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Our children experience spaces and programs from a woman they’ve never met. She is gone now, yet she lives on in the students who benefit from her legacy and in the hearts and minds of those who nurture that legacy. I never got to meet her, but from what I’ve learned from her sister Güneş, she cared deeply about our school and Waldorf education. I’m inspired by her and want to tell you about her and what she has done for our students. 

Seyhan Eğe was born in Turkey in 1931 and came into a remarkable family of individuals; her courageous, nurturing grandparents; her father, who established the first Turkish Cultural Attaché office in New York City; her mother, a strong independent thinker whose correspondence with an exiled Ottoman prince introduced her to the ideas of Rudolf Steiner; and her younger sister, Güneş, a medical doctor and researcher. 

She was the first woman at the University of Michigan to be tenure tracked in the departments of chemistry, physics, mathematics and geology and would continue to be so for 20 years. She was the first woman to be a full professor in the UM Chemistry Department. She was a world-class research scientist, teacher and author of Organic Chemistry: Structure and Reactivity, the definitive college textbook on that subject. During the 1980’s and 90’s, Seyhan was widely acknowledged for her gifts as an educator in transforming the teaching of chemistry at UM.  She was a role model for younger women and a prime example of women’s contributions in the sciences.  

Seyhan was also instrumental in establishing Waldorf education here in Ann Arbor. She believed in the benefits of a Waldorf education and worked tirelessly to help establish the high school.

The layout and design of the chemistry lab were influenced by Seyhan's vision.  Following her retirement from UM, she began teaching chemistry at our high school. She wove into her lessons a sense of the deeper mysteries of nature and the universe, which were exemplified in the elegance of the periodic table.   

Although highly successful in the academic world, Seyhan was never motivated by success.  She loved the organic, interrelated processes in chemistry, thinking, teaching and gardening, a love that connected her to the Anthroposophical Society; Community Farm, a biodynamic farm in Ann Arbor; her native land; and Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor.  

Mary Emery, one of our founding high school teachers, knew Seyhan well. She wrote, “The last time I saw Seyhan she was awake, too frail to respond much but I knew that she was listening.  As I was leaving, I felt I had to be honest with her about how things were going to be, so I wouldn’t have to feel guilty later.  I said to her, ‘So Seyhan, you know how it works in this community, right?’  and I went on to apologize for the fact that we would still be pestering her for advice and help.  She turned towards me and gave me the most beautiful smile.  I took her smile, of course, as permission granted.  When I think of that smile now, I realize it was even a little mischievous.  She knew what I didn’t, that she had already thought about and arranged for gifts she would continue to give and that she had every intention of staying in touch, with all of us.” Seyhan passed away on September 13, 2007, leaving the largest bequest the school has ever received.  

This gift created security from the 2008 economic recession, built our middle school, and strengthens the connection between our alums and students through the annual Seyhan Eğe Symposium. Inspirations from her life are present on both campuses. Daily, we enjoy the mosaic of the periodic table created by the last class she taught and a memorial garden at the high school with a beautiful gate and Hawthorne tree. Seyhan’s sister, Güneş Eğe, and brother-in-law Turgut Akter helped support these projects and remain connected with the school. 

While these resources helped us develop spaces and programs at the school for generations to come, Seyhan’s abiding faith in our mission also inspires others to carry us forward. It is with this impulse that RSSAA established the Seyhan Eğe Legacy Society, where community members can make an impact through an estate plan or planned gift.