Chronicles of Fairfield University (1942 - 1992). Book 5: Lore and Legends.

              BOOK FIVE:
CHRONICLES
1/
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSI'TY
Fr. James Coughlin, Sf., one ofthe greatpersonalities in
Faiifields history, dominated the academic administration
so much that be became the subject ofa famous letter
(see ((Pooh Bah '').
CHRONICLES
ff
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY
BOOK FIVE:
Fairfield, Connecticut
1992
The six Chronicles of Fairfield University are being published in
conjunction with the observance of the 50th Anniversary of
the founding of Fairfield University and Fairfield College
Preparatory School.
The booklets are published under the auspices of the
Anniversaries Committee which includes:
Rev. Vincent M. Bums, S.]. Rev. John]. Higgins, S.].
Lawrence F. Carroll Stephen P. Jakab
Mrs. Patricia M. Danko (Sec.) William]. Lucas
George E. Diffley (Chair) Dr. Mary Frances A.H. Malone
Murray Farber Mrs. Clarissa Sinagulia
James D. Fitzpatrick Mrs. Mary Spiegel
Rev. Victor F. Leeber, S.].
Alphonsus J. Mitchell (Chair)
Mrs. Elizabeth G. Hoagg
The History Subcommittee, which served as the editorial board,
includes:
Dr. William M. Abbott
Paul Davis
CHRONICLES
ff
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY
1attempting to produce a very short, popular history of Fairfield
University in these Chronicles, the editorial board recognized that a great
deal of material would be omitted from the four narratives because the
history of the institution is rich and interesting enough to require a much
more detailed development. The board and the authors of the narratives
also had to concede that much colorful material would be passed over
because it would not fit the format. However, one booklet, this one, was
allotted to some anecdotal material which we hope will stir the memories
of individuals who have been involved with the University in the 50 years
since its incorporation and prompt them to write them down. Some day,
perhaps, there will be more comprehensive collections of Fairfield
memorabilia. These are only a beginning.
THE PRICE WAS NOT RIGHf
The purchase of the Jennings estate in the late fall of 1941 provided
the Jesuits with a site for the establishment of a school, but they had
actually looked into acquiring the same property 20 years earlier.
In his research into the beginnings of Fairfield Prep and University,
Fr. Charles F. Duffy, S.]., found a copy of a letter dated Nov. 3, 1941 from
a Jesuit (the signature is not _included on the copy) to the Provincial, Rev.
James H. Dolan, S.]. The writer could have been Fr. McLaughlin, the
treasurer of the New England province, who was then investigating
properties in the area. The letter includes this passage: "Thinking that Fr.
Blake, the pastor in Fairfield, might know the Jennings family, I called on
1
him Friday evening only to find that he knew Annie Burr Jennings,
deceased, the sister-in-law of a.G. Jennings, whose place was under
consideration. He was delighted with the prospect of a Catholic school
and declared that it should have been established years ago. He and
Bishop Dinand had looked at the a.G. Jennings property at the time
Shadowbrook [the Jesuit novitiate in Massachusetts] was purchased. The
price asked at the time was $150,000, Fr. Blake thought, which was
considered too much."
Eight days later another letter adds: "Fr. Blake from Fairfield called
here yesterday with a Mr. MacNamara who had previously negotiated
with a.G. Jennings for the estate in 1920 when they considered it for a
novitiate. Fr. Dinand was then the party who discussed it with Mr.
McNamara. Jennings gave them a price of $150,000 but this also included
the dairy and a lot of land to the east of the present property."
As Fr. Duffy recounted in Book I of these Chronicles, the Province
acquired 76.2 acres from the Jennings estate for a price of $43,879 on
December 15, 1941.
A GOOD YEAR FOR JESUIT SCHOOLS
The Jesuit Educational Quarterly, published by the Jesuit Educa­tional
Association, noted in its September 1942 issue (Vol. V, No.2) that
Fairfield Prep was one of four new schools opened by theJesuits that fall.
