When the LMU community gathered in February 2020 to mourn and celebrate Pam Rector ’77, M.A. ’79, M.Ed. ’82, the crowd could not be contained: Sacred Heart Chapel was filled to capacity and many more stood out front.
It was to be expected: Rector’s legacy of connection, generosity, and healing touched hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
The LMU community will gather again on May 22, 2022, to celebrate Rector, this time for the dedication of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action. The newly named center is a measure of the deep gratitude and esteem for Rector – its founder – and kindles the hope that her memory will continue to inspire more ethical leaders in service of faith and justice.
“Future generations will learn about Pam and the incredible vision she had in both imagining and then building a world that was more just and loving,” said Patrick Furlong, Ed.D. ’22, director of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action.
LMU embarked on a campaign on March 1, 2021, to honor Rector by establishing an endowment to add her name to the Center for Service and Action. On the campaign’s one-year anniversary, the university announced the goal was met and the center was officially named the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action.
Rector began her professional career as a counselor at Lennox Middle School before becoming vice principal (1980-1997), gaining experiences she treasured and that informed her efforts. Her transformative work helped forge the renowned El Espejo mentoring program, an enduring connection between LMU and the Lennox district.
Rector joined LMU in August 1998 as the director of the then EPIC (Educational Participation in Communities Program) Career Development Service. She also served as director of the Center for Community Service and Internships and, in 2000, she became director of the newly created Center for Service and Action. In 2019, Rector received the Barbara Bonney Staff Award for professional excellence, commitment to higher education, leadership, and her unique contribution to improving the quality of life, through her service, at LMU. She won many other prestigious accolades for her work, including the Madonna Della Strada Award from the Los Angeles Regional Council of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps in 2012.
During her tenure, the number of LMU service organizations grew to 10, involving more than 450 students. LMU’s Alternative Breaks program, which started as one trip for a dozen students, now serves nearly 150 students on 12 trips annually. Rector was also a driving force behind the creation of the LMU Children’s Center, and served as a coordinator of Campus Conversations on Catholic Identity and as chair of the alumni board. She was a mentor to countless students and staff.
Click here to learn more about the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action.
