Sacramento City College is fortunate to be partnering with the Sacramento Historical Society on their efforts to recognize the life and legacy of Sacramento’s own Joan Didion, who attended SCC for a brief period in the 1950s and who went on receive to national and international acclaim and numerous honors for a lifetime of accomplishments as an essayist, journalist, and author of incomparable fiction.
Sculpture and Bust
The Historical Society commissioned a sculpture of Joan Didion by renowned artist Lisa Reinertson which was unveiled a special event honoring Joan Didion on November 10, 2022, and now has a permanent home at the Sacramento Room of the Main Public Library in downtown Sacramento. The Historical Society also commissioned Reinertson to create a bust of Joan Didion for SCC which was unveiled in November. It will have a permanent place in the Learning Resources Center (LRC) at SCC and will be installed in spring 2023.
Scholarship Endowment
In addition, we are thrilled to announce that they have established the Joan Didion Scholarship for Writers endowment at SCC, which will support aspiring writers at our college with an emphasis on English or journalism majors. Applicants will be invited to submit their best piece of writing and awarding of this scholarship will be a competitive process that will be evaluated by a committee of SCC faculty.
The first Joan Didion Scholarships for Writers will be awarded in Spring 2023, and we are looking forward to the tremendous impact this support will have on students who hope to follow in her footsteps by having a career in writing.
Please join us in honoring the amazing life of Joan Didion by contributing to the scholarship in her memory!