The others were the University of Scranton, in Scranton, Pa.; Cheverus
Classical High School in Portland, Maine; andJesuit High School in Dallas,
Texas. af these, the University of Scranton and Cheverus High School
were established schools where the Jesuits were invited to take over
direction. Jesuit High in Dallas and Fairfield Prep were new schools.
THE PRUSSIAN
When Fr. James H. Dolan, then rector ofthe Faiifield community,
obtained approval in the early months of1947 to open college classes in
thefall, he began searchingfor a dean to organize the new school, using
part ofBerchmans Hall, which was still under constrnction. His choice
was the Rev. Laurence Langguth, S]., who had.been happily teaching
math and physics in the Prep sinceJanuary 1944. A remarkable orga-
2
nizer, Fr. Langguth is remembered here by a man who was his colleague
for one year on the Prep faculty and who went on to teach history and
politics in the Universityfrom the opening in 1947until his retirement in
June 1992.
Fr. Laurence Langguth, the first academic dean of Fairfield Univer­sity,
was an individual who at times defied description and definition. Not
only was he a man for all seasons but also for all university positions and
functions. If there ever was a w~ll-rounded and versatile person filled
with a sense of duty and responsibility for the fulfillment of the Ignatian
ideal, it was he.
For him, being the Dean of Studies meant that his prime concerns
were the students, the faculty and the environment in which the learning
process was taking place. Although there were a few other individuals
in administrative posts, it can be said that Fr. Langguth was the unofficial
dean of admissions, dean of discipline and provost. He also served in the
classroom (sciences and mathematics) when necessary. He was totally
involved in the entire educative regimen from beginning to end.
Fr. Langguth was like the Scarlet Pimpernel of literary fame in the
sense that no one knew when or where or why he would show up. His
presence was constantly felt whether you were a student, a faculty
member, secretary, or maintenance worker. This, perhaps, led to the
production of one of his nicknames, "The Prussian." And yet in his own
mind he was meeting his "hands-on" obligations to ensure the proper and
successful operation ofthe University. It was no surprise to anyone to see
him in a classroom evaluating either the professor or the students or
repairing some furniture or equipment that was part ofa classroom or lab.
There was not any function or service that he regarded as being below
his title. All of this was done for the success of his students and his faculty
which would reflect for the greater good of the newly founded Jesuit
University.
Perhaps today (1992) Fr. Langguth would be regarded as an
intrusive automaton. And yet there was a human side to him.
If anyone were to speak to a member of the original class of 1951,
it is guaranteed that the former student would refer to the disciplined and
photographic mind and memory of Fr. Langguth and how that talent was
used to establish personal rapport with each individual student. Fr.
Langguth knew from the very beginning the personal history and
3
Fr. Langguth, thefirst dean, wasfamous for his photographic memory
and organizational skills.
background of the student and used that knowledge to guide each
student through all of his trials and tribulations, academic or not. A feeling
of family was established.
The same could be said about Fr. Langguth's relationship with the
individual faculty members, especially the laymen.
He sincerely tried to develop the concept that a realistic University
needed a student body, a faculty and an administration that worked in
a cooperative spirit that would benefit not only each essential unit of the
school but also the University itself, thereby guaranteeing its success.
In order to achieve the forgoing, Fr. Langguth deemed it necessary
to add the extracurricular touch. And so began the various sports and
diverse clubs associated with a school. This was to add to the social life
of the students because many members of the original class were war
veterans and some of them were married - the family theme again.
4
However, there was one organization called "The Birdwatching Society"
that was eventually outlawed because the only birds watched were those
on the labels of "Old Crow" and "Wild Turkey" whiskey bottles and the
like.
For the faculty, the lay component, Fr. Langguth requested that a
social club be organized. And so began the monthly food and drink
meetings. As time passed, some of the latter meetings became serious in
agenda. This led to a request from the laity for some form of faculty
structure and negotiation policy. In response, there came a "constitution"
from Fr. Langguth and so a blend of the Jesuit and lay faculty took place.
