St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) named its award-winning Learning Commons, dedicated in September 2022, in honor of Dallas Plugge Dean, SMCM Class of 1960, in a ceremony celebrated on campus Friday, Sept. 27.
Dean, who died on August 28, 2024, was a 1960 graduate of the St. Mary’s Seminary Junior College (now SMCM), earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from American University, and embarked on a distinguished career as an educator. Dean taught at Rogers Heights Elementary School in Prince George’s County, Maryland and retired in 1993 after a 30-year career.
“As a lifelong teacher, Dallas was deeply committed to nurturing future educators, teachers who understood themselves, their students and the vital role of education in shaping society,” said Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD, SMCM president.
Dean, a champion of the College’s Educational Studies department, established the Dallas P. Dean Master of Arts in Teaching Scholarship in 2002 to benefit students enrolled in the MAT program who demonstrated academic merit and financial need. In 2014, she created the Dean Current Fund, enabling the Educational Studies department to make emergency assistance awards to Educational Studies minors or students enrolled in the MAT program.
“Dallas valued giving back to humanity; she earned the title of the fairy god-professor, and in doing so, her contributions were used to assist students time after time,” said Chris Rodkey, SMCM Class of 2010 (MAT 2011) and longtime friend of Dean. “She was a lifelong learner, and through her generosity and by her own example, she fostered a love of learning in others. Perhaps the quintessence of her generosity, and belief in the power of making the world a better place through education, is her legacy gift to St. Mary’s College. The result is the Dallas P. Dean Learning Commons.”
Jordan and Rodkey were joined by John Bell, SMCM Class of 1995 and Chair of the SMCM Board of Trustees, and state Sen. Jack Bailey (R-29) in making remarks praising Dean’s dedication to education and St. Mary’s College.
Considering her inspiring service, Dean was awarded the Society of the Distinguished Alumni Award in June 2023. For her more than 60 years of service to St. Mary’s College, the Board of Trustees bestowed upon her the highest College honor - the Order of the Ark and Dove – in October 2023.
The Dallas P. Dean Learning Commons, built as part of a complex with the Nancy R. & Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center, was built with cooperative funding between the State of Maryland and the College to offer classroom and office space for the College’s Educational Studies department, which includes Special Education and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. Opened in August 2022, the classrooms create flexible environments for MAT students to hone their teaching skills. The building also houses a 24-hour Study Commons area on the first floor to provide all SMCM students with private and collaborative study spaces. A coffee and light snack café shares space in the Study Commons area. The two-building complex was recognized as Maryland Public Buildings of the Year in 2023 by AIA Maryland.
Photo album from naming ceremony and President Jordan's State of the College message.
