Saint Michael's College - History

History

In 1889, priests from the Society of Saint Edmund fled to the United States after widespread anticlericism seized France. In 1904, they opened Saint Michael's Institute with an initial investment of $5,000. Thirty-four students aged 10 to 22 enrolled, with a tuition and board fee of $105. Slowly, the school discontinued its high school program. Gradually, the school transitioned from an academy to a traditional residential college. In 1939, graduate programs were offered for the first time.

Saint Michael’s Playhouse was opened in 1947, bringing professional summer theater to Vermont, giving students the chance to work behind the scenes.

Before the 1950s, classes at Saint Michael's were small, just a few dozen Michaelmen in any class. In the 1950s, the college expanded to hundreds of students per class. To manage the influx of GI Bill students after World War II, Saint Michael's acquired temporary housing in the form of military barracks from Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester. In the 1950s, the College began a building program which established the red brick architectural style which permeates campus today.

Saint Michael's Applied Linguistics Department was started in 1954, focusing on teaching English to students from around the world.

About 130 refugees from the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 came to the college. Most of them, already well-educated, came to learn English.

In April 1970, the Board of Trustees approved a proposal by then-president Bernard Boutin to become a co-educational institution. In 1972, the first four female graduates of Saint Michael's received their degrees.