It can be said that Fr. Langguth was the right man at the right time
for the right place. But as he once stated, "In these modem times (the late
1980s), I would be an anachronism." One has to wonder. - Carmen
Donnarnmma, professor emeritus.
o PIONEER!
In the fall of 1946 my mother, Madeleine, came upon an article in
The Catholic Transcript, the Hartford diocesan newspaper, which re­ported
that the "Jesuit Fathers" were planning to open the doors of a new
University in the southern Connecticut town ofFairfield in the fall of 1947.
The news came at a very fortuitous time for me since I had just been
discharged from the Coast Guard. My uncle, who lived in South Bend,
Indiana, had offered me a place to live while I attended Notre Dame but
unfortunately he was transferred from that area and my family couldn't
afford the expense of the dormitory.
With my mother's encouragement to be a "pioneer," I sent an
application and received acceptance to the first freshman class of the
fledgling University, thus beginning a succession of "firsts" in my
academic career. We, the Class of '51, would always be the first freshmen,
the first sophomores, the first juniors, and the first seniors.
Since my family did not own a car and had never been to or even
heard ofthe town of Fairfield, the 40-mile trip from Waterbury to Fairfield
presented a challenge. A bus transported me from my home in the East
End section of Waterbury to the train station in the south end of town.
Atrain ride through Naugatuck Valley brought me to Bridgeport. Another
bus ride ended at the King's Highway section of Fairfield and I began the
5
last few miles of the journey on foot through a wooded area of the
Grasmere section of town. Of the two people I asked for directions, one
said that he had never heard of Fairfield University; the other said the only
university he knew of was Yale and I was in the wrong town!
Berchmans Hall finally loomed on the horizon and a tall, lanky
energetic man in a black robe was the first person to greet me and tell
me I was thefirst student to arrive for registration. Fr. Laurence Langguth,
Fairfield's first dean, handed me some signs and asked me ifl would post
them in McAuliffe Hall which housed the cafeteria. My future classmates,
many ofthem veterans like myself, began arriving and registering to form
the band of men destined to become the Class of '51, the first students
to set the tone, the pace and precedents of what would become in 50
years a University ranked among the most selective in the nation.
Among the faculty members, not much older than the students, who
would guide us through these four years were Professors Carmen
Donnarumma and Chester Stuart, who also happened to be from
Waterbury. They not only taught us but also provided transportation to
a group of us from the Waterbury area since Fairfield was then a
commuter school.
From the first moment I set foot on the Fairfield University campus
and observed its natural beauty, I felt the spirit and excitement of the
group ofJesuits who were commited to make this special place a success
and knew this was where I would spend the rest of my life. A bond was
formed that would never be broken. After graduating in 1951, I went to
NewYork University and became the first alumnus to obtain an advanced
degree. In 1954, I joined the faculty in the Mathematics Department and
thus became the first graduate of Fairfield to return to his alma mater in
that capacity. In 1972, I became the first layperson to chair the
Mathematics Department. It is exciting to be a pioneer and I will always
be grateful to mymother for encouraging me to take a chance on Fairfield.
There are many firsts ahead, I'm sure. I'm always looking! - RobertBolger
'51, associate professor of mathematics and director of the National
Science Foundation Fellowship Program for High School Teachers at
Fairfield University.
6
BEGINNINGS OF WISDOM
Fr. Langguth had the support of an assistant dean, Fr. Edmond D.
Walsh, who was responsible for student discipline. At that time, the
elevators in Berchmans and Xavier Halls were off limits to students while
the faculty had keys that gave them access. One day in the fall of 1950,
Fr. Walsh was startled to find a brazen youth who had apparently
obtained a key using one ofthe lifts. "What are you doing in there, Mister?"
he inquired.
"I'm going up to the biology lab," came the answer. "I'm on the
faculty."
