History of Fairfield University

              TRINITY C-OLLEGE
THESIS
A HISTORY OF F A I R F I E F UNIVERSITY
SUBXITTED BY
ROBERT WILLIAM TURCOTTE
(A.B. , BROW UNIVEPSITY, 19511
I n p a r t i a l P u l f i l l m e n t o f R e q u i r e m e n t s f o r
the D e g r e e o f K a s t e r o f A r t s
1975
Chapter One
THE IX)LAN PLANTATION
In a year when most of the world was a t war and the
United s t a t & was not f a r from it, the Bishop of Hartford
and the Provincial of the Society of Jesus f o r New England
decided t o found a new school- in Connecticut. In 1941, the
Hartford Diocese included a l l of Connecticut, but there were
then only two Roman Catholic high schools f o r boys in the
whole s t a t e . The Province covered New England, but it was
almost e n t i r e l y preoccupied with its colleges in Worcester
and Boston. Internal and external pressure for expansion
brought these two together in 1941, t o produce a new
L
establishment, despite and because of the coming war. Bishop
Maurice F. Mckuliffe needed another high school, and the Very
Reverend James H. Dolan another college. Logic dictated a
beginning with the former plus an understanding t h a t a college
would follow.
The year was almost over when they found a s u i t a b l e
location in "Mailands," t h e F a i r f i e l d e s t a t e of the l a t e
L
Oliver Gould Jenninqs. 0. G. Jennings was a d i r e c t descen-dant
of Elder William B r e w s t e r , of Plymouth, and his family
had made its fortune with the Rockefellers, in the Standard
O i l Company. Jennings demolished an existing mansion on the
1. Br idgepor t P-os t , March 2 1 , 1942. Hereaf ter c i t e d as=- 2. Bridgeport Sunday Post, December 7, 1941. Hereafter cited
as Srrnday P-os t .
site and b u i l t "Mailands" in 1905 f o r h i s new wife, Mary Dows
Brewster Jennings. The area wes then still a farming community
and they used the e s t a t e as a s o c i a l center for t h e i r Newport
set and as an elaborate workin: farm. He c a l l e d himself an
a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t when he was elected t o the Connecticut House
o f Representatives, and he was very a c t i v e , both i n p o l i t i c s
and i n l o c a l philanthropy. For example, he served as Chairman
of t h e F a i r f i e l d Board of Finance for twenty-five years and
he was also the founder of t h e F a i r f i e l d H i s t o r i c a l Society.
When he died i n 1936 one career ended f o r Mailands, and it
had to wait s i x years f o r the start of another. The war was
s t a r t i n g when t h e t i t le was t r a ~ s f e r r e dt o t h e So c i e t y of
Jesus. The s a l e was announced in area newspapers on
December 7, i941.
Only a week later, t h e neigiboring 104 acre Walter B.
Lasher estate, "Hearthstone H a l l , " became Town property through
a Superior Court Tax l e i n foreclosure amounting t o $51,599.46. 3
Lasher, who had owned t h e American Chain and Cable Co., obtained
t h i s acreage j u s t a f t e r the 1st World War and completed h i s
forty-four room mansion t h e r e i n September of 1920. The
Depression found h i m i n the middle of the purchase and s a l e of
the Hazard Wire Rope Co. of Wilkesbarre, pa., with h i s American
Chain Co. stock assiqned as c o l l a t e r a l . When the Hazard s a l e
3. Sunday Post, December 1 4 , 1 9 4 1 .
brought less than enough t o cover h i s debt, he l o s t control
of American Chain and was unable t o maintain h i s former l i f e
s t y l e . 4 ..
During January and February of 1941, the J e s u i t s , with
t h e h e l p of l o c a l f r i e n d s , arranged t o buy t h i s property as
w e l l , and on March 1 4 , 1942, the F a i r f i e l d Selectmen announced
acceptance of an o f f e r of $68,500 f o r the place. 5
On March 17, the Incorporators o f F a i r f i e l d College Of
St. Robert Bellarmine, Inc., m e t a t St. Roberts Hall Seminary
Ln Pornfret. Connecticut to adopt t h e i r by-laws, and t o appoint
t h e Rev. John J. McEleney, S.J., Rector of the new school. 6
McEleney had entered the Society of Jesus in 1918, a f t e r
graduating from Boston College. He pcrsued c l a s s i c a l s t u d i e s
i n Poughkeepsie, New York, at St. Andrew-on-Hudson, and then
took a d d i t i o n a l work i n h i s t o r y , science, and philosophy at
both Woodstock College i n Maryland and Weston College i n
Massachusetts. In-1924, he was assigned as a s c h o l a s t i c to
t e a c h i n the Ateneo -de Mani la, a J e s u i t s c h o o l i n t h e
P h i l i p p i n e s , and continued t h e r e u n t i l 1927. In t h a t year
he returned to Weston to continue h i s theological s t u d i e s i n
preparation for the priesthood. Following ordination i n 1931,
5. Sunday Post, March 15, 1941; Post, April 1, 1941.
6- Post, March 18, 1942; Post, March 21, 1942; New York T i m e s t
March 19, 1942. F i r s t meeting of the Corporation of F a i r f i e l e
College of St. Robert Bellannine, Incorporated; F a i r f i e l d
University, Nyselius Library, Rev. ~ames H. Dolan papers.
Hereafter c i t e d as Dolan papers.
Father McEleney dld additional work in ascetical theology in
England, a f t e r which he was posted to Shadowbrook, the Jesuit
novitiate a t Lenox, Massachusetts. He was assistant t o the
m a s t e r of novices there for five years and then rector for
five more ye'ars before moving t o Fairfield.
He lived alone i n the huge, eapty, Jennings house for
several weeks, and, as word o f that spread, many new friends
appeared t o help get things goincj. By the f i r s t of April,
1942, when the Lasher property changed hands, his plans for
a f u l l four-year curriculum a t Pairfield College Preparatory
Schcol w e r e w e l l along. The forty-room Jennings house, newly
renamed Bishop McAuliffe Hall, becane the main school building.
Considerable attention was given t o the arrangements for an
appropriate chapel, c a f e t e r i a , library, laboratories, and
classrooms there. The Lasher hone became Cardinal Bellarmine
Hall, a f t e r St. Robert Bellarmine, S.J. (1542-16211, a
p o l i t i c a l philosopher and refomer. The faculty would live
there and, f o r t h e f i r s t year or two, they also held classes
for seniors there.
The f i r s t brochures about the school, with application
blanks, w e r e i n t h e mail to Roman Catholic educators across
7. --*P ost Apr i l 1, 1942; Cathol ic Tr ans c r ipt , May 1 4 , 1 9 4 2 -
Hereafter cited as Transcril~t. Fairfield News, May 16,
1942. Hereaf ter c i t e d a s N-e w .
the state before the end of April. Tuition was s e t at one
hundred and f i f t y d o l l a r s , and a f u l l four-year scholarship
was to be won i n competitive examinations scheduled for
June 6. The pamphlets outlined the origin of the School
and explaine'd t h a t the J e s u i t educational objective was to
help students to prepare to live in the world with a focal
regard for s p i r i t u a l truth.8 -
This educational approach was based on the ancient
Ratio Studiorum, a J e s u i t teaching system conceived in the
16th century. The plan had roots in methods used at the
University of P a r i s in 1540, when the Society was founded by
St. Iqnatius of Loyola, but it underwent considerable develop-ment
before it was o f f i c i a l l y announced in 1599. It offered
an orderly combination of subjects and methods aimed at
cultivating both the i n t e l l e c t and principles of conduct and,
as explained i n the promotional l i t e r a t u r e , " i t s t r i v e s by a
balanced and unified course of studies, t o t r a i n the student
t o correct and accurate thinking, t o close observation, to
tireless industry, t o keen discrimination, to sustained
application, t o sound and sober judgement, to vivid and lively
imagination. u9
8. Reverend John J. McEleney open l e t t e r , April 23, 1942,
Nyselius Library, John J. McEleney Papers. Hereafter
cited as McEleney papers. Transcript, May 1 4 , 1942;
Post, June 7 , 1942; Worcester Catholic Messinger,
F 2 3 , 1942.
9. preliminary Announcement for 1942-1943, p.2, McEleney
Papers: Fairfield University Building Fund Brochure for
1947, p. 15, Dolan Papers.
It was thought t h a t a set curriculum should be followed a t
the s t a r t , w i t h a moderate allowance of options as students
progressed through college and graduate school. The
t r a d i t i o n a l l i b e r a l a r t s and hm-anities w e r e seen as the best
means of achieving these ends.. Thorough preparation in
Latin was required, and Philosophy became a very important
element at the college level. !~lethodology included e f f o r t s
to reduce even the most d i f f i c u l t concepts t o their most
comprehensible terms, and encouragement of individual e f f o r t
i n and out of class.
McEleney immediately undertook a very heavy schedule of
public appearances to broadcast word of the new school.
Registration began on May 7, 1942, to continue through the
month. lo By mid-June , the Fr. Killian Scholarship exam - was
over, Charles T. Mullins had won, and he became one of the
one hundred and f i f t y r e g i s t r z n t s f o r the f i r s t class. 11
Young Mullins'teachers were gathering. The Reverend
Leo A. Reilly, S.J., came e a s t from Port own send, Washington,
to become Principal; Fr. Edward J. Whelan, S.J., was appointed
10. Bridgeport Telegram, April 17, 1942. Hereafter cited as
Telegram. Post f May 3, 1942. Stamford Advocate,
April 27, 1942. Reverend Thomas J. Murphy interview,
December 6 , 1974. Reverend Janes Walsh interview,
January 13, 1975.
11. Post, May 4 , 13, 1 4 , and June 12, 1942. Telegram,
May 4, and June 9 , 1942. Bridgeport Sunday Herald,
June 14, 1942. Hereafter cited as Sunday Herald.
administrator; Fr. John K. Doherty, S.J., was to be
Treasurer; and fourteen others were on hand by mid-summer.
12
On ~ u g u s t5 , the i n s t i t u t i o n held i t s f i r s t important
e c c l e s t a s t i c a l ceremony, when the blessing of Bellarmine
Hall was witnessed by representatives of practically every
Roman Catholic church in Falrfield county.13 Before the end
of August, alterations to the buildings had been completed:
the faculty were ready to teach a l l four years of high
school; plans for extra-curricular programs in drama, debate,
music, football, and special interest clubs were formulated;
t r a i n and bus connections direct to campus had been arranged;
and classes were set to open on September ninth.14 When that
day arrived, McEleney and his staff were a l l enormously
pleased to have three hundred and eleven boys enrolled, and
Bishop McAuliffe opened the year by ceremonially blessing
McAuliffe Hall. He called it "the happiest day in the history
of t h e Har t ford ~ i o c e s e". lS
Fr. McEleney was a very warm and outgoing man, one who
was readily accepted and liked wherever he went. He easily
established a rapport with dioscesan p r i e s t s , faculty, parents
and others. H e caught people's interest and got them involved
12. P o s t , July 17, 1942. News, August 1 4 , 1942.
13. Telegram, August 5, 1 9 4 2 . Post August 6, 1942. -I
14. News, August 28, 1942.
15. Post, September 10, 1942.
on behalf of F a i r f i e l d w i t h s u r p r i s i n g speed.
16
Separate
"Bellarmine Clubs" f o r mothers and fathers were immediately
e s t a b l i s h e d , and people developed intense loyalty and
i n t e r e s t .
Because of the wartime shortages and the limits imposed
,- ,
by gas r a t i o n i n g , these groups organized themselves very
thoroughly hy telephone, both l o c a l l y and i n such towns
as Norwalk, Danbury, Stamford, Waterbury and New Haven.
Under the leadership of their President, M r s . ~ e r n a r d
Gilhuly, twenty-five s e l e c t e d women each had the responsibil-i
t y f o r contacting a given set of parents and other friends
regarding group projects. The r e s u l t was a close-knit but
extensive network of f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s h i p s , a l l concentrated
on helping the e n t e r p r i s e t o succeed. Person a f t e r person
remembers the e a r l y days as a t i m e of special concern f o r
one another and of general, v m m , f a m i l i a l f e e l i n g - l 7 These
e a r l y contacts set a p a t t e r n f o r much of F a i r f i e l d ' s develop-ment
throughout t h e f o r t i e s .
Although the foundation of the School had been funded
by the Province,. the Rector was obligated t o keep it f i n a n c i a l l y
healthy, and he and the f a c u l t y did t h e i r p a r t i n many ways.
16. Reverend T. J. Murphy interview, December 6 , 1974.
Reverend Lawrence Lanqguth interview, January 13, 1975.
17. Bellarmine Mothers Club r e p o r t , December 1942, Club
Financial Statement, J u l y 5, 19 4 3 , McEleney Papers.
M r . & M r s . Bernard Gilhuly interview. January 18, 1975.
They took on a heavy schedule of parfsh work and spolte
frequently a t service clu6 meetrngs and t o various church
organizations. The J e s u i t s not only taught, but they
performed mokt of the support services of the i n s t i t u t i o n
as w e l l . Without the money for a maintenance s t a f f , they
drove t r a c t o r s , planted trees,. kept gardens, and handled
j a n i t o r i a l chores.'* Everyone shared a d i s t i n c t sense of
pioneering t h a t was reinforced by the geography of the time.
he Lashar and Jennings mansions are about a m i l e apart on
the two highest points of the campus. They w e r e out of
sight of one another and separated' by a grove of dense woods.
P r i e s t s traveling from Bellarmine t o McAuliffe for classes
had t o walk a long muddy t r a i l through the thicket.
Even before the end of that f i r s t semester, Fr. McEleney
and his faculty w e r e given evidence of t h e i r e f f e c t in the
-area. On December 6, 1942, more than three hundred towns-people
of a l l f a i t h s gathered on campus i n a formal wel-coming
program t o applaud their valor for opening the School
despite the wartime situation. In addition, friends like
James Joy, Bernard Gilhuly, W i l l i a m Fitzpatrick and E m e t t
Donnelly not only helped arrange the event but got together
18. Reverend T. J. Murphy interview, December 6, 19 74.
Reverend Victor Leeber interview, January 9, 19 75.
Reverend James Walsh interview, January 13, 1975.
Reverend Francis Small interview, January 25, 19 74.
a contribution of $6,500 for cor,struction of a road
connecting the two houses.
Among tdose who spoke a t the event was F a i r f i e l d ' s
F i r s t Selectman, John Ferguson. Ferguson used the opportunity
both to welcome the J e s u i t s and to answer his Critics. Some
people had regretted t h e l o s s of tax revenue implicit i n the
sale of the Lashar property, but he turned that around,
claiming t h a t there would actually be a d i r e c t tax benefit.
Tax earnings on the property w e r e only $6,500, and he estimated
t h a t each high school student cost the Town $150 per year.
Therefore, i f one hundred local boys transferred to the new
School, the Town would save $15,000.
