CONTACT US :: Red Cloud Indian School

MS. JANE FARRELL
Director of Development and General Counsel

Before her new posting, Jane Farrell served as Red Cloud's chief legal counsel for several years, a service she will continue to provide along with her new duties. Helping Red Cloud was a practice begun by her father, the late attorney Martin Farrell. Since 1950, the elder Farrell handled all the school system's legal work pro bono through his firm in Hot Springs, SD, 60 miles to the north. When Jane joined her father's practice in 1981 she, like her father, gave freely of her services.

A deep part of that good was the legacy Martin Farrell handed on to his daughter in providing assistance to Red Cloud. For 16 years Jane continued her father's Pro Bono work. Finally, in 1997, then Red Cloud School president Bill McKenney SJ convinced Jane to join the Red Cloud staff because she was "doing too much."

Jane described the initial experience of coming on board: "In November of `97 I started going to Red Cloud once a week. I would stay late and go to Mass and dinner with the resident staff. It felt like coming home: Hardworking people, whose goal was to provide a quality education for children. I grew up hearing my parents tell me that getting an education was one of the most important things - no one could ever take it away from you.

"I liked the spiritual and educational atmosphere. It reminded me of Notre Dame. I have always wanted to use whatever intelligence God gave me to help people, and working at Red Cloud is always a reminder of why I went to law school. Notre Dame built on the foundation I received while growing up that we are put here to serve others."

The new Director of Development began her duties in August. Looking ahead, the challenges can seem daunting. "Unlike Notre Dame, indeed - most Catholic institutions in this country - Red Cloud doesn't have an alumni base it can draw on for its support. We serve the very poor so the task is to build an endowment base from outside resources."

Not to worry, if there is one thing Jane Farrell's past experiences have taught her it is this: There a lot of good and giving hearts out, and though it might surprise some, a large number of them can be found in the legal profession.