"Oh, a wise guy," said Fr. Walsh as he stepped aboard.
The pair moved to the top floor and entered the office of Fr. Francis
X. Wilkie, chairman of the biology department. "Do you know this
fellow?" asked Fr. Walsh.
"This is Don Ross, our new instructor," said Fr. Wilkie, thereby
sparing the young man dire punishments but not the ribbing of other
faculty members who got wind of the story soon enough. It also saved
Ross for a distinguished career at Fairfield that had extended to 43 years
by 1992 and is still proceeding vigorously.
THE BRANCH OFFICE
The youthful Ross, who had a master's degree from Boston College
and was pursuing a Ph.D. at Fordham while teaching at Fairfield, was one
halfofthe Biology Department. The other, and more formidable half, was
Fr. Wilkie who had come from Boston College to establish biology and
the premed program in the new college. In the spring of 1951, as the
graduation ofthe first class approached, Ross was apprehensive about the
prospects of the premed students and he voiced his misgivings to Fr.
Wilkie. Could they hope to get into medical and dental schools where
competition was so intense when they were coming from a school with
no record to suggest its merits? Ifthey did get in, would they be sufficiently
prepared to survive?
Fr. Wilkie straightened him right bUt. "This isn't a new school," he
told Ross with some heat. "It's a branch ofa 400-year-old institution (Jesuit
education]."
7
His confidence was warranted. Twelve members ofthe Class of 1951
were admitted to medical schools and eight to dental schools. The fact
that Fr. Wilkie knew a number of medical school deans from his days as
biology chairman at BC helped. The fact that the four Catholic medical
schools in the country were run by Jesuits didn't hurt either.
Fr. Wilkie and Fr. Gerald F. Hutchinson, professor ofchemistry, were
the medical school advisory board in those days. For the last 32 years, Dr.
Ross has been the medical school advisor.
FATI-IER OF SPORTS
When Fairfield University took in its first class in 1947, it had few
amenities and little provision for recreation. The men in charge were
cautious about developing an athletic program which would drain off
funds needed for academic purposes. In the spring before the opening,
the New England Provincial, Fr. James McEleney, wrote to Fr. James
Dolan, the president, saying: "I would have none but intramurals. In the
beginningwe have the reason thatwe only have Freshmen. And after four
Clubfootball provided a lot ofexcitementfor two decades.
8
years, we'll have the reason that we can get along without Athletics in
Colleges as Jesuits and other Universities are doing across the country.
I think it will prove a wise policy."
Fairfield's Moderator of Athletics was Fr. Francis Buck, "a very holy,
very quiet person," in the memory of Fr. Victor Leeber, who was then Mr.
Leeber, a young scholastic teaching Spanish, Italian and French. Among
Mr. Leeber's other duties was assisting the Moderator of Athletics.
"I don't know how much interest he (Fr. Buck) had in sports," said
Fr. Leeber, "but he was obedient. He was told to be Moderator of
Athletics, so he did it. He put up some baskets and started some
intramurals using the Prep's facilities."
Mr. Leeber was concerned, however, that Fairfield had all these
tuition-paying students, half of them ex-GIs and half younger students,
and they had no teams to root for together. But Fairfield had some assets,
a large rolling campus and things it could borrow from the Prep - a cinder
track and other equipment.
He went to Fr. Dolan and proposed that Fairfield organize a cross­country
team in the fall and a track and field team in ~he spring. Fr. Dolan
managed to contain his enthusiasm. "Oh, Mister," he said, "Could you
guarantee that you would win every contest?"
"That might be very difficult to do, Father."
"Many students are not well motivated academically," Fr. Dolan
observed. "If they see that we have losing athletic teams, they will think
we are an inferior school."
In the end, Fr. Dolan relented and Fairfield put a cross-country team,
coached by Mr. Leeber, into competition in the fall and a track and field
team, coached by Frank Toal of the Prep faculty with help from Mr.
