Longtime Conn Donor Joy Mankoff’s Bequest Continues Her Support for Future Generations

We are so grateful to our alumni who recognize the transformative power of a liberal arts education. One such alumna is Joy Mankoff from the Class of 1956. One of Joy's favorite quotes was, "It is not for you to complete the task of perfecting the world, but nor is it for you to desist from starting it," by Rabbi Tarfon. Joy took that philosophy to heart and here at Conn made gifts to establish the Joy Shechtman Mankoff Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) in 2008. Today the Center has become a hub in Shain Library that promotes engaged and effective teaching for students of all learning abilities and academic areas.

Sadly, Joy passed away last year. Her decades-long support of the College continued as she remembered Connecticut College through her estate. Gratefully, her bequest was unrestricted, trusting the College to direct her gift to its greatest need. We are deeply grateful for Joy’s friendship and unceasing care of Connecticut College, its faculty, and students.

Dr. Michael Reder, director of the Joy Shechtman Mankoff Center for Teaching & Learning, remembers “I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Joy and her husband Ron, and being in their presence I felt both their gratitude for what they had and their generosity in wanting to share it with others. Spending time with them was, well, to use a phrase that I am sure has come up often in Joy's life, a joy. The naming gift for the CTL has made a huge difference in the lives of countless faculty and staff who have participated in its programming over the past almost two decades and has impacted literally thousands of students at Connecticut College, whose experiences and learning have been enhanced. Without Joy's generosity, our CTL would not continue to be a nationally recognized leader in small college educational development.”