Franklin Patterson was born on September 14, 1916. He received his B.A. from Occidental College in 1939, his M.A. from UCLA in 1941, and his Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School in 1955. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942-46, attaining the rank of captain. He had a distinguished career as an educator, author and educational administrator, including serving as the Lincoln Filene Professor at Tufts University from 1957-66.
Franklin Patterson was appointed first president of Hampshire College by the founding board of trustees (which included Harold F. Johnson, Winthrop S. Dakin, Charles Cole and the presidents of Amherst, Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges) in 1965. They entrusted him with the task of designing and implementing a new college based on the New College Plan of 1958. After discussing the plans in a conference held in June 1966 to which nationally known educators were invited, Patterson wrote The Making of a College with the assistance of Charles R. Longsworth, Hampshire's first employee and second president. The draft of the book was presented to the Board of Trustees in the fall of 1966. They approved it in principle, and work began in earnest on building and staffing the college.
Patterson selected the Deans and senior administrators, and was intimately involved in the academic planning and faculty hiring for the new college. Hampshire opened in Fall 1970, and Patterson continued as President through the first academic year.
Patterson resigned as President in 1971 to become chairman of Hampshire's Board of Trustees, a position which he held until 1974. The Trustees named Academic Building #1 Franklin Patterson Hall in his honor. He was appointed Frank L. Boyden Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston in June 1971. Franklin Patterson died in July 1994.
From the guide to the President's Records PR1., 1965-1974, 1966-1971, (Hampshire College Archives)
