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O U T S T A N D I N G S E R V I C E A W A R D
M
eg R
eitman J
acobs ’63
“I enjoy helping others and seeing the fruits of my labors empower and improve their lives.”
Volunteering is “a great way to stay connected to my alma mater, and I’ve met wonderful people along the way. I am constantly meeting Skidmore alums through business, travels, or elsewhere, and there is always an immediate connection. ”
donated her mother’s graduation gown and scrapbook to the Scribner Library archives the year Kate graduated. “Receiving this award is indeed an honor,” Til refects, “and I would like to dedicate it to my mother and my granddaughter Kate.” After reading American studies professor Mary Lynn’s history of the College, Make No Small Plans, Til considers her mother to be one of the pioneers of Skidmore’s early years. She adds, “Many aspects of Skidmore life have changed since that time. As I read about the College’s new academic programs, collaborative faculty-student research, self-directed majors, and studies abroad, I realize that Skidmore today has progressed much farther than either my mother or founder Lucy Skidmore Scribner could have imagined. Yet it’s clear that the vibrant and creative learning environment that Lucy frst envisioned continues to fourish and grow.”
Til remembers being thrilled when, in 1981, she and her sisters accompanied their mother to her 60th Skidmore reunion. “We so enjoyed watching her and the other ‘little old ladies’ having a grand time together. It’s hard to believe that I am now the ‘little old lady’ here to enjoy my 60th reunion!”
More than 50 years ago, a Skidmore math professor told Meg Reitman Jacobs ’63 that computers were “the up-and-coming thing” and she should look for a job in that feld. She took the message to heart and after graduation worked as a computer programmer for New Jersey Bell. She recalls, “This was when the programs were still on punch cards and the computers themselves were located in huge, air-controlled rooms.”
Meg says being a math major taught her how to solve problems, which has proven useful in her life in general and in the design feld, which became her second profession. Having minored in art at Skidmore, Meg earned a master’s degree in interior design from Pratt Institute. For 30 years she has owned MRJ Design Group Inc., located in Cedar Knolls, N.J. The frm specializes in residential interiors and has also done commercial projects and corporate lobby designs. Between 1995 and 2000, the New Jersey chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers honored Meg with four awards for excellence in residential design. Her work has been featured in
New Jersey Monthly , Garden State Home & Garden , the Record and Star-Ledger newspapers, and Elegance by Design . Now semi-retired and working part-time from her home offce in West Orange, N.J., Meg devotes much time to volunteering and serves on several boards. She says, “I enjoy helping others and seeing the fruits of my labors empower and improve their lives.” Her Skidmore service includes being Friends of the Presidents class chair since 2002. She has also been a member of the Alumni Association’s Nominating Committee, the National Friends of the Presidents Committee, and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery’s National Advisory Council
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