He went on to say t h a t "there is no ceiling on the value
of the returns t h a t r e s u l t from having such wonderful
educational leaders i n the comunity.. Others spoke similarly
of the needs and potential benefits. 19
That event marked a high point of the year. In a sense
it was the community launching. Afterward the heavy press
coverage of the preceeding year dininished sharply and the
second semester passed without public reports of much beyond
ba ske tba l l , Savings Bond s a l e s c a ~ p a i g n,s general r e l igious
services, and club a c t i v i t i e s . A very strong series of i n t e r e s t
and subject-area clubs developed quickly. There were ~ r e n c h ,
Spanish, German, Drama, Debate, Photography & ~ a d i oC lubs, a
19. Post December 5, & 7, 1942.
-I
J Gerald Phelan interview, January 6, 1975.
G l e e Club, and so forth. Such club work was the focus of '. a g r e a t deal of student and faculty energy and enthusiasm
and while v a r i e t y and i n t e n s i t y changed from year t o year,
clubs have always continued to be important i n the l i v e s of
Fairf i e l d students.
During the spring, the f i r s t issue of a School
l i t e r a r y b u l l e t i n , the Bellarmine Quarterly was published,
and .Rev. Lawrence Langguth, S.J., was posted from Harvard t o
tqach Physics. Langguth would later become Dean of F a i r f i e l d
University and play a large r o l l i n its e a r l y development.
On Wednesday, June 16, 1943, the f i r s t F a i r f i e l d College
Preparatory School c l a s s graduated. The event was reported
at length i n t h e Bridgeport Post and the Bridgeport Telegram.
The nine graduates may have been awed at the s i g h t of over
one hundred and f i f t y guests who gathered on the south terrace
qf Bellarmine Hall t o hear speeches by Governor Baldwin and
President McEleney and to watch them receive t h e i r Prep
school diplomas from the M o s t Reverend Henry J. O'Brien,
Auxiliary Bishop of b art ford.^' Registration for the succeed-ing
year was immediately announced for July and August.
The F a i r f i e l d Corporation had+een so encouraged by
20. Post, June 17, 1943; Telegram, June 1 7 , 1943.
the s i z e of the f i r s t classes and the r e s u l t s of the f i r s t
year's work t h a t they wanted t o attempt a million-dollar
fund drive to 'finance a new classroom buildinT. It was
necessary t o get the approval of the Bishop of Hartford,
The American Assistancy, and the Provincial before they
could go ahead. Consent was given by October, but they were
disappointed a t being limited t o funding e f f o r t s i n Fairfield
county The new classrooms would have been b u i l t on
the site of the Jennings greenhouses, one hundred yards or
so north of McAuliffee H a l l , where P.rovincia1 Dolan reconunended
they put the l a r g e s t possible T-shaped, three-story building.
He encouraged them a l l to success through work and prayer. 22
Nevertheless, money was not t o be raised easily. Fr.
McEleney even attempted t o sell the greenhouse, unsuccessfully.
By the following summer, plans had been scaled down t o a
temporary, wooden, eight-classroom building. A contract f o r
$37,422 was signed u i t h , t h e E & F Construction Company on
July 5, 1944, contingent on War Protection Board approval. 24
However, the WPB denied permission, and stuck t o t h a t decision,
21- J. 11. Dolan t o J. J. I.!cEleney, October 23, 1943; zaccheus
Maher t o J. J. McEleney, October 20, 1943; McEleney papers.
22. J. H. Dolan t o J. J. YcEleney, November 6 , 1943; McEleneY
papers.
23. E. F. Hodgson Company t o J. J. McEleney, June 16, 1944;
Metropolitan Greenhouse Xfg. Corp. t o J. J. McEleney,
June 16, 1944; Lord and Burnham Company t o J. J. McEleneY r
June 20, 1944; King Construction Company t o J.J. McEleneY,
June 22, 1944; McEleney papers.
24. E & F Construction Company t o Fairfield College Preparatory
School, July 3, 1944; J. J. FcEleney t o E & F construction
CO. July 5 , 1944; McEleney papers.
despite vigorous e f f o r t s f o r reversal, expansion was
postponed again. 2 5
The pace 0.f the second year was very different from
the f i r s t . An operational routine had been quickly established.
and '43-'44 l e f t no trace of large events. This football
season was as d i f f i c u l t as the l a s t . Coach Thomas F. Murphy
learned about football as an end on the Rockne teams a t
Notre Dame in the l a t e 20s, and some of the players knew the
game, but they were still "becoming" a team. Again, they
won only one game during the e n t i r e season. 2 6 .
In school there was a f u l l measure of the expected class-work,
punctuated by War Bond sales drives, Sodality ceremonies,
the annual all-school r e t r e a t , continuing events of the
Bellamine Mothers and Fathers Clubs, and drama, debate,
basketball, baseball, language, and other club programs.
Following D-Day, there were special daily chapel services
and then as usual, the end in commencement.
It s e e m s t o have been a quiet time of consolidating
gains in preparation for new i n i t i a t i v e s . The academic year
of 1944-'45 ran in much the same channel through the f i r s t
semester, but during the second term, it became a rather
25. J. J. McEleney t o Robert A. Hewett, S.J., July 31, 1944:
McEleney papers.
26. Post, P.ugust 22, 1942; Telegram, August 25, 1942;
Post, October 1, 1942; Post, December 9, 1942-
unusual year. In one dimension, extra-curricular' student
a c t i v i t i e s r e a l l y began t o be f e l t in the community. Many
students were involved in drama, and an annual Shakespeare
series was begsun. Thirty-nine students participated in
staging Julius Caesar a t the Klein Memorial Auditorium on
April 1 0 , t o a packed audience. At the same t i m e , more
than f o r t y students took part in an unusual Radio Workshop
t h a t developed i n t o a weekly WICC broadcast. Led by Fr.
John H. Kelly, S. J., students created each program from
scratch, beginning with one covering the work of the Red
Cross on behalf of prisoners of war. That program went on
I
the a i r j u s t a f t e r Rangers under Bridgeport's local w a r
hero, Col. Henry J. Mucci, had rescued five hundred American
prisoners from the Japanese i n Luzon. Among them was a
J e s u i t Chaplin, Major John J. Dugan, who subsequently came
to Bridgeport and saw Mrs. Mucci with Fr. Dolan. The rescue
had considerable lwcal impact, and the Radio Workshop broad-c
a s t was heard and enjoyed by a wide and receptive audience.
The enthusiasm led t o an invitation t o do the weekly series,
and students and faculty produced program a f t e r program through
the second semester, and the following years. For the f i r s t
time, through these radio broadcasts, wora of F a i r f i e l d ' s
existence was spread f a r beyond the immediate area. 2 7
The other principal chmge was an eqrly December ~ h i ' f t
a t the top. Fr. Dolan, finis-hing his six years as ~ r o v i n c k a l
27. P-os t , ~ p r i 2l 7 , 28, 2 9 , 1945; Post, May 31, 1945;
-Pos t , June 1 0 , 11, 1945.
for New England, became Rector a t Fairfield, and Fr.
McEleney l e f t Fairfield t o assume the duties of Provincial
in Boston.
Dolan was a Bostonian who had entered the Society
of Jesus i n 1905. He was ordained t o the priesthood in June
of 1920 and then taught philosophy and psychology a t the
College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts.
From 1925 t o 1932, he served as President of Boston College,
where he created the Law School and was responsible for
construction of several important buildings. When his term -
a t Boston College ended, he was appointed a s s i s t a n t t o the
Provincial for New England and also prefect-general of
studies for the province. He held these posts u n t i l May of
1937, when he was named Provincial. 2 8
Dolan thus had twenty years of experience a t the top
of J e s u i t administration in New England before he moved t o
F a i r f i e l d . He was accustomed t o strict observation of the
J e s u i t Canon and t o a position of magisterial power. He was
a p a t e r n a l i s t i c disciplinarian, and has been described as
deeply r e l i g i o u s , hardworking, earnest, exacting, hard but
f a i r , t i g h t f i s t e d with money, and a wonderful character.
Dolan was the key man in establishing F a i r f i e l d , and it
28. -Pos t , December 12, 1944.
seems l i k e l y that he e i t h e r sought the post of President
o r assigned himself t o it a t the close of his t e n as
Provincial. He. had already thought through some very
extensive plans f o r development, and he announced proposals
f o r a considerable expansion before he had been i n h i s new
o f f i c e three months. 29 He intended t o make Fairfield a
f u l l - s c a l e University, and h i s iceas included construction
of twenty-five buildings and an a t h l e t i c stadium. As spring
approached and the War i n Europe ground toward its end, he &
made arrangements for chartering a college. H i s b i l l was
f i l e d with t h e S t a t e Legislature i n Apri1,of 1945, authorizing
the establishment of F a i r f i e l d University of St. Robert
Bellannine. On April 18, the Incorporations Committee
reported favorably on the b i l l , and it was adopted by the
Senate on the 25th. The House concurred on the second of
May. The F a i r f i e l d cause was supported in l e g i s l a t i v e
hearings, at the time, by such i n f l u e n t i a l members of the
Bellannine Clubs as E. Gaynor Brennan, Sr., Mrs. W i l l i a m
F i t z p a t r i c k , and former Governor Janes Shannon. The move
had the approval of others, including the Most Rev. Henry
J. O'Brien, the new Bishop of Hartford, and Governor Raymond
Baldwin, who signed the measure on May 29, 1945, 30
29. Knights of Columbus annual Meeting, February 1945,
Dolan Papers. I=, March 2, 1945.
30. Telegram, April 26, 1945; Telegram, May 3 , 1945;
Rev. T. J. Mur~hv interview. December 6 . 1974; An
A c t ~ncorporating Fairfield.University of s a i n t Robert
Bellarmine, Incorporated, Kay 29, 1945, Dolan papers -
The President's plans for the new University were
revealed on June 10 a t a reception honoring Father McEleney,
who was retunling to F a i r f i e l d f o r his f i r s t v i s i t since
becoming Provincial. When some five hundred or more friends
gathered at Bellarmine Hall for the special program, one of
the sights they saw was a three-by-five foot picture of the
e n t i r e proposed structural campus, laid out to scale. W i t h
a canvas of roughly two hundred acres open land, Dolan was
free t o f i l l in whatever conceptual arrangements seemed
suitable. He proposed a set of permanent p r i o r i t i e s and
space allocations, t o establish a complete prep-to-graduate
-school complex in separate integral units. The Rector and
the consulting architect visualized a completed campus,
relating buildings and units i n a modular conception,
rhythmically repeating one another, and drawn t o show both
the scale and design of each part and building in the overall
plan.
Fr. Dolan chose English Collegiate Gothic as the
architectural style because, as he put it, "History has no
record of a system of architecture which expresses so
eloquently the genius of the Christian idea. ~ 3 1
The Preparatory School group was t o be developed in
familiar t e r r i t o r y , south of McAuliffe, across the existing
31. Fairfield University Building Fund brochure, 1947,
pp. 23-24, Dolan papers.
entry road. It was to form a quadrangle of buildings
along South Benson Road, including classroom buildings for
Freshmen and Sophomores, and another for Juniors and
Seniors. Just south of the f i r s t , an administration
building was planned, and beyond that a chapel, a library,
a science building, a refectory, and four dormitories.
Projected capacity was one thousand students. McAuliffe
was t o have a faculty addition, and just w e s t , near the
new Alumni Field, there was to be a gymnasium with elaborate
f a c i l i t i e s for boxing, swimming, basketball, wrestling,
fencing and other sports. -
The campus would have been divided in half by a North-
South roadway, with the University positioned along the whole
length of the western side. Classrooms, administration,
a c t i v i t i e s , chemistry, physics and biology buildings,
residence halls, and graduate schools of law, medicine, and
social sciences were a l l laid out in an elaborate b i l a t e r a l
arrangement, each element and side mirrored in the other.
It was a thoroughly considered but inward-looking plan
balanced on two axial lines that remained important in
campus development u n t i l a new master plan was created in
the mid-sixties. One line extended south from the center
of McAuliffe and established the locations of proposed
"Prep" buildings; the other was taken north from the center
of Bellarmine, and has been used in placing University
buildings. 32 The projected expansion was as much of a
surprise t o the faculty and s t a f f as it was t o the guests.
The Rector may have discussed h i s ideas w i t h the new
Provincial and with his Consultors but it is certain only
t h a t he shared them with architkct Oliver Reagan of Westport,
who helped develop the plans, and draftsman Chester Price
of New York City, who prepared the exhibit. 33
Dolan was thinking in a very large terms as he began t o
bring i n t o being the college t h a t he had been aiming toward
since 1941. The scope is so imposing t h a t it implies some
consensus, some unity, a group approach toward agreed
objectives. Unfortunately, t h e r e a r e no available papers
r e l a t h g t o the development, and most contemporaries, both
J e s u i t and lay, seem t o haye been unaware of h i s plans.
In Fr. Langguth's view, Dolan wanted a plan t h a t would
be i n s p i r i n g , one t h a t would catch the imagination of h i s
own planners, of f achlty and other people, something big
enough t o excite them, and a t t r a c t i v e enough t o get people
t o work f o r its achievement. It was t h e f o c a l element of
the next two years. 34
33. John Barone interview, December 27, 1974. L. ~angguth
interview, January 13, 1975. J. Walsh interview,
January 13, 1975. T. A. Murphy interview, ~ecember 6, 1974-
34. L. Langguth interview, January 13, 1975.
In the short time before desiqns for the f i r s t
building were considered, however, Regan f e l l out of favor,
and the Bridqeport firm of Fletcher and Thompson began its
long association with the school.
Meanwhile, as preparations =or construction began,
immediate expansion was necessary, and the Fairfield
administration looked f o r s u i t a l e existing buildings.
A tangle of zoning problems blocked negotiations for
"the Chimmeys" i n the Blackrock section of Bridgeport,
and they bought the eighteen-roo= Frederick E. Morgan
residence a t 200 Park Place, in the c i t y ' s Seaside Park
area. During the summer of 1945, alterations w e r e carried
o u t t o conver t t h e Morgan home- i n t o a publ i c bui lding, and,
by September, it was ready t o accoaodate the entering class
of Preparatory School freshmsn. That f a l l the Rev. John
P. Dorsey, S.J., was moved over fro3 Fairfield t o become
Principal of the new detached unit and he and eight other
Jesuits took up residence in the newly-equipped building,
living on the t h i r d f l o o r and holdFng classes in rooms on
the f i r s t two floors. 35 In e f f e c t , they w e r e running a
separate school there for the fres:man c l a s s , but they kept
in constant contact with t h e i r cou?.terparts in F a i r f i e l d ,
35. J. Nalsh interview, January 13, 1975.
T. Murphy interview, Deceiier 6 , 1974.
J. G. Phelan intervie??, J a n u t z 6 , 1975.
who were teaching a l l of the upper classes in McAuliffe.
This arrangement held f o r the next two years, while the
plans f o r campus construction were firmed up. During t h a t
time, enrollm6nt increased t o seven hundred, much t o every-one's
pleasure.
