Anita May ’62, Ph.D., credits her time at Le Moyne with teaching her to think creatively, to ask questions about the world around her, and to appreciate the beauty in an array of histories and cultures. May’s education served her in good stead, she says, particularly over the course of her 31-year career as president and executive director of the Oklahoma Humanities Council, whose mission is to bring artistic and cultural opportunities to residents of the state. Yes, she acknowledges, there were a number of technical aspects to running a successful nonprofit organization, for example, budgeting and fundraising, that she learned about as she worked. However, it was her education at Le Moyne, where she majored in history, that enabled her to think broadly and to imagine a vibrant future for the Council.
As an undergraduate, May immersed herself in the study of history, literature and religion under the direction of educators like John Bush, S.J., and Donald Monan, S.J. She witnessed up close the pacifist and human rights movement being led by people like Daniel Berrigan, S.J. And, at a time when women’s professional options were severely limited, she was encouraged to pursue her dreams of earning a doctorate by people like Peg Snyder, Ph.D., the College’s dean of women. Now May wants others to have the same opportunities that she did. To that end, she created an endowed scholarship for first-generation students who are studying the humanities. Two students benefited from May’s generosity last year, both of whom were young mothers finishing their degrees.
May believes passionately that exposure to the liberal arts and culture is an essential and enriching part of everyday life, and that colleges like Le Moyne are not merely preparing people to be talented professionals, but thoughtful, productive citizens. She is proud that at a time when other institutions of higher education are disinvesting in the humanities, the College is redoubling its efforts in this arena. For example, faculty in the Department of Philosophy and Madden School of Business recently carried out a number of initiatives to enhance the researching and teaching of ethics. An interdisciplinary minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies was recently unveiled. And this fall the Le Moyne community recently welcomed to campus the new 75th Anniversary Endowed Professor of the Humanities and the newly created Endowed Professor for the Study of the Americas.
May is proud to be part of those efforts to keep the humanities at the forefront of a holistic Jesuit education.
“The humanities teach you how to think and foster your imagination,” she says. “They offer us a wonderful insight into every problem or challenge the world has ever faced, and how we can address new ones. Simply put, they are invaluable.”
About Anita May: Anita May ’62 earned a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne and a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, both in history. In addition to her work at the Oklahoma Humanities Council, she helped to shape the next generation of leaders as a visiting lecturer of European and women’s history at the University of Central Oklahoma, and put her passion for writing and history to work as the author of Patriot Priests: French Catholic Clergy and National Identity in World War I.