AAVC Awards Outstanding Service and Faculty-Staff Awards
AAVC Awards Outstanding Service and Faculty-Staff Awards
During Reunion 2018, the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC) honored two alumnae from the class of 1963 at the Saturday morning Volunteer Breakfast. Susan Donahue Kuretsky, Professor of Art on the Sarah Gibson Blanding Chair, received the Outstanding Faculty or Staff Award, and Sally Lyman Rheinfrank, who has served Vassar in many roles, including trustee, received the Outstanding Service to Vassar Award.
The Outstanding Faculty or Staff Award honors a faculty or staff member’s “exemplary service, leadership, and commitment to engage with alumnae/i and current students through a range of programs, initiatives, and activities over a period of years.” Kuretsky, a beloved teacher of art history, surely fits the bill.
After earning her master’s and PhD at Harvard, Kuretsky returned to her alma mater in 1975 and went on to teach at the college for more than four decades—right through this spring semester.
Kuretsky’s Art Department colleague, Andrew Tallon—one of several people to have nominated her—called her “a devoted servant of Vassar.”
“As a fellow faculty member in the art department, I have had the chance to see her in these various roles firsthand, and can speak directly to the love for Vassar that she elicits from alumnae/i when they encounter her,” he added.
The Outstanding Service to Vassar Award is presented to an alumna or alumnus “in recognition of her or his extraordinary commitment, leadership, and service in promoting the goals and highest interests of Vassar College and the AAVC.” The award honors outstanding contributions made over a number of years in any number of volunteer capacities.
When presenting the award to Rheinfrank, Taylor proclaimed her the “ultimate Vassar volunteer.” Rheinfrank served a total of 16 years on the Vassar Board of Trustees, and four years chairing the Pyramid Society of former trustees; she led two national fundraising efforts, The Campaign For Vassar and the Vassar 150: World Changing campaign; and served as vice president and chair of the nominating, scholarship, and reunion gift committees for her class, and much more.
In honor of Kuretsky’s and Rheinfrank’s many contributions to the college, the class of 1963 made a generous donation to Vassar.