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By Elizabeth B.. Scott
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Boutin subgroup includes correspondence, administrative records and other materials from his time as president of Saint Michael's College. It also includes materials related to both the Vermont Higher Education Council and the New England College Fund that shed some insight into the manner in which colleges across Vermont and New England cooperated to ensure positive outcomes for all the colleges in the region. The materials also provide information about Boutin's experience as the first lay president of the small Catholic college.
Collection Historical Note
President Bernard Boutin became the first lay president of the College in 1969. Boutin had served on the Board of Trustees since its inception in 1967; making him well prepared to head up the school. He was a graduate of the College and had been quite involved in the College since leaving. He had also been involved in politics, serving as mayor of Laconia New Hampshire and working for the Kennedy administration. As the leader of the school during the major transition from religious to lay leadership, he had a tough job ahead of him. Boutin is best remembered for bringing women to Saint Michael’s, an act that succeeded not only in opening up the campus to women, but also to pulling the College out of a crippling debt. In 1970, 22 women enrolled at Saint Michaels, and it remains coeducational. Despite the relatively short tenure of his term, Boutin was also quite successful in fundraising, raising funds for the building of Ross Sports Center and McCarthy Arts Center, two significant buildings that contributed significantly to student life on campus.
Biographical Note
Bernard L. Boutin was born in Laconia, NH July 2,1923. He graduated from Saint Michael's College in 1945. He was mayor of Laconia from 1955-1960. following the election of John F. Kennedy, for whom Boutin campaigned heavily, Boutin became the Deputy Administrator of the General Services Administration. In 1965, after leaving the GSA, Boutin served as Deputy Directory of the the Office of Economic Opportunity under LBJ. In 1969, Boutin became the first layman elected president of Saint Michael's. He served until 1974, overseeing the transition to coeducation. He died August 24, 2011.
Subject/Index Terms
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
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Box 1],
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Box 2],
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Box 3],
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- Box 4
- Folder 1: Subject Sacra Congregatio pro institutione Catholica
- Folder 2: Subject Summer session
- Folder 3: Subject Summer theatre
- Folder 4: Subject Trinity College
- Folder 5: Subject Vermont Academy of arts and science
- Folder 6: Subject Vermont Council on Humanities
- Folder 7: Vermont comm. for higher education financial 1973-4
- Folder 8: Vt. Higher Education Council 1969-1970
- Folder 9: Vt. Higher Education Council 1970
- Folder 10: Vt. Higher Education Council 1971
- Folder 11: Vt. Higher Education Council 1972
- Folder 12: Vt. Higher Education Council 1973
- Folder 13: Vt. Higher Education Council 1975
- Folder 14: Vt. Higher Education Council Committee on Higher Education facilities 1972-1974
- Folder 15: Vt. Higher Education Council Grants title VI 1973-1974
Browse by Box:
[
Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
Box 3],
[Box 4],
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All]
