Aug. 21, 1942–June 15, 2025
Jane Lagoudis Pinchin, whose legacy as a teacher-scholar and administrative leader touches nearly every aspect of the University, has died.
Pinchin came to Colgate in 1965 for a 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 as interim president during the 2001–2002 academic year.
“The story of Jane at Colgate began as a love story,” says Professor Jennifer Brice, Pinchin’s longtime English department colleague with whom she co-taught the Living Writers course. “She was the daughter of a Greek immigrant, and both parents worked as waiters and community organizers. (She used to joke that she was a ‘red-diaper baby.’) In her 20s, when she said yes to a teaching gig upstate, she had no intention of leaving New York City permanently. But she fell in love with Hugh Pinchin, a young British professor in the economics department. After they wed, they bought a Greek revival farmhouse in Hubbardsville, N.Y., where their children, Sarah, Nina, and Will, grew up.”
For more than 40 years, Pinchin’s colleagues counted on her wisdom and her deep commitment to education, as noted in a citation marking her retirement from Colgate as Thomas A. Bartlett Professor of English emerita in 2015.
“Jane was a guiding star to so many of us as we joined the Colgate faculty,” says Ellen Percy Kraly, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of geography and environmental studies emerita. “In so many ways, often quiet and subtle, Jane modeled how to contribute, how to serve, how to inspire. And Jane was always, always, fully present, as she brought out the best of each of us, as colleagues, and as friends.”
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. “Jane was a fierce advocate for the liberal arts,” Kraly says, “seeing the potential of critical and interdisciplinary curricula for future leaders, artists, and scientists.”
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.
“She believed to the very depth of her being in the importance of studying the human condition through an examination of and an enjoyment in literature and art,” President Brian W. Casey wrote in an email to the community. “She took joy in the work of the University and served Colgate because she believed in its mission. It is rare to see the workings of a formidable mind informed, as hers was, by such a capacious heart. It is rarer still to be able to walk about a campus knowing that, to an exceptional and sustained degree, we all still benefit from that combination, found in a pioneering scholar, teacher, and friend.”
Colgate’s Alumni Corporation created its Humanitarian Award in her honor in 2003. “She contributed so much to Colgate,” wrote Bob Raiber ’68, P’02, who received the award in 2015. “I first became her friend as an undergraduate when she had a role in a performance at the arts center. I loved being an alum in Living Writers for several years and was proud to receive an award in her honor.”
Pinchin 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.
“We often focus on the first women alumnae who forged a new era for Colgate. Until we remember the real pioneers in faculty and administration who set the stage, listened to the new voices, and guided Colgate to an even richer experience,” wrote Madeline Bayliss ’76. “Jane was clearly one of those leaders. Forever in our memory and gratitude.”
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. “Jane saw the beauty in every corner of central New York,” Kraly says, “in its history, its valleys, and in her neighbors, and she wanted the best for the communities we share.”
Brice reflects: “What was the source of her magic? It’s impossible to say. ‘Always move toward other people’ was one of her mantras. With her diplomatic gifts — that trifecta of intelligence, warmth, and vision — she would have made an excellent UN ambassador or secretary of state. Instead, she gave nearly all of herself to Colgate. We were so lucky to have her.”
Pinchin was predeceased by her husband, Hugh. She is survived by their children and four grandchildren. “It was a particular point of pride for Hugh and Jane that all three children pursued careers in the arts,” Brice says.