Construction was started on the f i r s t of the new
generation of campus buildings in January of 1947, and
they had it ready for the opening of classes i n the following
september. The Park Place building was then leased to the
new University o f Bridgeport f o r the f a l l semester. F a i r f i e l d
administrators considered using it in l a t e r times f o r a d u l t
educatton and extension courses, but they a c t u a l l y never
returned. The University of Bridgeport continued its c l a s s e s
and o f f i c e s there with the exception of a semester or two
and f i n a l l y bought the building in 1952. 3 6
When the Japanese surrendered i n August of 1945, t w o
years before new buildings were available, Father Dolan
knew t h a t there would be an e a r l y increase in the number of
p o t e n t i a l college applicants, but the 1945-1946 academic
year began i n the u s u a l p a t t e r n . Two hundred and f i f t e e n
boys enrolled in t h e Preparatory School freshman class t h a t
year and they joined t h e o t h e r classes i n the annual three-day
retreat early i n October. These r e t r e a t s were a very
36. James H. Halsey to J. A. Dolan, January 22, 1948:
Provincial t o Dolan, February 1, 1948; Henry M-L
i t t l e f i e l d t o J. A. Dolan, April 5 , 1951, DoIan papers.
important part of the plan t o help students t o build a
meaningful s p i r i t u a l dimension in t h e i r lives.
S p e ~ i a l ~ r e a d i n gwse r e assigned. Thei r teacher s we r e
expected t o give written homework for the nights of the
r e t r e a t . Parents were notified of the plans and urged t o
help t h e i r sons t o concentrateon t h e i r religious education.
The f i r s t r e t r e a t day began a t 9:15 AM with Bible readings
i n assigned classrooms. A Mass followed, and then came the
f i r s t conference and consideration, a rest period, then a
s p i r i t u a l reading, the second conference and consideration,
an examination of conscience, and then a break for lunch.
A short afternoon session began with a Rosary and s p i r i t u a l
reading, then a t h i r d conference and consideration, and a
closing a t 1250 w i t h a Benediction-of the Most Blessed
Sacrament.
The second day was of similar pattern. The third day
began with two scheduled Masses, then followed the plan of
the other days, concluding with a Papal Blessing. In 1945,
the next day was a Friday, and it was declared a holiday. 3 7
Similar yearly events w e r e unique t o J e s u i t education
and were continued into the 1960s. They were based on a
thirty-day Ignatian s p i r i t u a l exercise still in use in
37. Retreat instructions, schedules, general l e t t e r t o
parents and notice t o teachers for 1945 and 1946
r e t r e a t s . Dolan papers.
r e t r e a t houses, and were part of the concept of educating
the whole man. These intensive periods of meditation,
study, asceticism, special lectures, and s p i r i t u a l
exercises we;e discontinued as a result of the ecumenical
movement following Vatican 11. They were replaced with
i n t e r - f a i t h services and other-programs aimed a t promoting
student-motivated i n t e r n a l s p i r i t u a l renewal. 3 8
The 1945 season produced some very good news in the
football arena. The team got off t o an auspicious start
with a 7 - 0 win over Rodger Ludlowe High, of F a i r f i e l d ,
followed by a 20 - 12 victory over Cranwell Prep., of
Lenox, Massachusetts. That Cranwell game was F a i r f i e l d ' s
f i r s t game a t home, and it celebrate& completion of the
new Alumni Field.
Constructed under the supervision of Father James D.
Loeffler, t h e f i e l d ' s f a c i l i t i e s included stands b u i l t of
oak from trees cut on the property, with a seating capacity
of 1,400 spectators. There was also a baseball diamond and
a quarter-mile cinder track. The dedication ceremonies w e r e
celebrated by Father Dolan on Friday, October 5, with the
whole student body in attendance. 39 After a twenty-four
hour rain forced postponement, the game was played on
Sunday, October 7 before a crowd of about three thousand-
38. Fr. Victor F. Leeber interview, January 9 , 1975.
39. -Pos t , October 6 , 1945.
The rest of the season matched the beginning, since
coach Tom ~ u r ~ h y t'esam l o s t only one game t h a t year. In
each of t h e p ~ e v i o u st h r e e ye a r s , they had won only one
game. Murphy coached the Fairfield Prep football and basket-b
a l l teams while working f u l l time for the Bridgeport Molded
Products Company. It became necessary for him t o concentrate
e n t i r e l y on business, following that triumphal year, and he
resigned a t the close of the '46 basketball season.
The radio workshop widened its f i e l d during the '45-'46
school year w i t h frequent dramatizations f o r t h e Angelus
Hour, broadcast statewide on Sunday afternoons by s t a t i o n s
i n Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford and
New London. 4 0
The ever-busy parent's club resumed t h e i r e f f o r t s with
fund and friend-raising p r o j e c t s , p a r t i c i p a t i o n in religious
a f f a i r s , the holding of open house in the new Park Place
building, and of lectures by men l i k e the Very Rev. Robert
J. Gannon, S.J., President of Fordham University.
On Tuesday, April 2, 1946, the heirs of a neighbor,
the Late Edward B. Morehouse, sold F a i r f i e l d h i s home and
eighteen acres of land for $28,500. It was the l a s t major
40. P-os t , March 24, 1946.
acquisition of land, completing the present campus and
f i l l i n g o u t t h e southeastern perimeter to the corner of
South Benson and Barlow Roads. 4 1
June, 1946, brought graduation for the ninety-nine
members of the first four-year class a t Prep and t h e t r a n s f e r
of its Principal, Fr. Leo A. Reilly. He had been a talented
man, endowed with good judgement, and was a person who ran
the School in accordance w i t h strict academic standards. 4 2
He became the Superior of Campion Hall, A J e s u i t r e t r e a t house
in North Andover, Massachusetts and was replaced by the Rev.
Walter E. Kennedy, S.J., newly returned from duty as an Army
Chaplin. 43
It was t o be a year of change in principals and teachers,
in construction, and in the b i r t h of the University. Until
1946, the e n t i r e operation had been handled by the J e s u i t s ,
but by then the Province could no longer f i n d p r i e s t s enough
t o cover airfield"^ growth and it became necessary t o h i r e
five lay teachers.
Fletcher-Thompson had drawn the plans for construction
of the f i r s t new building, and, by November 26, when t h e bids
were t o close, fund raising had s t a r t e d . Students and t h e i r
parents were arranging various benefit events. 4 4
41. Post, April 3, 1946.
42. T. A. Murphy interview, December 6 , 1974.
43. News, August 30, 1946.
44. Post, November 29, 1946 ; Bellannine ~ u a r t e r l y , Christmas
1945, pp- 62-72
Fr. Dolan's i n s p i r a t i o n a l e f f o r t s had worked. People
were s t a r t i n g to t a l k about a "Notre Dame of the ~ a s t , "
and they thought about outdoing Georgetown, Holy Cross,
Boston, Forham and the rest. 4 5
The successful bidder was the E & F Construction
Company, so, a f t e r a w a i t of two y e a r s , they were again
ready to start construction at F a i r f i e l d . Ground was
broken f o r t y f e e t w e s t of t h e McAuliffe a x i s on January 6,
1947, w i t h a crowd o f witnesses, and completion was nine
months away. The new building, Berchmans H a l l , would
contain twenty classrooms, o f f i c e s , l i b r a r y , c a f e t e r i a ,
k i t c h e n , and r e s i d e n t i a l q u a r t e r s f o r J e sui t f a ~ u l t y ?P~l a ns
f o r a second building were approved i n May. 47
To pay for them, a fund drive was organized under the
leadership of Stamford i n d u s t r i a l i s t , Col. Alphonse Donahue,
and Bridgeport newspaperman, Ray Flicker. 48 Their goal was
$800,000 and t h e i r organization was unusual. They l i t e r a l l y
r e c r u i t e d thousands of volunteers to go from door to door
throughout t h e ~ o u n t B~ut., ~u n~f o r t u n a t e l y , a s i n 1943, they
were again l i m i t e d t o F a i r f i e l d . Bishop McAuliffe had died,
and his successor, Bishop 0 'Brien , did not approve a wide-spread
campaign. O'Brien apparently thought of airfield
45. Post, May 18, 1947.
46. E, January 17, 1947.
47. J. J. McEleney to J. A. Dolan, May 1 4 , 1947, Dolan papers-
48. F a i r f i e l d University Building Fund Brochure, 1947, PP- 25-3(
49. p,,t, April 25, 27, 28, May 1, 2, 6 , June 1, 5 , 8 , 9 , 1947.
University as a s t r i c t l y local project, and he seemed
never to have shared Dolan's concept of it as a potentially
major educational i n s t i t u t i o n . A t the same time he was
urging everyone to support the Diocesan war r e l i e f program. 50
Even so, the Bishop gave Fairfield $5,000 and, in a letter
t o Colonel Donahue wrote: "I am deeply concerned w i t h the
success of this drive t o provide a Catholic education for the
young men of F a i r f i e l d county and I am sure t h a t you may
depend upon the whole hearted cooperation of the pastors of
that area. n51 The e f f e c t s of that limitation are unmeasurable,
but the $800,000 goal was not reached, and momentum for
extended growth f a i l e d t o develop. Both f a c t s a r e a l s o
explainable, however, in completely internal terms. The
campaign was extremely short, beginning May f i r s t and ending
in July. A t no time did it a t t r a c t r e a l l y major contributors.
The few l a r g e s t g i f t s ranged from $2,000 t o $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 ~b~u t they
needed donations in the $20,000 t o $100,000 bracket in order
t o reach their goal. Even so, within five years of its
establishment, F a i r f i e l d successfully achieved an amazing
concentration of volunteer e f f o r t and teamwork, probably
thanks to the intense Interest of the Bellarmine Clubs
and other friends. Organizational meetings were held
h every Fairfield Town. Newspaper s t o r i e s covered the
50. post May 5, 1947.
51. P-os t , June 25, 1947. : 52. - -Pbst, May 27; June 12, 18, 1947.
preparations in detail. Fr. Dolan, Fr. Kennedy, and the
campaign leaders spent tremendous mounts of t i m e and
e f f o r t to get to a l l together. Endorsements were given
by Monsignor .&ton J. Sheen, Senator Thomas odd,'^ and
others. The b e n e f i t s of Holy Cross t o Worcester, and
t h e assumed b e n e f i t s of F a i r f i e l d t o F a i r f i e l d were
publicized.54 As the campaign went on i n t o June o f 1947,
Bridgeport was tackled by committees of volunteers on an
e l e c t i o n d i s t r i c t basis. Some three thousand people were
set to contact 25,000 p o s s i b l e donors. A t the end of May,
an open house was held at the F a i r f i e l d Campus, a t t r a c t i n g
an estimated twenty-five hundred cars. 55 The graduating
prep s e n i o r s unanimously volunteered t h e i r s e r v i c e s i n the
campaign, and the commencement speaker, Chief Justice
Edmund W. Flynn of the S t a t e of Rhode I s l a n d , gave $100. 5 6
Nevertheless, the fund r a i s i n g was not going well. News-paper
stories constantly spoke of "encouraging r e p o r t s , "
but they mentioned no numbers u n t i l mid-June when they
announced that the $50,000 mark had been passed.57 BY
then, the steel skeleton of t h e new building was up and
the roof on. The construction men, almost one hundred of
them, each contributed a day's pay.58
53. Post, June 2, 5, 1947.
54. Post, May 9, 1 0 , 1 2 , 1947.
55. Post, June 2, 1947.
56. P-ost, June 9 , 11, 13, 1947. 57. Sunday Post, June 21, 1947.
58. Sunday Post, July 27, 1947.
In May, Fr. Dolan had written to the Provincial,
" W i t h the newly chartered Bridgeport UniverSity (formerly
Junior college) j u s t now s t i c k i n g its head above the
horizon with the prospect of t h e i r own drive t h i s coming
f a l l , we have had to emphasize J e s u i t education as the
keynote o f our own community dr ive. ., 159
Despite any discouragement with the fund r e t u r n s , plans
went ahead for t h e second building, t h i s one to be located
f o r t y feet e a s t of the McAuliffe axis. Ground was broken i n
~ u g u s t . O~n~ t h e 20th, the Pr e s ident wrote t o Fr . McEleney
asking that a man be assigned for a t h r e e q o n t h s t i n t t o work
on the drive f u l l t i m e . On the twenty-fourth, McEleney told
him t h a t he would try, although success was unlikely. Nothing
came of it.61 News coverage dropped off t o zero, and e f f o r t s
s h i f t e d back t o various b e n e f i t events, plus the "Buy a Brick"
campaigns i n which donors exchanged paper d o l l a r s f o r paper
bricks. 6 2
Fr. Dolan is given major c r e d i t for financing these
buildings w i t h loans from Boston bankers. H i s connections
are untraceable but he had ample time during h i s career a t
Boston College and at Provincial Headquarters to c u l t i v a t e
59. J. A. Dolan t o J. J. McEleney, May 30, 1947. Dolan papers-
60. Telegram, August 21, 1947; Post, August 24, 1947.
61. J. A. Dolan t o J. J. ~ c ~ l e n e y , u ~ u2s0t, 1947; J - J -
McEleney t o J. A. Dolan, ~ u g u s t2 4 , 1947, Dolan paper s .
62. J. A. Dolan general memo, November 15, 1948; Dolan Papers. News, November 11, 1948; IIerald, November 1 4 , 1948.
such associations. Two or three ??en came down to Fair-f
i e l d , satisfied themselves about the operation, and made
loans a t rate's of one percent, mainly on the basis of
personal conviction about the m a n with whom they were
dealing. The Rector repaid those loans before he l e f t
in 1 9 5 1 . ~ ~
There had been other preparations for the opening of
the College of Arts & Sciences. In March, Fr. McEleney
wrote Fr. Dolan to say that he had been "thinking about
your Dean, and found. your man in Fr. Laurence Langguth. *a64
The l a t t e r was, of course, already a t Fairfield. He had
been there almost from the start, had established and
equipped the Prep Physics Departrent, and had been a key
man in getting together the equipzent f o r the Radio Work-shop.
6 5
The college curriculm was a transplantation of the
systems a t Holy Cross and Boston College. Choices were
limited, but one could select a pre-med program, or take
a B.S. or an A.B. sequence. The l a t t e r then called for
a t l e a s t two years of Latin, but in time that requirement
63. L. C. Langquth interview, Jhnuary 13, 1975.
J. A. Walsh interview, January 13, 1975.
64. J. J. McElene-v t o J. A. Dol&?, March 1 0 , 1947:
Sunday Post, March 30, 1947.
65. T. A. Murphy interview, Decernber 6 , 1974.
was t o be dropped e n t i r e l y . The degrees of Bachelor of
Social Science and Bachelor of Business Administration w e r e
also available u n t i l the mid-sixties. The only major
d i s t i n c t i o n lay i n the omission of the c l a s s i c s from the
latter degrees so, as the emphasis on t h e c l a s s i c s decreased,
it became reasonable t o award e i t h e r the A. B. or B. S. to
all graduates. 6 6
In 1949, Dean Langguth wrote, "The school stands four-square
i n the conviction that the best medium of learning is
the l i b e r a l arts, t h a t the best mental discipline is still t o
be gained from those subjects which teach a young man nothing
more useful than how to l i v e a f u l l Christian l i f e , richly
dowered with the experiences of t h e p a s t , acstely alive to
the present, and working with burning hope for the future."