Leeber, in the spring. That was the beginning of intercollegiate sports at
Fairfield.
Mr. Leeber taught for three years then left to study theology before
his ordination. He also earned his doctorate at the University of Madrid
before returning to Fairfield in 1957. He was chairman of the Modem
Languages Department for 26 years and continued to teach Spanish
through the spring of 1992, all the time being active as a faculty moderator
and chaplain to the athletic teams. In 1992 he was inducted into the
Athletic Hall of Fame with the affectionate designation of "Father of
Sports."
9
THEY WENf TI-IATAWAY
Fairfield didn't win them all, as Fr. Dolan desired, but it won its share
of meets in the first season, including one strange win over the
Providence College freshmen.
Mr. Leeber had drawn a map of the 5-mile course on the Fairfield
campus and shown it to the Providence team, offering to walk them
around so they would know the correct turns. The Providence coach
declined, saying that the map was fine.
Mr. Leeber's best runner did not always come to practice and was
not so familiar with the course himself. However, when the race started
he broke out on top confidently with the Providence runners trailing him.
By mistake, he led them over a much longer course while the other
Fairfield runners took the 5-mile route and won the meet.
In the end, Mr. Leeber invited the Providence coach to challenge the
result. "No," he replied gallantly. "They (his runners) should lose like
good sports."
No LUCK Bur HARD LUCK
The Providence teams must have wondered at times what spells
these Stag teams were casting.
Joe Miko '51 recalls a meet with Providence where the Friars churned
to a 10-yard lead on the first two legs of an 880-yard relay. When Miko
got the stick on the third leg he got dramatic results, making up the 10­yard
deficit and opening up his own 10-yard margin before passing the
baton to Tom Loricco who easily completed the victory. The Stags'
exhilaration was somewhat dimmed the next day when they learned that
the third Providence runner had been removed to the hospital to have
his appendix taken out.
FOLLOW 1HE BOUNCING BALL
Fr. Walsh eventually took on the duties ofModerator ofAthletics and
when varsity basketball got started he took Mr. Leeber up to a game at
the Bridgeport Annory. "I brought you here to keep your eye on the ball,"
he said. Mr. Leeber appreciated this avuncular interest but discovered the
literal meeting of the remark at the end of the game when some
10
youngsters ran off with the basketball while he was chatting with
students. He had to report the loss to a chagrined Fr. Walsh who
grumbled, "Now I have to ask Fr. Dolan for another ten bucks."
In the one-ball era, the basketball had to be watched even during
the game. Joe Miko recalls an incident when the team manager, Jim
Linehan, broke in on a coach's pep talk and urged him to get the team
back on the floor immediately. The situation was urgent because there
was a slow leak in the ball which could have threatened completion of
the game.
BEHOLD, A WOMAN!
I came to Fairfield University in the summer of 1963 to teach in the
Economics Department. I was hired by Fr. William H. Hohmann,
chainnan of the economics department, a brave man indeed, for at that
time Fairfield was a strictly male institution. Unbeknownst to me, the
arrival of a woman professor in the all-male environs caused a stir. In the
fall, Dorothy Shaffer [who retired in 1992 after 29 years on the faculty]
joined the Math Department. That meant Fairfield had two women. There
were 46Jesuits and a faculty total of96. In the intervening years the faculty
has doubled, now 182, plus 77 lecturers. There are 50 women faculty
members (plus 38 women lecturers). However, the number ofJesuits has
decreased to 12.
My previous work had been in research both in government (the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C.)
and in the private sector (Citibank, New York City). Since I now had a
family, I thought I would try teaching that first sumriler. With Fr.
Hohmann's encouragement I stayed on, and the 1992-93 tenn will be my
30th year at the University.
