A Legacy of Learning

When Dr. Nancy L. R. Bucher ’31 began her schooling at Bryn Mawr, she faced a unique problem: as an only child, she often did not catch common childhood diseases. So, when other children at school became ill, she was kept home. “I loved school, and I loved to go to school,” she recalled in a 2012 interview. “I hated being kept home. I would have rather gotten sick!”

That feeling of living to learn characterized Bucher’s Bryn Mawr experience. Her love of science also blossomed at Bryn Mawr, in Clare Hardy’s class. One day, students were given the chance to watch Miss Hardy dissect a cat. “We all had to look at it,” Bucher remembered. “Some people closed their eyes, but I thought it was fascinating.” The experience set her on a career path that would combine discovery with helping others.

After completing her undergraduate work at Bryn Mawr College, Bucher enrolled in medical school at Johns Hopkins University, where the burgeoning field of pathology captured her interest. A newly-minted M.D., Bucher moved to Massachusetts, working first as an intern at the Boston University Medical School before joining Harvard Medical School’s Huntington Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, an epicenter of cancer research. There, she began work on liver regeneration, the topic that proved to be the focal point of her career.

Bucher became a pioneer in the fields of liver regeneration and hepatocyte cultures, earning the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the American Liver Foundation in 2001, among other accolades. At the age of 70, she took mandatory retirement from Harvard Medical School, but she was not yet ready to quit. She moved on to Boston University, where she continued to teach and research until the age of 93. “I liked what I was doing. I was interested in trying new ways to solve difficult problems,” Bucher said. “Why would I retire when I’m having so much fun?”

In 2013, Bucher’s love of teaching and learning inspired her to donate $1.5 million to Bryn Mawr in order to create a lasting legacy honoring the exceptional teachers who inspired her: the establishment of the Alumnae Master Teaching Chair. With the gift, however, came the important stipulation that it remain anonymous until Bucher’s death. She passed away on Feb. 21, 2017, at the age of 103.

“Dr. Bucher was very humble, but also understood the benefits for the school of celebrating this kind of philanthropy and the inspiration that it provides to others,” says Julie Smith Marshall ’89, the director of development. “We are excited to be able to celebrate her extraordinary life and her generosity. Her gift shows the power that women donors have to make a difference both at Bryn Mawr, and in society.”

Bucher’s gift is one of the five largest gifts the school has ever received, and it is also the most significant gift ever given in support of faculty recognition and development. One of Bryn Mawr’s most prestigious teaching awards, the Chair – now known as the Nancy L. R. Bucher ’31 Master Teaching Chair – is awarded every five years at Founders Day in recognition of an exceptional teacher. The winner is selected by the headmistress and may come from any division and any department.

The recipient of the inaugural Alumnae Master Teaching Chair, given in 2013, was veteran English and theater teacher Kris Schaffner ’93. For Schaffner, receiving the award was a humbling experience, in part because of her strong sense of the history of the school. “Bryn Mawr was an absolute revolution in its earliest days, in terms of saying that girls are capable of anything,” she says.

That understanding of the vision that the founders had for the school is also an important part of what drives her. “On our best days, we honor what is best about education, particularly for girls,” she reflects. “We empower young women to see themselves as full of possibility and potential that is unlimited. We send them out of here confident, resilient and strong.”

Thanks in large part to Bucher’s foresight and generosity, master teachers like Schaffner will continue to have the resources and support to inspire Bryn Mawr girls for many years to come.