Over half of the curriculum consisted of languages, history,
mathematics, philosophy, physical and social sciences, and
religion. Two years were given to studying English Literature,
Composition, and one of the modern foreign languages. Religion
was t o be included through a l l four years. The Bachelor of
Arts degree required a minimum of two years of Latin and
additional work e i t h e r in Greek or Mathematics. 6 7
66. L. C. Langguth interview, January 13, 1975;
V. F. Leeber interview, January 9, 1974.
67. F a i r f i e l d University, MS. i n Fairfield University
Library, signed by L. C. Langquth, January 2 3 , 1949-
As they made plans for the assignment of J e s u i t
faculty members i n the s t a t u s f o r 1947-1948, the men in
Boston and airfield were remembering the faculty standards
i n the college accreditation requirements-68 Dolan knew the
importance of those early placements and he wrote:
In submitting my suggestions f o r t h e College Freshman
C l a s s teachers s t a t u s , I am not wanting in appreciation of
your major problems i n this regard. It w a s t h i s considera-tion
t h a t prompted the e a r l i e r suggestion about a lighter
requirement of J e s u i t representation on the College Freshman
faculty. In t h i s I was in e r r o r a s the more accurate grasp
of our needs in the l i g h t of prescribed standards and future
accreditation has brought me to realize.
The Connecticut State Board of Education s p e c i f i c a l l y
requires a t l e a s t the Master's degree in specialized f i e l d s
for the college teachers, as you may know. Fr. Langguth and
I are making every possible e f f o r t to get competent and
accredited laymen f o r the College Freshman faculty, but with
very little success thus f a r . 69
Subsequently, twenty-seven J e s u i t s were drawn from other
posts and assigned to the new university.
The f i r s t college class was mainly made up of veterans
and P a i r f i e l d Prep graduates, most of whom lived in the near
v i c i n i t y . The eighty out-of-town students took rooms i n
l o c a l private homes, each of which had been approved by the
administration a f t e r inspections by two of the J e s u i t s .
Again, everyone was very encouraged by the enrollment, over
852 boys i n four classes at the Prep and m o r e than 300
68. J. Maxwell to J. k1. Dolan, May 2 4 , 1947.
69. J. H. Dolan to J. J. McEleney, May 30, 1947.
freshmen i n the c0lle~e.70 They had t o share space in
Berchmans and McAuliffe f o r a year, but it was a r e l a t i v e l y
comfortable brotherly arrangement.
When the f i r s t college year was over, Dean Langguth
was pleasantly surprised at what the class had accomplished.
He found s p i r i t and i n i t i a t i v e t o be t h e i r outstanding
q u a l i t i e s , and pointed t o examples l i k e the G l e e Club, which
began casually i n January and caught on immediately, a t t r a c t -
ing forty-five men who practiced throughout the semester
under t h e d i r e c t i o n of Simon Harak, of Derby, with the
assistance of faculty moderator Father John P. Murray. Then
too, there was a student government, a l l organized and
attempting a constitution: and a pick-up basketball team,
hurriedly put together t o appear i n a l o c a l b e n e f i t tourna-ment
and then golng on t o several other club and exhibition
games. 71 The Provincial t o l d them t o sponsor intr'murals,
' rather than -inter-collegiate s p o r t s , but he was persuaded t o
change his mind in time for the college to f i e l d a basketball
team in the f a l l of 1948. 72
College faculty members of that era r e f e r to the veterans
i n superlatives. Men came home wanting education and found
70. Telegram, August 16, 1947; Herald, August 17, 1947:
Sunday P-1 ost September 28, 1947; J. J. McEleney t o
J. A. Dolan, March 10, 1947; ~dmissions 1nstxUction Sheets
1947.
71. Untitled undated clipping from Nov.-Dec. of '48 or possibly
e a r l y ' 4 9 . T-he Fulcrum (Fa i r f i e l d Student ~ a p e r )Ma2~1 1 19'
72. J. J. McEleney t o J. K. Dolan, May 1 4 , 1947; N e w s ,
October 7, 1948.
t h a t F a i r f i e l d had grown up next door. They had a sense of
maturity and resolve t h a t helped to launch the University
on a more d e h s i v e and purposeful level than it might have
reached otherwise. They produced a l a s t i n g impression of
determination, drive, and disciplined p u r s u i t of objectives
t h a t carried the younger students along. This was such a
strong f a c t o r that its influence w a s f e l t clear through the
decade of the f i f t i e s .
The onset o f t h e Korean War, i n June of 1950, produced
some short-lived apprehension about the prospects for the
University, but there was no drop-off i n admissions, a f t e r
all. When the war ended i n July of 1953, the wave of World
W a r I1 veterans was just subsiding, and the new surge of
ex-soldiers reinforced the e a r l i e r pattern. 73
Nursing education,although not organized as a
Baccalaureate Degree program u n t i l 1970, f i r s t came on the
scene in July of 1947. The S i s t e r s of S t . Raphael's
Hospital, New Haven, and St. Vincent's, of Bridgeport,
were i n t e r e s t e d i n having such a prograii for t h e i r nursing
students. The Rector passed t h a t inquiry along t o Boston,
but the response was not favorable. 74 There was concern
73- L. C. Langguth interview January 13, 1975; J. A- Walsh
interview, January 13, 1975; News, september 18, 1953;
V. F. Leeber int e rvi ew, ~ a n u a r 9s,9 75; airfield
University Student Yearbook, the i.lanor, 1957, P- 46-
Hereafter c i t e d as Manor.
74- J. J. McEleney t o J. K. Dolan, July 29, 1947, and
January 13, 1948.
about over-extending s t a f f , about co-education, and about
finances. The Provincial pointed out t h a t there were
heavy financis1 needs elsewhere in the Province and t h a t
F a i r f i e l d was t a l k i n g about expansion while it was still
unable t o pay i t s Province tax.. 75 The q u e s t i o n simmered
q u i e t l y f o r another year.
The summer of '48 saw a pleasant diversion i n the start
of a f i v e year program of "Pops" concerts at AlumniField,
an arrangement sought by the Connecticut Symphony Association
to aid their finances. A music s h e l l was quickly b u i l t and
singers V i c Damone and Regina Ilesnik opened the s e r i e s on
July second t o an audience of about 7,000. 76 Reviews were
more than e n t h u s i a s t i c , and f i v e more programs w e r e staged
t h a t summer. These had no connection with F a i r f i e l d except
t h a t the campus provided a good n a t u r a l s e t t i n g and a
convenient location. They resulted i n a great d e a l o f f r e e
advertising and a t t r a c t e d 28,202 v i s i t o r s who carried away
r a t h e r pleasant impressions of the place. 7 7
Construetion of the new building, Xavier H a l l , was
rushed t o completion at the end of September, i n time t o
serve the freshman and sophomore University classes. It
75. J. J. McEleney t o J. K. Dolan, May 14, 1947; February
1, 1948; February 12, 1948.
76. Post, July 3, 1948.
77. P-r ost October 2 3 , 1948.
included twenty c l a s s rooms, six laboratories, faculty
and administrative o f f i c e s , a book s t o r e , a c a f e t e r i a , and
a reading rcum. 78 The l a t t e r was considered f o r a l i b r a r y
or a chapel, w i t h Dean Langguth favoring the l a t t e r f o r
reasons of s p i r i t and economy. 7 9
The increased enrollment brou9ht new need f o r added
faculty. There were almost 1,000 boys a t Prep and 541 in
the ~ r e s hma na nd Sophomore Unive r s i ty c l a s s e s . go The
Student Council resumed work on the proposed c o n s t i t u t i o n ,
keeping a t .it through the f a l l and i n t o the winter. On
March 8, 1949 they completed the job and were ready to take
it to t h e student body.81 F i r s t , the d r a f t needed admin-i
s t r a t i v e approval, and t h a t produced an i n t e r e s t i n g
response.
The President's view was bluntly put, and illuminating.
He wrote,
I think t h a t the whole fundamental concept of t h i s
document is wrong. It would s e e m t o be based on the concept
of a college which is a democratic i n s t i t u t i o n in which the
students have c e r t a i n r i g h t s with regard t o administration.
The student body of a college does not form a corporate
personality with any r i g h t s i n the administration of the
college. Moreover, the President of a college does not
78. N-, September 23, 1948.
79. L. C. Langguth to J. H. Dolan, August 28, 1948-
80. Hartford Catholic rans script , September 16 , 194 8;
L. C. Langquth t o Rev. Ar thur J. Sheehan, S - J -I
October 9 , 1948, Dolan papers.
81. N x , October 7, 1948, November 11, 1948, and March 10 r
1949; Herald, November 28, 1948, and ~ecember 12, 1948;
-Pr o s t January 1 4 , 1949; Fulcrum, March 4 , 1949-
delegate any portion of his administrative authority to
t h e students.
Student government was o r i g i n a l l y i n s t i t u t e d with
t h e idea of developing maturity in the handling of a f f a i r s
of the college'by the student. More or l e s s as a consequence
of a l l the loose t a l k going on i n the country today about the
democratic way of life, the concept has been e s s e n t i a l l y
changed to such a degree t h a t i n many colleges now the
student body has come t o believe.that it has a r i g h t to the
a c t u a l government and administration of a college. 82
This analysis could not have been discussed w i t h the
Student Council, and did not represent a consensus within
the administration, b u t t h e V e r y Reverend James H. Dolan was
the Rector, the President, and the ex-Provincial. The power
of decision was h i s , very much as it would have been f o r a
s h i p ' s captain.
During the save i n t e r v a l , undergraduates w e r e shaving
i n i t i a t i v e i n other ways. Many were curious about t h e use
of t h e twenty d o l l a r student a c t i v i t i e s fee. Someone posted
n o t i c e s beginning, "Bow can anyone manage to buy three card
t a b l e s , fourteen folding c h a i r s and six nondescript benches
(too high t o sit a t , too low to stand at) f o r more than
$ 1 0 , 0 0 ~ . "D~e~a n and f a c u l t y explained t h a t t h e money had
been l a r g e l y used f o r t h e l i b r a r y , but t h a t answer j u s t
modified the problem.
Father Dolan attacked these two issues together. The
82. J. 8. Dolan comnentary, March 11, 1949, Dolan papers-
83. L. C. Lanqguth t o J. H. Dolan, November 3, 1948,
Dolan papers.
Student Council waited i n suspense as the weeks went by and
then, late i n May, t h e Rector met with them. It was a
r a t h e r masterly demonstration. He suggested t h a t they do
more i n v e s t i g a t i n g . He thought they could see what had
been done about student c o n s t i t u t i o n s a t Holy Cross, Boston
College, Fordham, and Georgetown. When they had done that,
they could then draw up a document based on " t r a d i t i o n " .
He d e f i n i t e l y s t a t e d t h a t a c o n s t i t u t i o n is not necessary
f o r t h e present, b u t t h a t something should be possible i n
f o u r y e a r s t i m e , and so it stood u n t i l 1953.
Changing the s u b j e c t , Father Dolan assured the Council
t h a t every d o l l a r of t h e student a c t i v i t i e s fee was being
spent on student a c t i v i t i e s alone, and apparently t h a t
a s s e r t i o n was enough. Dolan closed the meeting with comments
about plans for an expanded slate of e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s
f o r t h e coming year and left behind a very e n t h u s i a s t i c set
of young men. 84
That outcome was n o t s u r p r i s i n g , i n its context.
Students must have regarded t h e Rector with a mixture of
r e s p e c t , f e a r and awe. He was a r e l a t i v e l y remote f i g u r e ,
t o them, and d i s c i p l i n e was an i n s t i t u t i o n a l watchword.
Student regulations governed dress and behavior i n d e t a i l
and were to be enforced by a l l f a c u l t y members and a Prefect
84. Fulcrum, May 20, 1949.
of Discipline. In the early years, students enjoyed a
f e e l i n g o f being a special group. There was a sense of the
unusual in t h e i r s t a t u s at F a i r f i e l d , and they a l l knew that
they w e r e obligated to meet both academic and personal
expectations or face expulsion. *' A t the same time, there
was a closeness and a concern for one another t h a t created
a kind of supportive family-like atmosphere.
The Jesuits had an enormous investment i n the ancient
t r a d i t i o n s aimed at educating boys for righteous living,
and a very strong element of t h a t , in practice, was a daily
training in obedience to established standards of conduct.
In another example, some years l a t e r , students were banging
cups and plates on the Dining Room tables, to express them-selves
about the food, when the Dean, Fr. Joe McCormick,
simply walked the length of the h a l l , not looking at anyone,
but thumbing each table out, l i k e a baseball umpire, and
each group l e f t the room quietly. 86 It was in the same
context t h a t , during. March of 1948, the a h i n i s t r a t i o n
established a system of detailed student personality and
character estimates' t o be completed by t h e i r teachers and
included i n their records with grades and other information.
It was thought t h a t these evaluations would be helpful in
85. Rev. Thomas Murphy, S. J. interview, December 6, 1974.
86. Rev. Janes H. Coughlin, S. J. , interview, November 27 I
1974.
writing referrals t o graduate schools or to prospective
employers. 87
Basketball and football have always been the dominant
sports at the Prep, but at the University, basketball has
never been challenged as the premier varsity sport.
Basketball got off to an inmediate start during the 1947
season w i t h intramurals and a short improvised schedule of
exhibitions, benefits, and games with minor teams.
In '48 the University undertook the game in earnest;
found a coach in Joseph V. Dunn, coach and Supervisor of
Athletics a t the Bridgeport Brass Company; organized a
squad; and lined up a twenty-three game schedule.88 Included
w e r e meetings with Providence College and St. Francis, two
perennial leaders. They l o s t those two games and twelve others
but they managed t o finish with nine wins before the season
was over.
The home games were played a t the State Armory in
Bridgeport, and attention to expenses was s t r i c t . One of
the Jesuits would be detailed to attend the game, and he
always made sure that he got the b a l l a t the end. Basketballs
87. News, ~ p r i l1 4 , 1 9 4 9 . Copy of assessment guidel ines ,
Dolan papers.
88. I-lews, October 7, 1948: P-ost , October 31, 1948; Sunday Herald, November 7, 1948.
c o s t ten d o l l a r s , and it was necessary to make a s p e c i a l t r i p
up to see the Rector f o r the money whenever another b a l l was
lost. 89 Aft:? t h e season ended, a campus c o n t e s t produced
t h e nickname "Red Stag", and the "Stag" p a r t has stuck ever
s i n c e .
