Nancy Y. Bekavac was an American academic and lawyer who served as the sixth president of

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

, the first woman to hold that position. She began her tenure on July 1, 1990, and concluded it on June 30, 2007. Scripps College is a

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

Early life and education

Bekavac was born and raised in

Clairton, Pennsylvania Clairton is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Monongahela River and is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 6,181 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, where her family ran the Bekavac Funeral Home. She graduated from

Clairton High School Clairton High School is located in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County in the city of Clairton, United States. It is part of the Clairton City School District. The school serves students in 6th through 12th grades. The scho ...

in 1965. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

where she graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1969, and she graduated from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1973. She was one of four Swarthmore College team members on the weekly

College Bowl ''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl'' ...

"quiz" show during the 1968–1969 season that defeated competing teams for five consecutive weeks. She also received a Watson Fellowship, traveling in South Asia and Eastern Europe. At Yale Law School, she was a classmate of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and future president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Scripps College

In 1990 as a result of Scripps alumni pushing for a woman president, Nancy Bekavac became the sixth president of Scripps College. During her tenure, the endowment of Scripps College increased from $57 million to $230 million, student enrollment increased from 630 to 880, and applications doubled to 1,900. Student quality also increased: first-year students now have combined median

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

scores of 1350, up from 1140 in 1991. Scripps also has more

National Merit Finalists The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. The program is managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded not-for-profit ...

than any other women's college in the nation. In 2003, Scripps College Summer Academy began an annual two-week residential program for underserved high school students. Many changes were made to the physical structure of the campus during Bekavac's tenure. The college's physical plant was extended and improved. In 1994, the

Millard Sheets Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale b ...

Art Center was opened. In 2000, the Malott Commons was opened for college-wide dining and special programs. Also in 2000, a new residence hall (Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Hall) was opened and the former President's House on campus was renamed as the Ellen Clark Revelle House. In 2001, a 25-meter swimming pool was built, and in 2006 ground was broken for the Sallie Tiernan Field House, a recreation and athletic center with a woman-friendly environment.Bartlett, Mary Shipp. 2007. Nancy's Legacy. Scripps Magazine. Fall issue. The Field House now accommodates nutrition and health classes and includes workout rooms.

Career

She practiced law in Los Angeles, and was a partner at the firm now known as

Munger, Tolles & Olson Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP (MTO) is an American law firm founded in 1962 with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The firm is known for handling litigation and corporate matters across multiple industries, including entert ...

; she was Director of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, and was counselor to the president of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

prior to her appointment as president of Scripps College. She is currently RIT Kosovo Trustee Chair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekavac, Nancy Swarthmore College alumni Living people Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Yale Law School alumni Scripps College People from Clairton, Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people) People associated with Munger, Tolles & Olson