Classes, the library, admissioris, the treasurer, and language labs
were in Canisius Hall; deans, registrar, science classrooms, and labs were
in Xavier Hall, when I came. Loyola had the chapel, the infinnary (ruled
over by Mary Kirk), and a cafeteria (where faculty could enjoy free
lunches). At that time there was no Campus Center, no faculty office
building, no Nyselius Library, no Bannow Science Center, no School of
Nursing building, no Center for Financial Studies, no Quick Center, no
Egan Chapel, a gym but no Recplex, no townhouses, no Dolan Campus.
11
Among the faculty who shared offices in Canisius were Carmen
Donnarumma, Arthur Riel, Matt McCarthy, Fr. Bill Devine, Mario Guarcello,
AI Abbott, George Baehr, Joe Grassi, and Paul Davis, Coffee time in the
basement of Xavier meant meeting Bob Pitt, Don Ross, John Barone,
Walter Petty, and Frank Rice.
There were four classes ofdegrees. ABachelor ofArts, the traditional
liberal arts degree, was awarded only after studies in ancient classical
languages - minimum of two years of college Latin, and Greek Studies
Dr. Joan
Walters,
professor of
economics,
was one of
the first two
women to
join the
faculty in
1963.
were highly recommended. More than half of semester credit hours were
in "liberal" education, i.e., the core.
As an economist, I look back at the price in wonder. Tuition for one
semester was $450; room and board for one semester was $475; a year
for $1,8501
Teaching schedules were heavy and classes of 60 not unusual.
However, I look back on a collegial atmosphere and good times. The
faculty all felt we were contributing to the growth of a great university.
- Dr. Joan G. Walters, professor ofeconomics.
12
UNIMAGINABlE PUBUCITY
In Book II of the Chronicles, Dr. George Baehr notes the striking
success ofFairfield's team on the GE-sponsored College Bowl television
show and the excitement it created on the campus and in the local
community. The late Fr. Charles Duffy had these notes to add.
The Fairfield Four that appeared in all four ofour contests with other
schools were John Kappenberg '64, George Greller '64, John Horvath '64
and Joseph Kroll '65. In my opinion, the last named, Joe Kroll, was the
big gun in our continuing to a fourth appearance in the Bowl. His
quickness on the pickup was uncanny at times, well suited to the format
of the contest. Other witnesses would agree, I am sure. . . . Our four
appearances over national1V were publicity that we never dreamed of
getting. General Electric gave each school the chance of showing a reel
of a few minutes length. While showing views of the grounds and
buildings, the voice on the reel would expound on the course of studies,
the aim, and the advantages of the school. ... Here is the gist of an article
that appeared in The Stag of Nov. 13, 1963:
Fairfield's thrice victorious College Bowl team and their moderator­coach,
Fr. Donald Lynch, received a standing ovation in the gym on
Monday morning during exercises commemorating their successes in the
GE College Bowl1V series. Each Varsity Scholar was presented with a
medal, a silver bowl (gift of several campus organizations) and a Card of
Merit. Fr. George Mahan was introduced and reported that during the
1962-63 school year, Fairfield received 3,000 applications for admission.
The Stag then quotes Fr. Mahan as follows: "During the five-week period
when the team was on nationwide 1V, 2,800 applications were received."
Could any public relations man forsee such a result? That was my reaction
to Fr. Mahan's quote.
THEY CAN'T DO TI-IIS TO ME!
In the late sixtiesand in 1970, Fairfield wasfaced with student revolt
that resulted in building takeovers and other aggressive acts. The late Fr.
Thomas McGrath, professor ofpsychology, was asked what it was like to
teach in those years. He responded asfollows.
You flipped from anger and defiance: "They're not going to do this
to me." But at the same time, they were bigger than I was and I am
13
intelligent enough not to fight if I know I'm going to get creamed. I would
go up to them and reason with them and say "I have to get to that office.
There are students depending on me. At least let me work." And they
would almost always open a door in the back - or the window. They
wouldn't let me in the front door where there were chains. They'd help
me up, over the window, help me get inside. In those days, we still had
the old cassocks on. Trying to climb through a window with that robe
hanging around you is not the neatest thing that you can do.
