When Jane Stephenson launched the New Opportunity School for Women, it was her friend Gurney Norman who first inspired her. Gurney called Jane in 1986, while she was the first lady of Berea College, to ask if the college had any outreach programs for women who lacked job skills, education, or other opportunities. Jane’s response: We don’t, but we should. Soon Jane had put together a team of friends and colleagues who conceived the New Opportunity School for Women, and the first NOSW residential program was held in the summer of 1987. For nearly four decades, this program has given under-resourced women tools and skills to change their lives. And for most of those years, Gurney Norman, the acclaimed Kentucky author and teacher, was a part of it. Gurney taught creative writing in the residential program and was always a favorite with our women. We, along with Gurney’s family, friends, students and readers, mourn his passing on October 12 at the age of 88. Read more about Gurney’s life and legacy here.