The question of Nursing education came up again i n
1948. S i s t e r Frances at St. Vincent's and S i s t e r F l o r i t a
at St. Raphael's w e r e both still eager t o have F a i r f i e l d
provide a degree course f o r their undergraduate nursing
students. They f e l t that a s p e c i f i c understanding would
s i g n i f i c a n t l y heighten the appeal of t h e i r programs, enabling
them to attract more top-level applicants. 9 0
There were many d i f f i c u l t questions of l o c a t i o n ,
curriculum, s t a f f i n g , l o g i s t i c s , and purpose, but t h e s e were
resolved and program announcements w e r e made. Classes were
scheduled to meet on week-day afternoons from February 7th
to June 3rd, between 3:15 and 5 : 0 0 , i n lecture rooms at the
St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing. I n t h e f i r s t
semester, courses i n R e l i g i o n , English L i t e r a t u r e and
Composition, Educational Psychology, Elementary French, and
Elementary Spanish w e r e offered. Fees were set a t $14.00 Per
semester hour. 91
89. N-, March 17, 1949; 1949-1950 F a i r f i e l d ~ a s k e t b a l l
Brochure. V. F. Leeber interview, January 9, 1975 -
90. L. C. Lanqguth t o J. H. Dolan, December 5, 1948.
91. Post, January 19, 1949; News, February 3, 1949,
Course Annou-ncement and ~ p p l i c a t i o n forms January 1949-
When word of t h i s reached Boston, The Provincial
asked f o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n of the plans and emphasized his
reservations about establishing any kind of a University
School of ~ u r s i n9~2 . The F a i r f i e l d p r i e s t s wrote lengthy
letters, carefully explaining the arrangements and
assuring Fr. McEleney t h a t everyone understood t h a t there
was no committment o r present intention t o e s t a b l i s h a
University School of Nursing, even though the Hospitals
c l e a r l y hoped t h a t t h i s would soon come about. 9 3
Fr. Langguth wrote, "They so clearly understand t h i s
t h a t they consider the present arrangement only a very
t e n t a t i v e and inadequate answer t o what they consider t h e i r
r e a l need. "94 Apparently t h a t cleared the a i r , because the
program went ahead on t h a t basis between 1949 and the l a t e
1950s. In 1951, the question of s t a r t i n g a F a i r f i e l d University
School of Nursing was answered i n the negative for a t h i r d time,
and t h e r e a f t e r t h e enterprise slowly ran down t o an end. 9 5
Meanwhile. decisions had t o be made about the curriculum
for the Junior and Senior College years, especially regarding
a s l a t e of electives. A list of forty-two p o s s i b l e s u b j e c t s
was drawn up. Each student selected two from the list, and
92. J. J. McEleney t o J. H. Dolan, January 18, 1949 and
January 28, 1949.
93. J. H. Dolan to J. J. McEleney, January 30, 1949.
94. L. C. Langguth t o J. J. McEleney, January 30, 1949-
95. L. C. Langquth t o Rev. Joseph D. Fitzgerald, S.J.,
August 15, 1951; J. D. Fitzgerald t o L. C. ~angguth,
August 31, 1951, and October 6 , 1951.
c l a s s e s w e r e t o be held f o r those courses a t t r a c t i n g f i f t e e n
or more men. 96 Majors w e r e offered in Accounting, Biology,
Business Management, English, History, Mathematics, Economics,
Education, Pre'Law , Pre-Medicine , Physics, and Sociology.
Juniors e l e c t i n g any of these subjects had t o f i t t h e i r
major courses i n t o a schedule aiready loaded with a core
bloc of Philosophy almost large enough t o c o n s t i t u t e a major
i n itself. Philosophy, along with Latin and Greek, were
the b a s i c s of J e s u i t education. A student did not start
Philosophy u n t i l the Junior year, and then he took a set
sequence, with a t l e a s t two courses running concurrently.
Dean Langguth wrote t h a t ,
Perhaps the most d i s t i n c t i v e common feature of the c u r r i c u l a
is the large share of emphasis given t o the study o f system-a
t i c philosophy. A s much as twenty-eight semester hours of
c r e d i t i n the Junior and Senior years are given over to t h i s
f i e l d i n a l l the programs. It commences with an analysis of
the rules of correct t h i n k i n g , then proceeds t o an examination
of the v a l i d i t y of our sources of knowledge from sense
perception t o a b s t r a c t reasoning. Once t h e r u l e s have been
l a i d and the p o s s i b i l i t y of c e r t a i n knowledge assured, the
student is ready f o r general metaphysics, the broad general
p r i n c i p l e s (of) which underlie a l l being and all existence.
Next these are p a r t i c u l a r i z e d t o the Supreme Being i n Natural
Theology, t o l i v i n g things beneath man i n I n f e r i o r Psychology.
t o man a s a u n i t of society in general and S p e c i a l E t h i c s .
It is an extensive amount of t i m e t o devote t o a s i n g l e
f i e l d ; i n the all-important Junior and Senior years; but the
f a c u l t y is confident t h a t t h e time is p r o f i t a b l y employed if
it teaches him a way of l i v i n g , individually and a s a member
3 6 - N- cws, January 1 3 , 1919; Po s t , January 1 4 , 1949.
of society, in which he appreciates the b~oader principles
which transcend the f f e l d of h i s special i n t e r e s t , and the
neglect of which brings such d i r e consequences as we have
seen t o the human family.97
While curricular d e t a i l s were under study, the University
was also exploring in two other inportant directions. Pre-parations
were being made for a S m e r School session in 1949
t o run for six weeks, s t a r t i n g early in July. Freshman and
Sophomore level courses were t o be open to undergraduates
from any college and could be taken with or without credit.
Students from twenty-eight schools attended. *
Secondly, the seed of the Graduate School of Education
was planted. A r e t i r e d New York City School administrator,
Dr. Maurice E. Rogalin, of Vrestport, frequently v i s i t e d
F a i r f i e l d t o urge the establishrent of teacher-development
courses. He was aware of the pressures on secondary school
teachers for yearly professional self-improvement, and he
was convinced that Fairfield could f i l l a need there. He
found an advocate in the new Dean, The Reverend W. Edmund
Fitzgerald, S.J.
Fr. Fitzgerald had been Rector of Cheverus Classfcal
Htgh, of Portland, Maine. He was named Dean a t Fairfield
93. Fafrfr'eld Unfversfty, PS. in Fairfield University Ll'brary.
98. Herald, March 27, 1949; News, April 28, 1949 and June 2 1
1949; Sunda Post, June 1 9 , 1 9 4 9 , and July 17, 1949;
Summer d G h u r e .
i n June of 1949 t o help cope with the demands of continuing
growth. Fr. Langguth, who had held the post for the previous
two years, had'.become heavily involved in admissions work.
Now he gave that his main a t t e n t i o n , becoming Dean of Fresh-men
and Admissions.
The idea of providing education courses excited Fr.
Fitzgerald, and he evidently offered the Rector some
convincing arguments, and plans were pushed ahead.99
On September 11, 1949, the Bridgeport Sunday P a
reported, "The teacher training program has been developed
and it is the hope of the University t o make it a f r u i t f u l
source of competent and w e l l trained candidates for the
teaching profession." The Bridgeport P-ost f o r September 20
and the Bridgeport Telegram for September 2 1 announced,
"Maurice E. Rogalin, of Westport, a graduate of Columbis
and Fordham, who has held a number of executive positions
in the New York City School system, and was Assistant Dean
of the Graduate School of Education a t Fordham," was hired
t o rui F a i r f i e l d ' s new education department.
The a r r i v a l of the man who is now the Dean was reported
by the papers in those same releases. Robert F. P i t t , of
Bridgeport, a graduate of New Haven State Teachers College
99. L. C. Langguth interview, January 13, 1975.
Sunday Herald, June 26, 1949; Sundav Post, June 26 t 1949;
Telegram, June 27, 1949; Post, June 27, 1949; Stag
( F a i r f i e l d Student Paper) -ember 23, 1949; catholic
Transcript, September 22, 1949.
and Fordham, had joined the University administration as
Registrar. P i t t became Dean of the Graduate School of
Education i n 1967. loo
Four months later, t h e news was spread t h a t , beginning
on February 6. 1950, F a i r f i e l d University would start more
than twenty graduate courses i n Education, with c r e d i t t o
be offered i n f u l f i l l m e n t of requirement f o r e i t h e r the
Bachelors o r Masters degrees. 101
Spring courses were arranged t o f i t in with the University
summer school so t h a t students could continue t h e i r work
without i n t e r r u p t i o n . The system w a s designed to a s s i s t
elementary and secondary school teachers working in grades
seven through twelve who wanted "to renew t h e i r work i n s p e c i a l
s u b j e c t s , who wish to complete courses f o r f u r t h e r professional
requirements o r to prepare f o r supervisory or administrative
p o s i t i o n s . Special courses have been planned for p r i n c i p a l s
and teachers in Administration, Supervision, and Guidance. ,, 102
The education courses i n Administration and Guidance were
taught on Saturday mornings by Dr. Rogalin and Dr. Thomas J.
Quirk, P r i n c i p a l of Hartford Public High School and President
Of the Connecticut P r i n c i p a l ' s Association. The general
100. Sunday -Po s t , September 11, 1949; Po s t , September 28, 1 g 4 9 ;
Catholic Transcript, September 22,1949.
101. Catholic T r a n s c r i p t , January 12, 1950 ; Sunday Post t
January 15, 1950; "Extension Division B u l l e t i n , S p r i n ~
Semester" 1950.
102. Catholic Transcript, Septm3er 22, 1949; and January 1 2 , 1950 -
l i b e r a l a r t s courses were given on weekday afternoons
by the regular f a c u l t y of the college. With t h a t , still
another s i g n s i c a n t beginning was made.
As these plans were going ahead i n F a i r f i e l d , f u r t h e r
change was set i n motion i n Rome. Pope Pius XI1 chose the
Very Rev. John J. McEleney, S.J., t o become the new Bishop
of Jamaica, B r i t i s h W e s t Indies. Dolan was temporarily
c a l l e d back t o Boston as Vice-Provincial, and W. E. Fitzgerald
added the d u t i e s of Acting President and Rector of F a i r f i e l d
to those of his post as Dean. 103
So, the foundations were put down during 1941, and by
the end of the decade these men had created an educational
gramework incorporating most of t h e u n i t s present today. \
\,
The i n s t i t u t i o n had grown from nothing t o a student body of
970 i n t h e Prep School and 700 at the University. The two
w e r e run by a s t a f f of ninety-one men earning s a l a r i e s
ranging from $2,000 t o $3,500 i n an operating budget of
$668,718. 10 4
The founding leaders had finished t h e i r work here and
l e f t , although Father Dolan would return b r i e f l y in '50-'51.
H i s imposing development plan had a l a s t i n g e f f e c t on
103. P o s t , February 21, 1950; Post, February 25, 1950:
Telegram-, February 2 2 , 1 9 5 T s u n d a y ~ e r a l d ,F ebruary 26 t
1950; Sunday Post, February 26, 1950: Stag, arch 1, 1950-
104. Telegram, September 16, 1949; post, September 20, 1949;
L i s t of personnel, f i e l d s , and salaries for 1949-1950:
Stag, March 1, 1950. ~ r e a s u r e r ' s monthly r e p o r t s ,
July 1949 - June 1950.
rnstetutional expansion. Much had been accomplished.
Berchmans and Xavier had joined the old family mansions to
form a l i t t l e campus. The Province of New England had a
well-established and productive new growth center outside
of the Old Worcester-Boston mainline. Men who thought
of themselves as pioneers were looking ahead t o their senior
year in college. These people were personally involved in
helping to build something valuable, and they were, themselves,
the beneficiaries of a unique heritage through that experience.
The s t y l e of education and l i f e applying for those
f i r s t classes was beginning t o change. There was a settling-in,
a sense of fulfillment. The Preparatory School was already
old. Freshmen in 1950 would have been only five years old
when the f i r s t class entered in 1942. Some graduates had
gone to war: some t o religious orders. Others were through
college and into t h e i r careers. A few had found death.
S t i l l , everyone knew there was room for growing. Most
of the two hundred acres were still as rural as ever. College
and Prep students had just stopped sharing buildings. I n a
November letter, the President told the Director of the State
Department of ducat ion, "1n accordance with the recommendation,
accompanying the survey report of the Examining Committee,
we have relocated the college library on the f i r s t floor of
Xavier Hall, the buElding now used restrictively by the
college. The new set-up of separate reading and stack
rooms is giving general satisfaction to the faculty and
students. This arrangement releases the library i n
10 5
Berchmans H a l l for the use of the Prep School students.'
Such were the signs of development that also signaled room
for additional improvement. Auspiciously, 1950 was a
Holy Year, the twenty-fifth in the 650 year series going
back t o 1300.
105. J. H. Dolan to Dr. Henry C. Herge, November 29, 1949;
Stag, September 23, 1949.
CHAPTER I1
FITZGERALDS
During the 1950s there was a Fitzgerald a t the helm
in F a i r f i e l d in a l l but one year. Looking back a t it,
the Fitzgerald decade leaves an impression of calm, of
an era when faculty and students both knew what a Jesuit
education was, knew what they were doing, knew why, and
knew t h a t t h i s was e s s e n t i a l l y what they wanted. There
is a sense of space and of t i m e about the f i f t i e s . Men
w e r e busy, the work was being done, but t h e pace was,
somehow, more measured than it had been before, or would
be afterward.
, Changes and improvenents in faculty, equipment, re-search,
and academic procedure, and increases in the
undergraduate and Education Division student body happened
q u i e t l y , gradually, almost as unremarked as a r i s i n g night-t
i d e . The men who taught and the men who studied both
worked under the usual performance pressures of a normal
academic year, but there is a sense that the Fairfield
under the Fitzgeralds was expanding, building its strength,
getting ready for an unknown but welcome future in many
ways t h a t were less obvious than its new construction
program.
Some bf those changes occurred almost imperceptibly
in the course of day-to-day a f f a i r s . A few of them can
be seen in the occasional assignment of projects to the
direction of a lay faculty member rather than t o a J e s u i t ; 1
or the hiring of a new teacher who had not been Jesuit-educated;
or in the establishment of a l a y f a c u l t y club. 2
That was just a social organism then, but it produced the
connections f o r the s t a r t of faculty governance, years
later, in the Faculty Council.
Other changes were very deliberately sought. During
the spring of 1950, arrangements were made for a review
of the offerings i n Education in order to get approval
f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n by the State Board of Education.
Fitzgerald, Roqalin, and Quirk worked with Dr. Edward A.
Ricciuti, a Waterbury school psychologist, and with s t a t e
o f f i c i a l s , t o chart programs i n elementary education,
secondary education, guidance, and administration and
supervision. A six-nan inspection committee under D r .
Henry C. Herge, Chief of the Bureau of Higher Education
and Teacher Certification, v i s i t e d F a i r f i e l d In April.
They reported back favorably and, about eight weeks l a t e r ,
the Dean had n o t i f i c a t i o n of approval in a l e t t e r from the
1. Carmen Donnaruma interview, February 25, 1975-
2. C. Donnaruma interview, February 25, 1975-
Commissioner of Education. The following year, Dr.
Herge enhanced the s t a t u r e of the department by joining
it as a l e c t u r e r . H i s presence gave the faculty " j u s t
the necessary approval i n the eyes of the teachers t o
strengthen it a l l the more ,"4 and he developed strong
sentimental ties t h a t l a s t e d even a f t e r he had moved on
t o Rutgers.
The importance of s t a t e and regional recognition was
f u l l y known and appreciated. In January of 1951, the
Connecticut Bar Examining Cornittee confirmed the curriculum
of the College of Arts and Sciences as approved preparation
for work at any Connecticut school of law.5 In March, the
New York S t a t e Department of Education issued s i m i l a r
approval making it possible f o r F a i r f i e l d graduates t o
earn d i r e c t admission to graduate and professional schools
i n t h a t state.6 Full a c c r e d i t a t i o n would come two years
later.
The J e s u i t s also d e l i b e r a t e l y sought growth. One of
the most c o n s i s t e n t threads across F a i r f i e l d ' s f i r s t t h i r t y
years was the continuing J e s u i t struggle f o r physical
expansion. Throughout t h o s e y e a r s , administrators seldom
stopped thinking about building. W. Edmund Fitzgerald was
3. Stag, November 8, 1951; Post, June 26, 1950; S t a g ,
Mav 3. 1952.
