Scripps College’s newest residence hall, which opened in August 2000, has been named in honor of London-based alumna and benefactor Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler, a member of the class of 1972, President Nancy Y. Bekavac announced today. A dedication ceremony is planned for fall 2002.
"I am delighted that this glorious building will carry the name of a woman who has thoughtfully and generously supported the College’s highest priorities," said Bekavac. "It is also an appropriate name because Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Residence Hall owes much of its grace and beauty to the suggestions made by Mrs. Jungels-Winkler during the design process."
Mrs. Jungels-Winkler’s gifts and pledges to the $85 million Campaign for the Scripps Woman are the largest of any single donor. The campaign, which will conclude in July 2004, currently has raised $75.7 million in gifts and pledges.
"My gift joins Scripps’s mission of perpetuating excellence," said Mrs. Jungels-Winkler. "The seeds of excellence so carefully nurtured in the early 1900s will, in the light of the challenges presented by this new century, be enabled to flourish and grow thanks to the current campaign. The heights reached will reflect a college at the very summit of academic distinction and recognition: the 21st Century’s expression of Ellen Browning Scripps’s vision. It is the spirit in which Scripps was founded that has been one of the biggest influences of my life. It is an honor to be involved."
In 1999, Mrs. Jungels-Winkler established five full scholarships to be awarded each year to academically outstanding students who choose to attend Scripps. The scholarships are unusual because, in addition to full tuition and room and board, they include travel costs to Scripps and research stipends for one summer. According to Vice President and Dean of Admission Patricia Goldsmith, "These scholarships have drawn the attention of top students throughout the world and made Scripps competitive with the most highly selective colleges in the nation; they are invaluable to our efforts."
In addition, Mrs. Jungels-Winkler established The Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Endowment for Contemporary European Studies, which funds a chair in contemporary European studies at Scripps, currently held by Patricia Dillon, professor of economics; the endowment supports research and teaching, and a speakers series to bring prominent scholars and Nobel Laureates to campus. Last September, Polish leader Lech Walesa gave the inaugural Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Lecture, sponsored by the European Union Center of California.
Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler graduated from Scripps in 1972 after majoring in art history and spending a year at L’Ecole du Louvre at the University of Paris. She earned her postgraduate degree as a returning student in London in the late 1980s. Of European heritage, Mrs. Jungels-Winkler speaks five languages. Her life since graduation has taken her from The Hague to Angola, Borneo, Brussels, Paris, and now London, where she runs a charitable foundation that provides support to The Courtauld Institute of Art, The Royal Academy of Arts, among others, and numerous programs to bring alive the visual arts to the partially sighted, the physically handicapped, the deaf, and children with learning and behavioral difficulties. She is the mother of twins, one a medical doctor, the other a graduate with a master’s degree in modern history, now serving in the armed forces.
Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Residence Hall is the first building constructed from the ground up since the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1984. Designed by Backen, Arrigoni & Ross, the hall echoes the traditional Mediterranean Revival style and interior elements of the first four historic halls at Scripps by architect Gordon Kaufmann. The hall includes a double-height foyer, a grand staircase, a spacious living room, a browsing room on the second floor, and two external rooms: an open courtyard and a raised terrace. Eighty-six students are housed in the residence in singles, doubles, and suites. A breakfast room, recreation room, lounges, and numerous gathering spots throughout the new residence hall were designed to encourage conversation and foster a sense of community.