As Coordinator of the Division of Art for the 11th year and an associate professor teaching beginning design, ceramics and art education, Jean Donegan is a busy woman on campus.Donegan has taught for over 25 years, teaching art at Vandebilt Catholic High School for 17 years before becoming a part of the Nicholls faculty in 1995.
Donegan already had her oldest daughter Erin Donegan, a freshman in nursing, at Nicholls but this fall, the rest of her children will be joining Donegan and her daughter at Nicholls.
Triplets Ryan, Kyle and Caitlyn will be freshmen at Nicholls this fall.
“The three of us have gone to school together our whole lives so going to college together won’t be anything new for us, but it will be the first time that we are doing different things,” Ryan Donegan said.
Kyle will be majoring in general studies, while Ryan received an Academic Leadership scholarship and will be majoring in business administration. Caitlyn received a soccer scholarship and will be majoring in athletic training.
All four of the Donegan siblings attended E. D. White Catholic High School.
Being new to the campus, the siblings like having someone on campus they know, whether it is a sibling or their mom.
“It will be nice having them around. When they were in high school, I didn’t get to see them during the day, so now I’ll get to see them more now that they are on campus than I did when they were in high school,” Donegan said.
Though one of the Donegan siblings will be taking a drawing class, Jean will not be teaching any of her children.
Besides spending time with her family, Donegan has been busy with work, both for Nicholls and for herself.
Donegan was the coordinator for the Division of Art’s European Travel Program with which she took a trip to Greece this summer.
Donegan, along with several division of art faculty members, have been working on a grant for a new graphic design lab.
“We have been successful within the department. We will be getting a new state-of-the-art graphic design lab that should be in place by January,” Donegan said.
As for her personal work, Donegan exhibits her ceramic sculptures in galleries nationwide and is being featured in national magazines such as “Ceramics Monthly,” “Studio Potter” and “Arts and Activities.” Her work has also appeared in the books, “The New Ceramic Art” and “500 Cups.”
Donegan’s ceramic sculpture is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Museum’s Renwick Gallery of Contemporary Art.
Donegan creates sculptural teapots, one of which she completed last spring semester.
Besides having many works in exhibitions and galleries, Donegan has received many awards at Nicholls for her work. In 1999, she received the Academic Council Award. In 2000, she received the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence and the Apple Award as Outstanding Faculty Member. In 2004, she again received the Apple Award as Outstanding Faculty Member.
“I enjoy working with the students most of all. I enjoy seeing them succeed in their own work,” Donegan said.
