Dr. Diane Dippold MacIntosh wanted to give something back to her high school because, she said, it gave so much to her. That’s the reason she funded a collection of books and library materials for the Mother Philemon Doyle Library in Notre Dame Preparatory School, Towson.
The collection by, for, and about women consists of titles of biographies of famous women, studies of 18th century women in England, famous women scientists, and women in the Catholic church.
Dr. Dippold MacIntosh established the library collection to honor the memory of her mother, Margot Dippold, a lifelong Baltimore County educator. This is the second collection of its name in Baltimore; several years ago, the Dippolds co-founded a collection for the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to fully support the curriculum in this way,” said Ellen Cullen, NDP head librarian. “It’s a fabulous gift for a woman’s institution because it gives our students the opportunity to research all aspects of women’s lives.”
Dr. Dippold MacIntosh, a 1958 alumna, spent her career as a literature professor at Johns Hopkins University, Oberlin College, University of Maryland, and George Mason University, from where she retired.
A dedication was held April 18. “We are deeply grateful to Diane for having the vision to establish the collection here at NDP,” said the librarian. Each year books will be added to the collection; currently 446 have been purchased.
With the more than $100,000 donated, Dr. Dippold MacIntosh also funded a lecture series: The Drs. Houston and Diane Dippold MacIntosh Women’s Lecture Series, which will be offered annually free to the public.
The book collection and the lecture series have the same goal, said the donor, “to give the middle and upper level students the opportunity to hear the voices of women.”