4. W. E..yitzgerald t o J. H. Dolan, September 27, 1951;
Stag, September 27, 1951.
5. Post, February 9, 1951; St+g, May 3 , 1952.
6 . Stag, March 21, 1951.
only actfng Presfdent from February t o October of 1950,
but he was no exception. The problem of housing f o r
Undergraduaees i n the College of Arts and Sciences was
r e a l and present. The system of boarding homes had been
extended about as f a r as it could go. Enrollment was
increasing year by year, and the administration wanted it
t o grow even more. In July, Father Fitzgerald wrote t o
Dr. Ormond E. Loomis, Administrator of the Federal
Educational Housing and Home Finance Agency, about the
p o s s i b i l i t y of a million-dollar loan for dormitory
construction, under the Housing Act of 1950. H e followed
up w i t h letters t o Connecticut Senators Brien McMahon
and William en ton.^ Two dormitories w e r e planned, but
the f i g h t i n g i n Korea sidetracked any arrangements. Before
the end of J u l y , Father Fitzgerald had a letter from
John Russell, Director of the Division of Higher Education
i n the Federal Security Administration, saying t h a t a
P r e s i d e n t i a l order, "suspends for the time being committ-ments
f o r d i r e c t loans for construction of housing by
educational i n s t i t u t i o n s . Further construction was post-poned
u n t i l a f t e r t h a t new war was over.
Within three months, Father Fitzgerald was g e t t i n g h i s
7. Post, July 12, 1950; Sehator W i l l i a m Benton to W. E.
F i t z g e r a l d , July 18, 1950.
8. Sunday Herald, July 30, 1950.
mail in Boston as the new Provincial; Father Dolan was
back i n Fairf i e l d , and Father Langquth was the Dean. 9
Sudden changes l i k e t h a t were typical. The Society of
Jesus has always set a very high value on c l a s s i c a l
s t u d i e s , and J e s u i t governance developed patterns t h a t
are reminiscent of ancient Republican Rome. There is
the ruling oligarchy, and in place of Consuls and Praetors
there are Provincials and Rectors, serving set terms of
s i x years rather than one. Provincials reviewed personnel
postings annually and reassigned men as necessary. Whether
or not the ancient Romans actually provided the prototype,
there are indeed some obvious parallels.
When the call came t o McEleney in the winter of 1950,
both he and Dolan had been i n t h e i r posts just over five
years. If the Provincial succession for New England had
already been worked out, the next step would have been
d i f f e r e n t . But is was Dolan rather than Fitzgerald who
was sent up t o Boston in February. He went as Vice
Provincial 'and subsequently became Acting Provincial before
getting back t o F a i r f i e l d again in October. Father
Fitzgerald did not have too long t o wait.
9. Telegram, October 11, 1950; Sunday Herald, October 15 r
1950; Sunday Post, October 15, 1950; Telegram,
October 7, 1 9 5 0 ; ~ t a g , October 19, 1950.
Witi-dn a week of returning t o Connecticut Dolan was
welcomed a t a Bellarmine Father's Club reception, an
occasion wh'$ch he used t o give the 300 men i n attendance
some most agreeable news. He reported that contributions
from friends, and careful financial management, had made
it possible to reduce the debt that the Society had taken
on, in opening and building the schools, from $1,200,000
t o $250,000. He could also report that enrollment stood
a t 975 i n the Prep and 895 i n the university.10 The
Bellarmine Guild and Fathers Club, together with the area
clubs i n surrounding towns, enveloped the Prep and the
University in a great circle of family-like relationships,
sharing a c t i v i t i e s , convictions, sons, and a deep i n t e r e s t
in advancing Fairfield. They worked hard a t t h a t , and they
enjoyed doing so.
Except for one point, Dolanqs l a s t year a t F a i r f i e l d
was an undramatic one. There were unsuccessful attempts
t o e s t a b l i s h an A i r Force ROTC unit on campus. There was
a new o f f i c e of Public Relations and Placement headed by
eager, driving, young Eugene M. Galligan. Father George
S. Mahan moved from Assistant Principal a t Prep t o Dean
of Freshmen in the College of P x t s and Sciences. Fr. T.
Everett McPeake was named chairman of t h e u n i v e r s i t y ' s
10. w,Octo ber 19, 1950; Teleqram, October 19, 1950-
Department of Education. Fr. Thomas F. Lyons became
Dean of Men, and Jim Hanrahan s t a r t e d in as the new
College basketball coach.'' Galligan, Lyons t and
Hanrahan sodn moved o f f s t a g e , but Mahan and McPeake
devoted t h e i r l i v e s to the i n s t i t u t i o n .
The dramatic exception came up that June when the
University held its f i r s t commencement. Fr. Dolan
made his plans w e l l in advance. A March news release
announced t h a t t h e Most Rev. Henry J. O'Brien, Bishop
of Hartford, and Governor John Davis Lodge would be there. 1 2
On the 27th of March, the new Provincial wrote Dolan t o
confirm "the acceptance which I made on the phone t h a t
night, of your very kind i n v i t a t i o n t o give the baccalau-reate
sermon at F a i r f i e l d . It is with a g r e a t d e a l o f
t r e p i d a t i o n t h a t I foresee doing anything but walking in
s i l e n t canposure i n the g r e a t ceremonies which you w i l l
no doubt lay out w i t h master hand on the f a i r campus 3 j i
the Universi::y . "I3 When the event was held a t Alumni
Field on June t w e l f t h , Bishop McEleney was a l s o among
the guests joining the 225 graduates t o l i s t e n t o an
address given by Attorney General J. Howard McGrath. 1 4
11. Stag, February 15, 1951; Stag, September 27, 1951:
Post, October 20, 1950; Staq, September 22, 1950;
Sunday Herald, February 4 and 11, 1951.
12. Sunday Post, March 25, 1951.
13. W. E. Fitzgerald t o J. H. Dolan, March 27, 1951.
1 4 . Stag, May 24, 1951.
In short order an alumni association was created. 15
Later in June, Dolan had opportunity t o buy the
remainder o$ the old Jennings property lying j u s t north
of the campus, but the timing was off and the chance
went by. l6 In October, he l e f t f o r Boston again, t h i s
time f o r Boston College, and he may have been remembering
MacArthurls farewell speech t o the Nation as the second
Fitzgerald took h i s place.
Joseph D. Fitzgerald s t a r t e d l i f e in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, i n 1899. He studied a t Boston College for
a year before entering the Society in 1918. After h i s
ordination, i n June of 1931, he went back t o Boston College
where he taught u n t i l 1937. He was appointed Assistant
Dean of Boston College t h a t year and then moved t o Holy
Cross as Dean i n 1939. He was at Holy Cross u n t i l July
of 1948, when he became Assistant Director of the New
England regional o f f i c e of the J e s u i t Education Association.
H e was appointed Province Director o f Studies in July of
1951, only two months before moving i n t o the Rector-Presidency
i n F a i r f i e l d . l7 He was to be i n t h a t o f f i c e a year more
15. S A , September 22, 1952: F a i r f i e l d University
Almni Bulletin, V o l . 1, $1, March 1952.
16. W. E. Fitzgerald to J. H. Dolan, June 21, 1951.
James Joy interview, December 19 74.
17. Post, 0ctober 19, 1951; Stag, October 25, 1951;
s i Bu l l e t i n , March 1952.
than t h e usual slx, and h i s t e r m was t o be marked by a
notable construction program.
He got i n t o h i s new position slowly, and h i s f i r s t
year was a q u i e t one i n most respects. There w e r e then
152 freshmen, 142 sophomores, 140 juniors, and 202 seniors
a t the College. There were 853 boys at the Prep, and the
nursing courses r e g i s t e r e d 36 i n the f a l l and 22 i n the
spring semester. The Graduate Department of Education
r e g i s t e r e d 110 men and 125 women i n the f a l l , and 113 men
and 127 women i n the spring. The Bridgeport property on
Park Place was sold to the growing University of Bridgeport
he Graduate Department of Education moved i n t o o f f i c e s on
the first f l o o r of Xavier. Korean veterans s t a r t e d coming
back.
Many s i m i l a r events went i n t o the record o f h i s f i r s t
year i n o f f i c e , but one t h i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r stood out.
Father Gabriel G. Ryan died i n an accident and h i s death
was more than stunning. Everyone who knew him f e l t personal
loss, and he was widely known. The f e e l i n g o f shock and
r e g r e t can still be sensed i n a kind of Doppler e f f e c t
across a'll the intervening years. He was only 38 years old.
a c o r d i a l man, popular on and off the campus, one of those
rare pleasant people f o r whom friendship is such a n a t u r a l
s t a t e of being t h a t a b a s i c kindness pervades almost all
r e l a t i o n s h i p s .
Fr . Ryan was C h a i ~ , a no f t h e Department o f Economics
and Sociology and Director of t3e Bridgeport Chapter of
t h e ~ i o c e s a hL abor I n s t i t u t e . Y o one knows how it happened,
but i n t h e e a r l y evenins of Suqday, September 14th, he
fell from the window of h i s t h i r d f l o o r room in Bellarmine
H a l l . He was h o s p i t a l i z e d with i n t e r n a l i n j u r i e s and a
broken leg and died t h r e e days l a t e r .
Although he had been at F a i r f i e l d only four y e a r s , h e
was one of the s e v e r a l spokemen who represented the
University i n a c t i v e involvement i n community a f f a i r s .
A Telegram e d i t o r wrote t h a t he "had made a reputation for
scholarship and professional knowledge i n h i s special f i e l d
of Economics" and t h a t he "ma2e inany s u c c e s s f u l c o n t r i b u t i o n s
to the cause of good labor-manacenent r e l a t i o n s i n t h i s area.
He w i l l be g r e a t l y missed by many in the i n d u s t r i a l f i e l d
who looked to him f o r guidance and for acquaintance with the
p r i n c i p l e s of s o c i a l j u s t i c e . r'ather Ryan was highly
regarded by h i s s t u d e n t s , who repeatedly r e f e r r e d t o him
as a remarkable teacher. B i s b r i e f but b r i l l i a n t work i n
t h e educational as well as labor r e l a t i o n s f i e l d w i l l be
long remembered by a l l v:ho came i n contact with him. ,,I8
18. Telegram, Septeirber 1 8 , 1953; P-o s t , september 19 I 1952-
That both h i s presence and h i s absence were so keenly
f e l t is a p a r t i a l i n d i c a t o r of the changes i n F a i r f i e l d
between the 1950s and the end of the 1960s.
Fr. a an was one of s e v e r a l men who represented
F a i r f i e l d t o the public. Some others in t h a t group
of spokesmen w e r e Cannen F. Donnaruma, Assistant
Professor of History and Government, the Rev. John L.
Bonn, S .J., Professor of English; the Rev. George S.
Mahan, S . J. , A s s i s t a n t Dean and Director of Admissions ;
the Rev. Francis A. Small, S.J., Librarian; Arthur R.
R i e l , Jr., Assistant Professor of English; Dean Langguth;
and John A. Meaney, Assistant Professor of English and
Moderator of t h e Radio Club.
The Radio Club studied broadcasting techniques
and did a weekly radio program c a l l e d " F a i r f i e l d
University I n t e r p r e t s the News," broadcast over s t a t i o n
WICC. These men often served a s p a n e l i s t s on t h a t program,
i n addition to frequent speaking engagements at various
club o r business meetings. They repeatedly voiced a
c o n s i s t e n t view of the s u p e r i o r i t y of a l i b e r a l education
over o t h e r o p t i o n s , and the e t h i c a l core of t h a t b e l i e f
was the f o c a l element of F a i r f i e l d ' s temporal existence.
Speaking over I?ICC i n Mach of 1952, Fr. Mahan
s a i d : One of t h e g r e a t e s t needs of modern society and
one of the g r e a t e s t a s s a t s t o a man who aspires t o rise
above the rmk and f i l e of business and s c i e n t i f i c
achievement is a t r a i n i n g in a l i b e r a l a r t s college--more
than t r a i n i n g a man i n any p a r t i c u l a r s k i l l o r aspect of
technology a l i b e r a l ed- lcat ion a i ~ isn a d d i t i o n and above
a l l t o develop the f i n e s t f a c u l t i e s a man possesses; h i s
appreciation of beauty, h i s a b i l i t y t o communicate his
ideas and influence h i s fellow men, h i s power c r i t i c a l l y
t o analyze t r u t h , and his appreciation and grasp o f e t h i c a l
values. Mathematics sharpens the mind, while h i s t o r y
synthesizes and i n t e r p r e t s the past. English gives us
c l a r i t y and f a c i l i t y of expression i n our native tongue.
Religions unite us t o God and, f i n a l l y - Latin and Greek--
t h e core of any discussion on l i b e r a l education--are the
key t o the g r e a t e s t minds t h a t have ever lived.19
In October of 1952. a t a roeeting of the Parent-
Teachers Association of t h e Nichols School i n nearby
S t r a t f o r d , Arthur R i e l said: Those who go to college
primarily t o ' g e t ahead' do grave damage to the community
and t o educatfon. This s o r t of motivation, i f it dominates
a student, w i l l make an education impossible. If the nation
is to g e t the leaders it needs, parents must stop the trend
i n education t o t r a i n for jobs and s a l a r i e s ; people must be
t r a i n e d , whether i n high school o r college, t o think and t o
judge and t o read and t o ~ n d e r s t a n d . ~ ~
P a r t i c i p a t i n g i n one of the " F a i r f i e l d University
I n t e r p r e t s the News" broadcasts during 1954, R i e l t o l d
h i s audience t h a t they were wrong i f they expected hard
work a t college t o pay c a t e r i a l l y some time l a t e r on. H e
and Moderator John Meaney agreed t h a t the purpose of college
education is to prepare Zen t o be leaders who know the
19. Post, March 17, 1952.
20. Post, October 1 4 , 1952.
7
meaning of responsibility and sacrifice. 2 1
Speaking on an e a r l i e r program in that series,
Dean Langguth covered the same points more elaborately.
Ile thought that the: "Success of an education can hardly
be measured by the size of a man's annual income ten years
a f t e r graduation. That applles an awfully wrong yardstick
to a very precious commodity." He went on t o say t h a t :
The r e a l measure of a man's education can only be taken
frm the breadth of h i s sympathies, t h e s t r e n g t h and
soundness of his convictions, the courage and stead-fastness
he shows in the pursuit of his goal. And the
most important of h i s g o a l ' s , of course, is the service
t o his God. Most of us i n the past and some of us in
the present, have made material things and physical
comforts the be-all and end-all in education, as in
l i f e . But we don't need t o speculate about the dire
consequences of t h i s . They decry widespread corruption
i n public and business l i f e , we deplore the gradual
collapse of the old moral sense that used t o characterize
t r a d i t i o n a l Christians of a l l ages, and especially we are
shocked a t the increasingly revealed waywardness of our
youth. It seems t o me t h a t we would not have t o lament
these deplorable evidences of our f a i l u r e in education
i f the splendid e f f o r t s we have directed towards building
a gorgeous physical plant and a closely interlocked
hierarchy of administration had been similarly applied
t o a deeper knowledge and keener appreciation of our
t r u e goals in education. W e have been unremittingly
patient in keeping our corridors spotless. Why have
we not been just as patient in developing motives t o
stimulate our young, in proposing with ever more c l a r i t y
the end and purpose of our existence upon e a r t h , and in
teaching them that what counts is not what material
possessions, or power, o r prestige they may have gained,
but the culture they s h a l l have absorbed into t h e i r souls
out of the centuries of Christian history. This was
indeed the old-fashioned education which was directed toward being and becoming r a t h e r than doing and g e t t i n g -2 2
21. Herald, May 9 , 1954.
22. Telegram, March 17, 1953.
In 1955, the Reverer.5 John h. 0' Brien, professor of
Philosophy a t F a i r f i e l d , and, beEore t h a t , President of
Holy Cross from 1948 tc 1954, was interviewed by Bob
Stock, of the Bridgepox 70St, f o r a story about h i s
stand against Communis:,. During t h a t interview, F r .
