First EGERIA* Award EGERIA was a woman, a goddess, a mystic and a dedicated religious figure who is known for her sage advice and passionate belief in truth. In mythology. Egeria was a Roman goddess who advised Pompilius, the ruler of the Eternal City, in the ways of wise legislation and forms of public worship. After his death, she turned into a well of knowledge dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Egeria is also worshiped as a goddess of birth.

Egeria was a nun who devoted three years faithfully retraced the steps of Jesus. It is said her mission was like no other. With the thoroughness of a scientist, the heart of an intrepid hunter, the spirit of a curious pupil and the sagacity of a master teacher, Egeria completed her mission. Her writings are still pondered by Biblical scholars.

EGERIA, whether mythic or religious, was and remains the definition of the Complete Woman. Marianne McDonald is this magnificent woman.

Marianne McDonald is a Professor of Theatre and Classics at the University of California, San Diego. She was a Fulbright professor in 1999, is adjunct professor at Trinity College Dublin, a fellow at the National University of Ireland and is one of the few women to have been elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Professor McDonald was trained in classics and music and taught for many years at the University of California, Irvine.

She is most well-known for her work on ancient Greek drama, mythology, and modern versions of ancient classics in film, plays and opera, but her poems, plays, and translations have also been widely published. A dedicated teacher and international lecturer, she is a pioneer in the field of modern versions of the classics, in the films, plays and opera. She has over 200 publications.

She also helped shape the Japanese Studies program at UCSD, which is one of the reasons that this campus was selected for the Pacific Basin Study Program (IRPS). In addition, she is the founder of the renowned McDonald Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, whose success rate is among the highest in the nation in the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. Marianne McDonald has six children, a black belt in karate, and plays classical piano and harp.

To cite all of Marianne McDonald’s expansive literary, educational, philanthropic and humanitarian accomplishments and contributions would require many pages. Her love of life, learning, teaching, challenging, establishing precedence, enlightening and helping others can best be discovered on her extraordinary web site, www.mmcdonald.info.

Marianne, you are my Egeria, you are my friend, Gloria.

Tribute to Gankar Tulku Rinpoche