Bollinger brings new style to traditional role

By Katie Wang
Daily Staff Reporter

Her days are spent tucked away in a cozy studio in New Hampshire, painting and reading incessantly.

For Jean Magnano Bollinger, a third-generation Italian and Swedish descendant, this is where she is most at ease.

Bollinger, a passionate, strong-willed woman, uses paint strokes on a canvas to express what she is feeling. Her inspiration is drawn from looking at art within the context of society today. The product of her work, she said, tries to encompass her experiences in the world.

Bollinger, who originally hails from Seattle, attended the University of Oregon, where she studied psychology and education. Bollinger met her husband, Lee, during their first year, and the two were married immediately after graduating from college.

When reflecting on her college experiences, Bollinger said she had a "fairly local, closed view of things."

"I think I had a very circumscribed vision for myself," she said. "I don't think I looked ahead a lot. I didn't think I could see myself as an artist."

The Bollingers moved to New York shortly after they were married, and attended Columbia University, where Lee obtained his law degree, and Jean received her masters in education and psychology.

In 1973, Lee was offered a position to become an assistant professor at the University Law School, which brought the Bollingers to Ann Arbor.

"There are so many interesting talks and exhibits being shown that it really draws you in," she added. "It's a nice diversion from life."

While Lee climbed the ranks in the Law School's faculty, Jean combined her appreciation for art with her degree in education to help start the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum.

In 1994, the Bollinger family moved to Vermont, where Lee was selected as the provost of Dartmouth College. But their stay in Vermont was cut short due to Lee's selection as the 12th University president last November.

Lee's appointment as president nearly coincided with Jean's career as an artist, since she had just signed a new lease for her studio in New Hampshire.

The appointment sent her into a personal turmoil because she was uncertain about how the University presidency would affect her personal life, Jean Bollinger said.

"It's very complicated and complicating," she said. "It's just going to take a lot of time to figure out how this all works. I think it's going to be a long evolution and I haven't come close to figuring it out."

What Jean Bollinger is sure about, however, is her passion for the University and the students.

"I love the life of Ann Arbor and the campus," Jean Bollinger said. "Compared to Hanover, it's a very different student body - there is a breadth that one senses."

Her desire to wander around the campus freely and explore how students feel today is the central reason why she would like to maintain her anonymity and privacy.

"I care a great deal about the University, especially the students; that's what I care about most," she said. "You need to stay in touch with a younger generation than yourself to keep ideas growing and refreshed."

But her compassion for others transcends all boundaries. A deep commitment to equality was instilled in her at a very young age, she said.

"I think about myself as a woman in the world who cares about the elderly, but not just women. I care about how to find your place in the world as a woman or as a man," she said. "From a very early age, I believed in equality with every fiber in my being."