A poet lives in the world of body that summons the world of the spirit, and through imagination, and seeking a spiritual path in which the highest form of wisdom is kindness, a poet like me could survive and even flourish at Providence College.
jane lunin perel, mfa ’15Hon.
Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon., professor emerita of English and of women’s studies, one of the first women hired to teach at Providence College, and founder of the Women’s Studies Program, died February 22, 2024. She was the wife of Morton L. Perel, DDS.
She was a celebrated and innovative poet whose work influenced an ongoing movement in prose poetry. With her husband, she founded the Providence College Poetry and Fiction Series, which brought prominent writers to the college to engage with the students and community.
Beloved by students and colleagues, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts at the college’s commencement in 2015.
She was one of the college’s first Jewish faculty members. Rev. Edward P. Doyle, O.P. ’34, who as U.S. Army chaplain was present at the liberation of the Nordhausen concentration camp in World War II, entrusted her with his collection of photographs from the experience, which became the centerpiece of an archive he donated to the college with her assistance. Watch the Father Doyle commemoration in 2017.
Share your memories of Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon.
Watch the ‘Last Lecture’ of Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon.
Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon. through the years
Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon. was one of the first women hired to teach at Providence College.
She was promoted to assistant professor in 1975, associate professor in 1979, and full professor in 1989.
“Students have always drawn from us whatever good lies in us with their own goodness, their humor, their pain, their need to seek their own intellectual and spiritual depths, and to gratefully accept the empathy and imagination given to them as Divine Gifts.” —Jane Lunin Perel, MFA ’15Hon.
She began teaching English and creative writing in 1971, the year PC enrolled its first four-year class of women.
By 1978 and ever since, women undergraduates have outnumbered men at the college.
Professor Lunin Perel, who was Jewish, spoke frequently of empathy and imagination as divine gifts, and saw her teaching as a process of helping students accept such gifts with gratitude.
With Richard Grace, Ph.D. ’62, ’17Hon., professor emeritus of history, she was recognized for her distinguished career upon her retirement in 2014.
Pictured with Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., ’80, then president of Providence College.
Professor Lunin Perel with Donna T. McCaffrey ’73G, ’83Ph.D., ’87G, longtime history professor and residence life director.
Professor Lunin Perel was awarded an honorary degree in 2015. She is with Very Rev. Kenneth Letoille, O.P., left, prior provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Jospeh, and Father Shanley.
Professor Lunin Perel at the college’s 2015 Commencement Exercises.
Professor Lunin Perel with Father Shanley.
Professor Lunin Perel with Joan Branham, Ph.D., professor of art and art history, at St. Dominic Weekend in 2016.
Professor Lunin Perel with her husband, Morton L. Perel, DDS. They established the Jane Lunin Perel Poetry and Fiction Series.
The Fiction Series invited distinguished creative writers to campus for readings and remarks, including poet Joy Harjo, second from left, in 2016.
The Jane Lunin Perel Poetry and Fiction Series featured Natasha Tretheway, Pulitzer Prize winner and the 19th United States Poet Laureate, in November 2017.
Professor Lunin Perel greets author Russell Banks after his reading at the Jane Lunin Perel Poetry and Fiction Series in November 2018.
Professor Lunin Perel, founding director, spoke at the 25th anniversary celebration for the Women’s and Gender Studies Program in 2019.
The Poetry and Fiction Series featured the award-winning Patricia Smith, third from left, in 2022.
Patricia Smith, left, with Professor Lunin Perel and Chun Ye, associate professor of English.