POOH-BAH
By force of his intelligence and personality, the late Fr. James
Coughlin became the dominant academicfigure on the Faiifield campus
for nearly 15 years. His powers were reinforced by his appOintment to
various offices and committees resulting in this letter written by a faculty
member.
Mr. David W.P. Jewitt
Chainnan, Board of Trustees
Fairfield University
Dear Mr. Chainnan:
You have created a Pooh-Bah.
Look at a typical instance that the habit of single appointment to
multiple offices has caused. I have a complaint about the way the
Extended Year Program has become a shield for bringing athletes to our
university who are not eligible through nonnal university channels to
become students at any college. The first logical place for me to carry my
complaint is to the actual director of the program: Fr. James Coughlin, S.].
If I do not receive satisfaction, I can take it to the general faculty, whose
chainnan is appointed by the president of the university; the chainnan of
the faculty is Fr. James Coughlin, S.]. Since I seem blocked here, I can take
the matter before the Dean of the College, but here again the man is Fr.
Coughlin, S.]. I could go above the dean to the academic vice president,
who is also Fr. Coughlin, S.]., or to the acting president of the university
who is also Fr. Coughlin, S.]., or to the trustee I know personally, who
is also Fr. Coughlin, S.].
14
I am not arguing with your choice of acting president, but I am
about the Gilbert and Sullivan administration that you have created as a
result of that choice. I would like to recommend that you at least appoint
a temporary faculty chairman, and a temporary dean of the college.
Sincerely,
King]. Dykeman
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
P.S. My name is being presented for promotion before the Rank and
Tenure Committee this spring: Fr. Coughlin, S.]. is also the chairman ex­officio
and single most influential member of that committee, but I still
think that the good of the university demands this letter.
Fr. Coughlin gave up the acting presidency that spring when Fr.
Thomas Fitzgerald was named president. He resigned from his other
administrativepositions with all deliberate speed- aboutfive years later
- buthe did have toendure the raillery ofsomefellowjesuits who delighted
in greeting him as the Pooh Bah. Professor Dykeman continues as a
memberofthe Philosophy Department and began his 26th teaching year
at Faiifield in the fall of1992.
STAGS FOREVER AND ALONE?
Early in the presidency of the Rev. William C. McInnes, S.].,
discussion of coeducation was underway but most male students were
upset about it. In a summary for the Fairfield quarterly written by James
E. Fitzpatrick '70, he noted that "Cries of 'Stags-forever and alone' and
'Keep the Stags stag' rang out from the dormitories" and a poll taken by
the student government in 1967 showed 610 out of 938 opposed to such
a change.
The trustees did not consider this a settled matter, however, and
within a month of the release of that poll announced that Fairfield would
seek an existent woman's college to share its campus. That coordinate
college would occupy a 30-acre tract donated by the University. Over the
next year, University officials indictated that they were talking to more
than one women's college and a merger was not far away. Nothing
15
happened until December 1968 when Fr. McInnes announced that
Fairfield would take the first step toward coeducation (not a coordinate
college) by initiating a nursing program and bringing women under­graduates
into the arts and science division no later than 1970.
The more they thought about it, the better students liked the idea of
having young women on the campus. In fact, they began getting
impatient about the delay. New polls showed that most students felt the
University shoul9 go completely coed.
Two months after the announcement about the nursing initiative, the
trustees decided to admit women undergraduates to the College of Arts
and Sciences in the fall of 1970. That outcome was accomplished by 229
female students including nursing candidates, transfers and freshmen
who started classes on September 8 of that year.
The subsequent developments are summed up nicely in a passage
from a paper written by a senior history major, Patrick Foote, in 1992:
"To their credit, the men of Fairfield quickly adapted to the presence
ofwomen on campus. Indeed, the evidence offered by the AlumniNews
of marriages between alumni of the school shows that the Fairfield men
did, and continue to, adjust to the situation quite nicely. In any case, they
would have had little choice but to get used to it, for by the fall of 1979,
previously all-male Fairfield would have a female majority. Starting from
only an 11 percent share of the entire student body, Fairfield's female
student population would, in only three years time, constitute 40 percent
of the undergraduate total. This trend toward greater parity between the
two sexes continued through the early eighties until the percentage of
female students was almost 55 percent."