OIBrien t o l d Stock t h a t he had become "ever more firmly
convinced of the importa.ce of a l i b e r a l education, t h a t
is, as d i s t i n c t from v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g . " He advocated
the c l a s s i c s and philosc3hy as basic t o an "education f o r
r e a l l y living," and he s~oice against "excessive special-i
z a t i o n a t the undergraeuate le- el. "23 He was f a r from
being alone in t h a t , zzm? the study of Philosophy continued
t o be of major importancs, although t h e c l a s s i c s began t o
s u f f e r the de-emphasis here t h a t they had f e l t much earlier
i n the Ivy League and otker nearby l i b e r a l arts colleges.
Other spokesmen f o r ehe college were the students them-selves,
through s e v e r a l s t u d e n t organizations t h a t c a r r i e d
word of F a i r f i e l d out t o other p a r t s of Connecticut, and t o
nearby states. One of these was the Public Affairs Club,
e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1947 by t're f i r s t f r e s h a n c l a s s . Their
delegates represented F a i r f i e l d a t tine f i r s t annual New
England Roman Catholic ?=ace Federation a t Holy Cross in
1948. The club soon becz-e a c t i v e in the Connecticut
23. Sunday Post, April 1 7 , 1955.
I n t e r c o l l e g i a t e Student Legislature, a mock l e g i s l a t i v e
assembly e s t a b l i s h e d t o give i n t e r e s t e d Connecticut college
students some i n s i g h t on t h e workings of government. Each
delegation presented two b i l l s on controversial topics
which w e r e then run through appropriate committees and
debated i n both "houses." F a i r f i e l d members w e r e a c t i v e
and f o r c e f u l witnesses for Roman Catholic points of view.
They c l e a r l y ssw t h e C.I.S.L. sessions in artf ford as
opportunities to "attack the pernicious secularism which
is undermining Christian l i f e through the i n c u l c a t i o n of
f a l s e standards of morality. "24 They zealously tackled
questions of b i r t h c o n t r o l , euthanasia, and sex education
i n the schools. They were e f f e c t i v e , and s e v e r a l F a i r f i e l d
men w e r e elected to l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s in C.I.S.L.. John
McNmara served as S t a t e Chairman, Vincent Nemergut was
Chairman of the Executive Committee, and James Conklin
became House Leader. Between 1947 and 1951, m e m b e r s w e r e
i n f l u e n t i a l l y involved i n conferences a t many New England
Colleges and spread a favorable view o f F a i r f i e l d in the
process.
When the University was the site of the New England
Roman Catholic Peace Federation meeting i n 1953, the club
was host to 21 Roman Catholic Colleges and to representatives
24. Manor, 1951, p. 186; Manor, 1957, p. 61.
from the United N a t i o n s who came in t o l e c t u r e on world
peace. 25 The group continued to be active in various ways.
La t e i n t h e decade it was s t i l l ~ o r k i n gt o promote i n t e r e s t
i n p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and economic issues, and it had even
opened a public A f f a i r s Center on campus, complete with
phamplcts and informative articles. 26
The University G l e e Club was another of the ambassadorial
groups. 27 W r i t e r s in the f i r s t issue of the Stag described
the formation of t h e G l e e Club and went on to explain t h a t
" t h e r e is a personal acconplishment and self-development
on t h e p a r t of t h e members. Lqplicit i n the education and
development of the individual is the expansion and growth
of h i s t o t a l p e r s o n a l i t y and being, for h i s own good and
the good of society. The a c t i v i t i e s of the G l e e Club tend
toward t h i s end. -28
The group was tremendously e n t h u s i a s t i c and had a great
deal of respect f o r t h e i r Director, Simon Harak, and their
f a c u l t y moderator, Father John Nurray. They were quickly
engaged i n an annual round of aFpearances sponsored by the
various University r e g i o n a l c l u b s i n Danbury, Waterbury,
Ansonia, New Haven, :4iddletown, md elsewhere, concluding
each year with a "home" perfornazce at the Klein ~ u d i t o r i u m
25. Manor, 1953, pp. 90-92.
26. Manor, 1959, p. 106.
27. Stag, April 17, '1957.
28. Stag, September 23, 1949.
i n Bridgeport. Those were important focal occasions for
the regional clubs, and they brought the University
continuing favorable p u b l i c i t y i n its natural centers of
influence. The same kind of word about F a i r f i e l d was
carried f u r t h e r away through radio broadcasts and a
widening c i r c l e of appearances. There was a j o i n t
concert with t h e College of New Rochelle and Providence
collegeZgat New York' s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1951,
and M r . IIarak w a s proud of t h e i r performance in Carnegie
Hall on the opening night of the 1954 Pop Concert series. 30
Years l a t e r , t h e Club sang i n Carnegie Hall again, working
with Andrew Heath and the American Symphony Orchestra i n
the 1968 series of "Young People's Concerts." For those
they used a Randall Thompson piece based on Thomas J e f f e r s o n ' s
Testament o-f Freedom and sang wi th such e f f e c t t h a t t h e y
moved t h e i r audiences to "prolonged thunderous applause. 31
In the e a r l y 60's the group won two of the Catholic
I n t e r c o l l e g i a t e Glee Club Festivals. They w e r e chosen as
the b e s t of the e i g h t clubs entered in 1960 and of t h e ten
who sang i n 1 9 6 1 . ~T~h e i r a b i l i t y was recognized and rewarded
e a r l y in t h e i r career, and an admirer wrote t o Father Murray:
29. Stag, May 24, 1951.
30. Sunday Post, April 12, 1959.
31. Sunday Post, February 25, 1968; Stag, February 1 4 , 1968.
3 2 . Stag, April 8, 1960; Telegram, April 11, 1960.
P-o s t , Apr i l 1 7 , 1961; Stag, Apr i l 21, 1961.
"as a former supervisor of public school music, graduated
from Cornell University Music School it has been my
priviledge t o p a r t i c i p a t e in and work with many glee club
r e c i t a l s . I can t r u t h f u l l y say t h a t never i n my experience
have I heard any b e t t e r program than t h a t offered by your
organization. P a r t i c u l a r l y fine were the dynamics of
presentation. A t a l l times the tone, q u a l i t y , ennunciation,
and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n were f a r beyond t h a t usually produced
by similar groups. The concert deportment of the young
men was superior and they r e f l e c t the f i n e t r a i n i n g and
carefully planned instruction given by M r . Harak, a very
able director. "33 The Director and moderator were able
t o perpetuate the a t t i t u d e s t h a t created such impressions.
In the spring of the club's twentieth year, the President
of the Chestnut H i l l College G l e e Club wrote: "I cannot
begin t o tell you how much we a l l w e r e impressed w i t h the
men of F a i r f i e l d . There is no doubt in any of our minds
t h a t yours was the f i n e s t club we have ever sung with. As
you probably know, t h i s is Villanova t e r r i t o r y up here and
I must admit t h a t we always believed Villanova t o be the
best G l e e Club i n the East. After Saturday's concert the
question circulating through our club is, 'who is villanova?'
F a i r f i e l d has made an impression t h a t w i l l l a s t a long t i m e
33. M r s . Malcolm W. Duryea to Rev. John P. Murray, S-J-,
April 19, 1951, G l e e Club papers.
at Chestnut H i l l . Aside from this, you l e f t an equally,
i f not more important impression with us; t h a t of
gentlemanly conduct. 3 4
IIarak Ad Murray were d i s c i p l i n a r i a n s who held club
members to high personal and a r t i s t i c standards, but had
the g i f t of commanding respect and a f f e c t i o n at the same
t i m e . Father Murray covered a l l of the numberless l o g i s t i c
and t a c t i c a l d e t a i l s involved in arranging concert schedules,
transporting l a r g e numbers of people, and seeing t h a t those
people had the things they would need along the way. In
the process he a l s o helped student a f t e r student t o solve
large problems and small ones. Harak had considerable
t r a i n i n g i n musicianship and had sung on the stage and radio
'I
before going i n t o business i n Derby, but he seems t o have
found h i s r e a l t a l e n t i n t r a i n i n g and d i r e c t i n g these
singers. He died in 1970 and Father Murray r e t i r e d three
years later, but the Club continued under Director Paul
LaMedica and Father Cardoni.
Debating was a t h i r d a c t i v i t y carrying word of F a i r f i e l d
beyond t h e c i t y l i m i t s . W i t h the major i n s t i t u t i o n a l
committment t o teaching and studying c l a s s i c a l h i s t o r y and
l i t e r a t u r e , it was n a t u r a l to encourage such r h e t o r i c a l
exercises as drama and debate. A debating s o c i e t y was
organized a t the Prep school during 1942-1943 and it was
34. Elizabeth A. McGarney t o Carl T. C'nadburn, May 1, 1967,
Glee Club papers.
soon firmly e s t a b l i s h e d , w i t h a packed yearly schedule
of events.
Similar exercises were organized almost immediately i n
t h e new ~ o l l e ' g e of A r t s and Sciences. By 1951, two
d i v i s i o n s had developed, the Bellarmine Debating Society,
for juniors and s e n i o r s , and the St. Thomas K o r e Debating
Society f o r freshmen and sophomores. 35 These S o c i e t i e s
competed with colleges such as Seton Hall, Providence, Holy
Cross, Fordham, and o t h e r e n t r a n t s i n the annual tournament
of the National Federation o f Catholic College Students. 36
By 1956 the two d i v i s i o n s had merged, and the Fair-f
i e l d e r s were meeting teams from Harvard, Wesleyan, Boston,
and others. They came to be recognized as one of the more
powerful debating s o c i e t i e s i n New England, entering
tournaments as far from Connecticut as Burlington, Vermont,
and the D i s t r i c t of Columbia, and winning t h e 1956 annual
N.F.C.C.S. t o ~ r n a m e n t . ~ '
In 1958 the club was host to a three-day contest a t
F a i r f i e l d and, i n the next year they r e a l l y rode the
tournament c i r c u i t , p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n events a t Brown,
Barnard, Brooklyn College, and elsewhere. Activity
35. Manor, 1951, p. 180-181.
36. Manor, 1955, p. 68.
37. Manor, 1957, p. 71.
on t h i s scale continued on through the middle of the
1960s but then it died out a t the end of that decade as
other types of debate moved t o the f ~ r e - f r o n t . ~ ~
The Radio, Debating, Public Affairs, and G l e e Clubs
were only the more external of many campus organizations.
In an a r t i c l e about the opening of college in 1952, the
Pairfield News l i s t e d , in addition, the yearbook group,
the student newspaper, the Sodality, the German, Spanish,
French, Biology, Chemistry, Education, and Business Clubs,
the Birdwatchers, and the Area Clubs. They a l l jointly
hosted a reception for the freshmen, serving refreshments
and providing information about t h e i r programs.
That N-ews a r t i c l e gave a s m a l l glimpse of s tudent l i f e
in its description of that typical opening session. Every
year began w i t h religious ceremonies, the Holy Ghost and
the Scho'la Brevis. That year, a f t e r President Joseph D.
Fitzgerald had celebrated the Mass and delivered a welcoming
sermon, Dean Langguth added his remarks and the G l e e Club
sang a number of selections. The singers w e r e followed by
further welcoming comments from the President of the Junior
Class, and then came the club reception. With t h a t , a new
academic year w a s underway. 39
38. Manor, 1958, P. 71; 1959, P. 101; 1961, p. 141;
1964, p. 76.
39. N e w s , September 25, 1952.
Another glimpse of Fairfield student l i f e a t the
t i m e was provided by Robert McKeon, one of the feature
w r i t e r s for the w. Asking himself the question, "What
is a F a i r f i e i d Man?" he answered: He is a t t i r e d in
scuffed white buckskin shoes, sport coat, and s t r i p e d
tie, and conspicuously c a r r i e s e i t h e r a briefcase of a port-f
o l i o . He is conscientious, genial, deeply aware of his
s p i r i t u a l and s o c i a l obligations, i n t e l l i g e n t , and ever
cognizant of the value of education.
Among the upperclassmen is found a fervent s p i r i t in
extra curricular a c t i v i t i e s ; G l e e Club. Stag, Debating
Club, and Public Affairs are only a few in which a Fairfield
man is given the opportunity t o p a r t i c i p a t e during his
college days. As regards t h e s o c i a l aspect, about' one out
of three takes an active part. He dates frequently with
g i r l s from St. Joseph's College, Marymount College, New
Rochelle College, among others.
Although he doesn't tend toward active participation
in a t h l e t i c s as such (sic) as in his high school days, he
is most l i k e l y to be seen a t many of the college a t h l e t i c
events. It is estimated t h a t about t h i r t y percent of
F a i r f i e l d men drive t o school every day. Almost half
study between ten and twenty hours per week.
The F a i r f i e l d man is ever conscious of s o c i a l conditions.
He is tolerant of and interested in other people. H e is
always willing to lend a helping hand as the occasion
demands. During election for class o f f i c e r s and student
council members there is much advertising and publicity.
But once again, the upperclassman considers it more of a
moral r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o e l e c t e f f i c i e n t men t o represent
his class and, f o r t h i s reason, he shows more i n t e r e s t in
elections.
F r a t e r n i t i e s a r e frowned upon by the administration,
and most of the students are in harmonious agreement with
t h e i r banning of secret sccieties. The a c t i v i t i e s of the
f i r s t three years are, therefore, conscientiously focused
on admittance i n t o the J e s u i t Honor Society by those who
desire recognition f o r t h e i r academic and extra-curricular
a b i l i t y . 40
40. Robert McKeon, "What is a Fairfield Man?"
Stag, November 8, 1951.
In the same i s s u e of the Stag, another student
reported on President J. D. F i t z g e r a l d ' s f i r s t meeting
w i t h the Student Council. H i s most-remembered comment
was, "Beliebe it or not I have confidence in youth." H e
underlined t h e need f o r following democratic p r i n c i p l e s
co-operatively and sincerely.. He spoke of the Student
Council as having an assignment to service and a duty
toward t h e common good rather than personal i n t e r e s t s .
