Wanda L. Bass (January 5, 1927 – February 12, 2008) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and banker. Bass donated most of the $38.5 million for the

Wanda L. Bass School of Music The Wanda L Bass School of Music is a College at Oklahoma City University. It offers several degrees including; a BM, MM, and a BA in several areas of Music. The Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University is an All-Steinway School, the natio ...

at Oklahoma City University. In addition, she gave a separate $2.1 million gift to purchase 105 Steinway pianos. Bass was noted for her donations of time and money to the McAlester Public Schools and numerous other causes in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Early life

Bass was born Wanda Louise Jones on January 5, 1927, in Ewing, Texas, a small mill town near

Lufkin Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

, to Ina Pearl Laird Jones and Talmadge Jones. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a bachelor's degree in nutrition with a minor in management. She worked for

Humble Oil Company Humble Oil and Refining Co. is a defunct American oil company founded in 1911 in Humble, Texas. In 1919, a 50% interest in Humble was acquired by the Standard Oil of New Jersey which acquired the rest of the company in September 1959. The Humbl ...

as a dietician and later worked for Lone Star Gas Company. She married Clark Bass, a banker, on November 25, 1951 in DeQueen, Arkansas. The newly married couple moved to

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States that serves as the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical A ...

, where he was president of a local bank. Clark organized the Inwood National Bank in Dallas, Texas, in 1961. In 1963, Clark became president of the First National Bank and Trust of McAlester in McAlester, and the family moved to McAlester in 1966. The couple had three children: Louise, Boyd, and Carlton. After Clark Bass died in 1999, Wanda succeeded him as chairman of the board of the bank. Wanda died on February 12, 2008.

Philanthropy

Bass donated millions of dollars and thousands of hours to Oklahoma economic development, arts, and education. In 1998, Bass helped establish the McAlester campus of

Eastern Oklahoma State College Eastern Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Wilburton, Oklahoma. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The school has a branch campus in McAlester and teaching sites in Antlers (Ki ...

, and the higher education center on the campus is named after her. When Louise Bass enrolled at Oklahoma City University as a music student, Wanda became involved in raising money and donating time to the university. In 2006, the Wanda L. Bass Music Center opened at a cost of $38.5 million. In addition, Bass contracted with Steinway & Sons to purchase 105 grand pianos; at the time, it was the largest order in Steinway's history.

References

External links

Wanda L. Bass School of Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Wanda L. 1927 births 2008 deaths University of Texas alumni Oklahoma City University alumni People from McAlester, Oklahoma 20th-century American philanthropists