OU College of Education renamed

Julianna Parker, Staff Writer
The Norman Transcript

Photo by Robert Taylor

Gene Rainbolt (pictured third from left with his family), a longtime alumni leader, was joined by son, David (second from right), and daughter, Dr. Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes (second from left), as the OU Regents approved the naming of the College of Education for Gene’s wife, the late Jeannine Rainbolt, an OU education graduate, during their October meeting.

The College of Education will be the first University of Oklahoma college named after a woman.

The OU Board of Regents approved the naming in honor of the late Jeannine Rainbolt Wednesday at its regular meeting on the OU campus.

The naming was in recognition of a gift to OU by the H.E. "Gene" Rainbolt family of Oklahoma City to honor the life and carry forth the legacy of Jeannine Rainbolt, an OU education alumna.

Gene Rainbolt is a Norman native, and met his future wife Jeannine in their sixth grade class at McKinley Elementary School. They married while in college at OU in 1950. They were married 57 years before she died in September 2007.

He said she never would have allowed the college to be named after her if she were alive.

"She was a very private person and objected to recognition," Rainbolt said. "But in this case, she didn't have a choice."

Jeannine Rainbolt earned her OU degree in 1951. Her husband graduated the following year with a degree in economics and, later, earned his master's degree in business administration.

While he served in the U.S. Army, she served as a schoolteacher at Stand Watie Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Even after leaving the full-time profession of teaching to raise their two children, she remained an advocate on behalf of Oklahoma education, children and teachers.

In 2003, Jeannine Rainbolt was recognized with the Meritorious Service Award, one of the highest honors presented by the OU College of Education. The award, which she shared with her husband, recognized the Rainbolts' many decades of service to and for Oklahoma schools, OU President David Boren said at the regents meeting Wednesday.

"Jeannine's passion was education, among other things, and that young people regardless of their means would be able to develop their talent," Boren said.

Boren read a resolution honoring Rainbolt to an audience at the meeting that included many from the College of Education. His resolution was heard serenely, until he said the naming of the college was the first time an OU college was named for a woman. Then the audience erupted into applause and a standing ovation.

After the clapping died down, Boren added, "If Jeannine were here, should would say, 'And may it not be the last.'"

Gene Rainbolt and daughter Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes, an OU regent, accepted a framed copy of the resolution passed by the regents honoring their wife and mother.

"Jeannine would be very pleased to be the first woman recognized (this way)," Rainbolt said of his late wife.

He was joined by his daughter and son David in making the naming gift, bringing the family's support to OU over the years to $8 million. Their latest gift provides support:

for the renovation and expansion of Collings Hall, home of the College of Education, to provide a state-of-the-art facility that supports learning, encourages collaboration, and fosters ingenuity;
for the Jeannine T. Rainbolt Scholarship for Elementary School Teachers.

Rainbolt established this fund earlier this year in memory of his wife. Hundreds of her friends and family members made memorial gifts to the scholarship endowment, bringing it to more than $1 million.