The whole University was seen as a dedication to service and,
t h e r e f o r e , "it becomes impossible for student government to
ever c l a s h with educational authority since both have the
d e s i r e f o r cooperation, unity, and well-being of the
common good. 41
Naturally, t h e q u a l i t y of student r e l i g i o u s l i f e was
extremely important t o everyone, from the R e c t o r t o the
anchor man of t h e freshman class. The three-day Prep and
College retreats gradually evolved as the student body grew
and, by 1959, it was necessary to hold the annual r e t r e a t
i n s e v e r a l s e c t i o n s . 42 To help improve the r e t r e a t
s i t u a t i o n , late i n 1960, the J e s u i t s bought t h e Mamanasco
Lake Lodge in Ridgefield, Connecticut, t o convert i n t o a
r e t r e a t center. Nine months and $350,000 l a t e r , its
metamorphosis w a s complete. The r e p a i r s and renovations
41. Stag, November 8, 1951.
42. Stag, November 6 , 1959.
made it possible t o accommodate f o r t y people at a time
and, in September of 1961, it reopened as the Manressa
Retreat House. 43 Thereafter seniors f u l f i l l e d t h e i r
r e t r e a t oblligations a t the new center u n t i l the obligations
themselves w e r e removed in the mid-sixties. That change
did not remove e i t h e r the retreat as a custom o r Manressa
as an establishment, and both continue to f l o u r i s h .
O t h e r elements of the system were d a i l y Mass and an
organization known as the Sodality of our Blessed Lady.
The S o d a l i t y was a vehicle f o r the encouragement of
e s p e c i a l l y devout undergraduates who would undertake some
s p i r i t u a l or corporal apostolate, and were a kind of leaven
within the student body. Several of t h e sub-committees within
t h e s o c i e t y w e r e charged with devotional a f f a i r s . Our
Lady's Committee l e d t h e devotion of the Rosary. The
c a t h o l i c T r u t h S e c t i o n encouraged i n t e r e s t i n Roman Catholic
l i t e r a t u r e . The Mission Crusaders r a i s e d money f o r the
missions and d i s t r i b u t e d information about them. A
L i t u r g i c a l Committee s t u d i e d t h e Mass and t h e l i t u r g y - A
Sacred Heart Committee promoted f i r s t Friday devotions and
the apostleship of prayer, and a Membership Committee did
what a l l membership committees d0.44 ~ e s c r i b i n gt h e group#
one w r i t e r w r o t e , "The Sodality of Our Lady is not a
series of p r o j e c t s but a way of life. ~t is not a club one
joins, but a l i f e one leads. 1t is not a hobby, it is a
43. Stag, September 15, 1961.
4 4 . M--a nor, 1951, p. 1 7 4 .
vocation. *14' The organization.was not regarded with
complete enthusiasm by a l l s t u d e n t s , b u t it c e r t a i n l y
held an important place i n campus l i f e . 4 6 By 1962,
the cJroup had twelve sub-committees and had completed a
three-year fund d r i v e , r a i s i n g $2,500 f o r construction
of a shrine.
In the same year, Pope John X X I I I opened Vatican 11,
and the changes t h a t Council effected soon sharply modified
the Sodality, the r e t r e a t s , and a l l of the old customary
r e l i g i o u s observances at F a i r f i e l d . 47
But t o return t o the early days of the Fitzgerald
decade, by 1953, f u r t h e r administrative changes w e r e in
process and plans f o r new growth were i n the offing.
Rev. William H. Hohmann, S.J., followed Gabriel Ryan a t
the head of the Economics Department and the Diocesan
Labor I n s t i t u t e . 48 Father Kennedy, who had done so much
for the Prep School as its Principal since 1946, was re-placed
by Rev. Fr a n c i s X. Car ty, S. J . ,4 9 and Fa the r Langguth
was about t o embark on a new career, superintending
University construction projects as Executive Assistant
t o the President.
45. Manor, 1957, p. 52.
46. stag, April 28, 1955.
47. Manor, 1962, p. 112, V. Leeber interview, January 9 n 1975-
48. Herald, February 8, 1953.
49. Telegram, March 17, 1953.
The College of Arts and Sciences would have a new
dean in the Rev. William James Healy, S.J. He was
President of Holy Cross from 1945 to 1950, heading an
administration t h a t included J. D. Fitzgerald as its
Dean u n t i l 1948. Now t h e i r positions were t o be reversed.
After leaving Holy Cross i n 1950, Healy went t o St. Sophia
University in Tokyo, Japan, where he was Dean of the
i n t e r n a t i o n a l d i v i s i o n and also taught Philosophy and
~ n g i i s h .A~pp~a rent ly h i s depar ture from Japan was somewhat
delayed, and t h a t led him to w r i t e the President a matchless
letter which tells quite a l o t about the man:
By short wave or c a r r i e r pigeon I should have sent you a
firm (as they say in the A i r Force) directive concerning
my a r r i v a l . I am sure you have had the brass band
practicing assiduously and have rehearsed levees on the
lawn. My reason for not arriving has not been my customary
d i l a t o r i n e s s , nor my cunctatory predilection, nor, despite
the evidence, am I trying to obfuscate the issue with an
adiaphanous smoke-screen. The fact of the matter is (and
I don't know why everyone gets very suspicious whenever
I say 'the fact of the matter is') I have had several
voyages cancelled. The whole situation i n the Far East
has been somewhat confused and in my case it has been
downright murky. While waiting for reservations I began
directing a few students in an English seminar. That
should cease about the second week of July. In the mean-while,
I'll keep s t r i v i n g with might and main t o find a
ship t h a t w i l l return me t o t h e S t a t e s by August. The
only reason I w r i t e is t o assure you I am coming and I ' m
sure t h a t everything I need for my journey is taken care of
out-side of the small matter of a ship. I'll pack a few
flotsam and j e t s a m i n an old pickle heron c r a t e I have
here (I go in strong for atmosphere) and t h a t should be
arriving at F a i r f i e l d some t i m e i n August; I hope you
and the postmaster do not have too b i t t e r words.
Thank you most kindly for your recent l e t t e r and
o f f e r to help but I can assure you t h a t the major portion
5 0 . Post, September 10, 1953; Herald, September 13, 1953;
N s , September 17, 1953; Stag, September 21, 1953.
of the population here is most anxious t o see me off
and I should be able t o g e t under way without any undue
s t r e s s and s t r a i n .
Very Reverend Father Provincial intimated i n a l e t t e r
t o me t h a t he had it i n mind t o appoint me head of the
English Department a t F a i r f i e l d . I would w a n t t o return
as soon a s - p o s s i b l e i n c a s e t h e r e a r e any d u t i e s flowing
from t h a t austere o f f i c e . Frankly though, I am not sure
I would want to a r r i v e before the school year began and
set about new innovations and otherwise shake up the
curriculum and the other professors' nerves. I am p r e t t y
sure t h a t whatever the Reverend Dean suggests f o r the year
w i l l be b e s t and by O c t o b e r or November I can begin t o
assume whatever are the m sterious functions of a head
of an English Department. x1
Father Healy was a humanist, an impressive scholar,
and an important f i g u r e i n improving F a i r f i e l d at a time
when it was still a very small place, f a r removed from
the major Massachusetts centers of J e s u i t i n t e r e s t . The
new Dean was a statesman to whom a majority of the faculty
would readily go f o r advice.52 The Dean and the President
must have been a good combination, because Fitzgerald has
been described as a gentle man, a good organizer w i t h a
pleasant presence, a man who could say the r i g h t thing at
the r i g h t time, and one who was e f f i c i e n t but not b r i l l i a n t .
Progress on the plans for new growth was signaled
earlier i n 1953 when the Bellarmine Clubs announced plans
f o r the start of a gymnasium fund drive.53 In the event,
t h a t was the l a s t building i n the s t r i n g . In August. Heman
. 51. W. J. Healy, S.J., t o J. D. Fitzgerald, S - J -
June 27, 1953, Fitzgerald papers.
52. J. H. Coughlin interview, November 27, 1 9 7 4 ;
J. A. Walsh interview, January 13, 1975.
53. Stag, May 7 , 1953.
W. Steinkraus, P r e s i d e n t o f the Bridgeport Brass Co.
and a lonq-time f r i e n d , used the occasion o f t h e l a s t
concert in the Connecticut Pops s e r i e s to astonish every-one
by givi.ng Fr. F i t z g e r a l d a building-fund check for
'$10,000. He was one of the prime-movers i n the symphony
organization, and he deeply appreciated t h e J e s u i t ' s
cooperation i n making the grounds available f o r the 'Pops'. 5 4
A t the end cf 1953 t h e r e was another kind of good
news. Accreditation! An application f o r a c c r e d i t a t i o n
could 'not be considered u n t i l two years a f t e r the f i r s t
c l a s s had been graduated. Following through on the Fair-f
i e l d application, Bruce Bigelow, of Brown University,
Richard Carroll of Y a l e College, and John Candelet of
T r i n i t y College were appointed the examining committee.
They made t h e i r v i s i t i n November and gave an a f f i r m a t i v e
report. On Friday, December 4, 1953, F a i r f i e l d University
was voted i n s t i t u t i o n a l membership i n the New England
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 55 F a i r f i e l d
Prep had been a member since 1945, and membership in the
Association was equivalent t o accreditation. With t h a t ,
F a i r f i e l d was e l i g i b l e t o join the Association of American
Colleges. The AAC had its . f o r t i e t h annual meeting i n
Cincinnati, Ohio, during the next month, January of 1954,
54. News, August 19, 1953; Alumni B u l l e t i n , June 1953.
55. s,Decem ber 17, 1953; -Hour, December 1 2 , 1953; A. 11. Desautels to J. D. Firzgerald, December 9, 1953,
Fitzgerald papers.
and both J. D. Fitzgerald and W. J. Healy were there as
the University was elected t o membership. 5 6
As the accreditation was being confirmed, the
p h y s i c a l plant was kept i n mind. During December of 1953,
it looked as though they might be able t o obtain a government-surplus
building from Taunton, Massachusetts. Father
Langguth checked into it, but it was decided not t o go in
t h a t direction.57 Going i n t o the spring of 1954, plans for
the f i r s t dormitory w e r e w e l l enough established for public
attention. It would be named Loyola Hall, and announcements
w e r e made in April, saying t h a t it would be located on the
e a s t e r l y side of a proposed dormitory quadrangle, and t h a t
new a t h l e t i c f i e l d s would be graded a s p a r t of the same
construction project. 58 The site was established about
where Dolan might have had it, although, a t the time, it
must have appeared to be a long way from everything else.
The building was a compromise between requirements and
available funds. The collegiate Gothic architecture of its
predecessors was abandoned, but s t y l i s t i c co-ordination was
attempted by dressing the exterior in limestone and yellow
brick. The price was estimated a t $1,150,000 and came Out
56. Herald, January 17, 1954; News, January 21, 1954;
Herald, February 28, 1954.' -
57. W. E. Fitzgerald t o J. D. Fitzgerald, ~ecember 13, 1953:
L. C. Langguth t o R. F. Nolan, December 16, 1953; L. C.
Lan.g.q u th t o R. F. Nolan, December 18, 1953, Fi t zge r a ld
papers.
58. Herald, Apr i l 25, 1954; -Pos t , Apr i l 26, 1954.
close to t h a t f i g u r e at $1,250,000. As so often happens
under t h e upward p r e s s u r e of needs and .t h e downward pr e s sur e
Of funds, the end product was the biggest possible U-shaped
block o f a Luilding, with s t r u c t u r a l elements arranged t o
break its squareness. The r e s u l t is very l i k e t h e
a r c h i t e c t u r e produced on a state college campus by the
state-bidding procedure, but its function was much more
important f o r F a i r f i e l d than its beauty.
Fr. Langguth pointed out t h a t it had t o be s e l f -
s u f f i c i e n t at f i r s t . It would house over 200 students and
would serve them with an infirmary, a dining/recreation
hall, and a chapel. Those f a c i l i t i e s w e r e large enough
f o r the 200, and f o r the occupants of the next two buildings
as w e l l . As Langguth saw it, the building was not a
conscious departure from t h e master plan, but r a t h e r a
pragmatic evolution of s i z e and form shaped by requirements,
and the d e t a i l s of t h e i r accommodation. 5 9
Ground was broken i n J u l y of 1954. The b u i l d e r s were
up t o the roof i n and the building w a s finished
i n the next summer. When dedication ceremonies w e r e conducted
on Sunday, August 28, 1955, by Fr. F i t z g e r a l d and The Most
Rev. Lawrence J. Sheehan, Bishop of the new Diocese of
Bridgeport, t h e F a i r f i e l d community, including Father Dolan
and W. E. F i t z g e r a l d , looked on with g r a t i t u d e , s a t i s f a c t i o n ,
59. L. C. Langguth interview, January 1 3 , 1975.
60. P o s t , J u l y 1 7 , 1954; N-ews, J u l y 29, 1954; Stag,
-ember 20, 1954; Sunday Post, November 1 4 , 1954;
Catholic T r a n s c r i p t , December 2, 1954.
and enthusiasm. For the f i r s t fime, some of the 550
commuting students, and the 200 men rooming in private
homes, would be actually living on campus, making possible
a whole new dimension in t h e e f f o r t t o mold character
through living i n an environment permeated w i t h the
presence of C h r i s t . Each day would begin with Mass a t the
new chapel, followed by breakfast and classes s t a r t i n g a t
9:15. After a break for lunch, classes would continue
u n t i l about four P.M. Dinner was served family-style in
early evening, and jackets and ties w e r e the uniform of
the day throughout. 62 Presumable some of those jackets were
the bright red blazers that had f i n a l l y been dubbed o f f i c i a l ,
temporarily s e t t l i n g the most controversial question of the
student year.
The Stag for September 30, 1955, carried a lengthy
story about the dedication and also announced the a r r i v a l of
Rev. James H. Coughlin, S.J., the present V i c e President for
academic a f f a i r s and Dean of the College. He was replacing
Fr. McPeake as head of the Department of Education s o t h a t
McPeake could have a leave of absence t o work on his
doctorate a t New York University. H i s department had 332
students t h a t semester, and the college enrolled 138 seniors,
148 juniors, 186 sophomores, and 269 freshmen. There w e r e
61. J. H. Coughlin interview, November 27, 1974.
Telegram, August 29, 1955; News, September 1, 1955.
62. Sunday Post, August 28, 1955.
104 Korean War Veterans scattered across these c l a s s e s ,
and there were 20 women i n the courses f o r nurses.
Students were coming from f i f t e e n s t a t e s and four foreign
countries as w e l l ;
63
As 1955 came to an end, there was pleasant news for
the faculty. A telegram from the Ford Foundation announced
its intention to include F a i r f i e l d i n a coming s e r i e s of
endowment grants f o r 615 colleges and u n i v e r s i t i e s . Fair-f
i e l d was t o g e t $178,700, t o be used to produce the income
to r a i s e faculty s a l a r i e s . The g i f t was r e s t r i c t e d to
endokent for t e n years a f t e r which principle and income
could both be used without r e s t r i c t i o n . 6 4
Loyola Hall was less than a year old when the Rector
announced plans f o r the companion buildings. In June of
1956, a $2,500,000 construction program pushed o f f , and
t h a t work was dominant through the rest of the f i f t i e s .
Fitzgerald explained that t h i s , the l a r g e s t expansion
p r o j e c t y e t , was undertaken i n accordance with the
University's campus master plan, in order t o accommodate
the increasing c u r r e n t enrollment, and t o meet anticipated
needs based on t h e projected increase i n c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s
through the next f i f t e e n years. 6 5
63. Sunday P o s t , October 23, 1955.
64. News, November 15, 1955.
65. E, June 9 , 1956 ; Sunday Post, J<