Franklin Kessel Patterson (September 14, 1916 – July 13, 1994) was a professor and author, and the first president of Hampshire College in

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

, Massachusetts. He was also, along with the other presidents of the Five Colleges, a co-author of the New College Plan.

Early life

Patterson was born on September 14, 1916, in Ellsworth, Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

, his master's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, and his doctorate from the Claremont Graduate School. Patterson served in the

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from 1942 to 1946, where he reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Career

Patterson began his teaching career as professor at Tufts University from 1957 to 1966, and with

Charles Longsworth Charles R. Longsworth (born August 21, 1929) is the current director of Saul Centers, Inc.. He assumed this position in June 1993. He serves as president Emeritus of Hampshire College. He worked as president of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundatio ...

, helped write

The New College Plan The New College Plan resulted in the formation of Hampshire College. In 1958, the presidents of Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (together with Hampshire they are known as the Fiv ...

in ''The Making of the College''. In 1966, Patterson was appointed president of Hampshire college by the founding

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

in 1965, initially supervising construction, and fund-raising, in preparation for the college's opening in 1970. During the first few years, Patterson chose the Deans and senior administrative staff of the college, organized the academic plans, and assisted in

faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

hiring. When the college opened in 1970, Patterson continued as president for the first academic year. In 1971, Patterson resigned as president to accept the position of

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the college's board of trustees, founded as a "center for educational innovation" with four other colleges in central Massachusetts:

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, the University of Massachusetts Amherst,

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, and

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

. The Trustees named the college's first academic building "Franklin Patterson Hall" in his honor. From 1971, through the early 1980s, Patterson was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in political science and government, and served as secretary of the university board, as well as interim president from 1977 through 1978.

Personal life

Patterson married Jessamy Longacre in 1937, and had two

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

: a daughter, Shelley Katherine, and a son, Eric. Patterson and Jessamy later divorced. He later married Emily Goldblatt in 1972, with whom he had a son, Nicholas, but that marriage also ended in divorce in 1972. His last partner was Harriet Wittenborg. Patterson died on July 13, 1994, of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at his home in Framingham, Massachusetts, at the age of 77.

References

External links

Hampshire College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Franklin 1916 births 1994 deaths Presidents of Hampshire College Occidental College alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni Tufts University faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Presidents of the University of Massachusetts system People from Hamilton County, Iowa 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American academics