A Lasting Legacy

The Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professorship and a substantial scholarship fund have been endowed through a multimillion dollar bequest from Francis F. Bartlett Jr. '56, former president of Boothby & Bartlett Company, an insurance firm in Waterville. Bartlett passed away at age 69 in December 2003, and as his estate was settled Colby received sufficient funds to endow a faculty chair in memory of his late parents and to add substantially to the Francis F. Bartlett Scholarship Fund, which he set up many years ago.

The bequest to Colby was one of many received by various nonprofit organizations in the area, according to Director of Planned Giving Susan Conant Cook '75. "Frank Bartlett was the favorite uncle that everybody wished they had"and a very thoughtful man as well," Cook said.

A commitment of $1.5 million is currently required to endow a faculty chair at Colby. President William Adams announced in the spring that Hanna M. Roisman (classics) will be the inaugural Bartlett Professor beginning this fall.

In addition to his Colby degree in administrative science, Bartlett received an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and UPenn was another beneficiary of his estate. Bartlett was devoted to community affairs and served on the boards of many of the local institutions named in his will.