To acknowledge the contributions of Francille M. Firebaugh, retiring dean of Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, alumni, colleagues and friends have endowed a student scholarship of more than $220,000 named in her honor.

The scholarship was announced at a reception honoring Firebaugh on Sept. 25. More than 425 alumni, friends and colleagues celebrated Firebaugh's achievements while serving as dean since 1988.

After a speech by President Hunter Rawlings, Lucinda Noble, president of the Human Ecology Alumni Association, presented Firebaugh with a certificate renaming the endowed Human Ecology Alumni Association Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, the Francille M. Firebaugh Alumni Scholarship. Human Ecology Advancement Committee Chair Martha Ohaus and Advancement Committee member Joan Ferreira then announced that alumni, friends and colleagues of the dean had added more than $220,000 to the scholarship.

Income from the endowed scholarship will be used to support a deserving undergraduate student in the College of Human Ecology.

Under Firebaugh's leadership, the first two endowed professorships in the college and the interdisciplinary Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center were established and the Family Life Development Center was consolidated into a collegewide center.

She also was instrumental in fostering a greater sense of community among the faculty and students with a variety of activities, and she helped launch a master plan for facilities that support the college's commitment to teaching, research and outreach endeavors.

A specialist in family resource management and author or co-author of more than 50 scholarly articles and two books, Firebaugh came to Cornell as dean in 1988 from Ohio State University. Firebaugh earned a B.S. degree from the University of Arkansas; an M.S. degree from the University of Tennessee; and a Ph.D. from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell.

Firebaugh will be succeeded by Patsy Brannon, Cornell Ph.D. '79 and chair and professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Maryland.