St. Mary's County Commission for Women in honor of Jane Hale Sypher

The former dean of the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Leonardtown Campus and community activist Jane Hale Sypher is being recognized with a scholarship named in her honor by the St. Mary’s County Commission for Women through the College of Southern Maryland Foundation.

Sypher, a life-long resident of St. Mary’s County, began her career in secondary education as a teacher at Great Mills High School, where she also held positions as career education coordinator and assistant principal. She was acting principal at Leonardtown High School before being named assistant dean and then dean of CSM’s Leonardtown Campus beginning in 1992. As CSM dean, Sypher oversaw not only the growth of the student population and size of the Leonardtown Campus but also the growth in prominence of the college within the community. She retired in 2004 after 30 years of work in both the public school system and CSM.

Sypher holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a master’s degree from Bowie State University. She served as the first female president of Lexington Park Rotary, secretary of St. Mary’s Hospital, and was one-time St. Mary’s Oyster King.