstrated a passionate
commitment to and connection with New College.”
In her honor, the Foundation recently
inaugurated The Nell Eurich Society to recognize donors who
have made contributions to the Foundation for a least five
consecutive years. Her own name was at the top of a list of
more than 275 donors, as she gave for 43 consecutive years.
According to her daughter, Juliet, this was a source of
great pride for the energetic Eurich Lazarus.
Born in Norwood, Ohio, Nell Eurich
Lazarus attended Stephens College, where she would later
serve as acting president and director of its New York
development office. She went on to Stanford for her
bachelors and master’s degrees, and later completed her
doctorate in English literature at Columbia University. Her
first job in the academic world was as director of the
student union at the University of Texas. She was a
resident counselor for two years at Barnard College during
the latter years of World War II and subsequently served as
assistant to the president of the Woman’s Foundation, where
she organized the 1948 White House Conference on the
American Family.
In addition to the posts at Stephens,
her accomplished academic career included serving as dean of
the faculty and professor of English at Vassar College; dean
of the faculty and professor of English and vice president
for academic affairs of Manhattanville College; member of
the English faculty at New York University; and special
advisor to the chairman of the International Council for
Educational Development in New York City. She was a member
of the Carnegie Council for Policy Studies on Higher
Education and a trustee of the Carnegie Foundation, and
served on the boards of many prestigious educational
foundations and organizations.
Eurich Lazarus was the wife of the
late Maurice Lazarus and the late Alvin C. Eurich, who was
former president of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic
Studies. In addition to her daughter Juliet, she leaves a
son, Donald, and several grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. At the request of the family,
donations may be made in her memory to New College
Foundation, 5800 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, FL 34243-2109;
or Compassion & Choices, 2066 NW Irving Street #4, Portland,
OR 97209.
Plans for a memorial service at New
College of Florida will be announced at a later date.
For more information, please contact
the New College Foundation at (941) 487-4800 or email the
Office of Public Affairs at
publicaffairs@ncf.edu.
###
