Honoring Irene Wolt [1946-2009]
A funeral ceremony, honoring Irene Wolt [1946-2009], was held at 3 p.m. Friday, July 24 at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 Centinela Ave., Los Angeles. The gathering to follow will be held at the home of SMC employees Jim and Christina Galligan,
12807 Stanwood Drive, Los Angeles.
Dear College Community,
I am sad to inform you that Irene Wolt - a passionate advocate for our
students with disabilities who converted books, films and other
materials into formats that were accessible to these students - died
Tuesday at the age of 63.
Ms. Wolt was SMC's alternate media specialist with the Center for
Students with Disabilities for seven years, five of them as a consultant
before being hired as an employee.
Born and raised in the New York area, she received her B.A. degree in psychology and liberal arts from Antioch University in Ohio. A
perfectionist who believed that disabled students deserve the very
best adaptations possible, she was an expert in the tedious work of
captioning films for deaf students and converting books so that blind
and learning disabled students could hear them. Colleagues say she was
tireless in her diligence, dedicated to keeping current with the latest
technological changes, and driven to make sure the students got the best
from her. Many students credited her with their success in classes.
Ms. Wolt also had an interesting life before and outside Santa Monica
College. She spent her entire adult life as an activist and chronicler
of civil rights movements that flourished in the 1960s and beyond, first
in New York and later in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. She worked
with several printing collectives and as an archivist in the anti-war
movement, the feminist movement, and the gay and lesbian rights
movement. She was also a writer, teacher, and media specialist. Her
personal collection of posters (itself a gold mine of activist history)
will reside in the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los
Angeles.
She is survived by her 95-year old father and many friends.
A funeral ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, July 24 at Hillside
Memorial Park, 6001 Centinela Ave., Los Angeles. The gathering to
follow will be held at the home of SMC employees Jim and Christina
Galligan,
12807 Stanwood Drive, Los Angeles.
Chui Tsang
President, Santa Monica Community College-
I thought you all would want to see what was sent out to the College
community today. Judy S.