HEY, IS 1HIS AN INFERIOR SCHOOL?
Recalling Fr. Dolan's concerns that academically unmotivated stu­dents
might assume inferiority in a school that was unsuccessful in
athletics (see earlier entry on the "Father of Sports"), you just have to give
the girls credit. When the admissions office began recruiting women
students they encouraged them to come to a Fall Weekend, see the
campus, visit friends and enjoy a club football game between Fordham
and Fairfield. It sounded like fun and a good number of young women
came and were impressed enough with Fairfield to make application.
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They loved the campus, admired the new science center, praised the
availability of new computer facilities, and liked the people they met.
They politely avoided mention of the game. Fordham won, 69-0.
WE'RE NUMBER ONE, BRIEFLY
Club football was fun in its heyday when students at some schools
that had been football powers, like Fordham, put together teams through
their own initiative. Fairfield students tried unsuccessfully to start a team
in 1965 but did get a squad on the field in 1966 and the sport was sustained
for 20 years with its share of low and high moments.
In 1979 the Stags compiled a 7-3 regular season record and played
a final contest against Lowell Tech (later Lowell University) for the
championship. Fr. Leeber recalls a lot of excitement leading up to the
game because Lowell Tech had the number one ranking in the National
Club Football Association. But Lowell had been beaten by Providence
and Fairfield, led by the Meyers twins, Tom and Bob, had defeated
Providence in a thriller.
The Fairfield-Lowell game provided lots ofexcitement. In the second
half, the game was tied 40-40 when Fairfield lost a few defensive players
to an unusual series of injuries, all gashes along the lower jaw that forced
the players to leave the field for stitches. Lowell pushed over 20 more
points late in the game for a 60-40 victory. Late in the game play was
stopped while a brief announcement was made that the point total was
a record for that stadium.
Fairfield's moment in the sun came in the following preseason.
Lowell dropped out of the ratings because it had made football a varsity
sport and Fairfield emerged as the number one rated team in the
preseason.
MORE UNIMAGINABLE PUBUCI1Y
In 1989, the 1V situation comedy "Who's the Boss?" which is set in
Fairfield, Conn., took a new tum when the character played by star Tony
Danza enrolled at an unnamed college. An admissions counselor at
Fairfield, keeping track of the series, alerted the public relations office
which immediately dispatched a Fairfield sweatshirt to the producers. On
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a subsequent show, Danza wore the gray sweatshirt with red lettering for
the entire half hour.
Soon after, the campus bookstore reported a run on sales of that
sweatshirt. Alumni from as far away as the west coast were ordering it.
"Who's the Boss?" was among the top ten programs in the country that
year and was seen in 20 million homes.
SENIOR CmZENS
In the space of about a month in the fall of 1984, two distinguished
visitors made prief visits to the campus. One was the President of the
United States, Ronald Reagan, but his visit was very brief. He alighted
from a helicopter and paused only briefly to shake a few hands before
being whisked away to an October election rally on the Fairfield Town
Green.
In November, the campus had a visit from the 89-year-old Arch­bishop
JohnJ. McEleney who, as Fairfield's first rector, had occupied the
dark rooms of McAuliffe Hall almost by himself as he labored to bring a
new school into being. As he toured the highly developed campus, a
freshman asked Fr. Henry Murphy who this distinguished vistor was." Fr.
Murphy informed him that this was the founder of the Prep and
University.
"Gee," said the student, "You mean like John Harvard?"
"Precisely," said Fr. Murphy.
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FAIRFIELD
1942 S'l 1992
UNIVERSITY
Fulfilling the Jesuit Ideal