Why I Chose to Give My Money to the University of Hartford After Attending Other Colleges in Greater Hartford Between 1957 and 1967

by Frances Finesilver Blumenthal

After graduating from Hall High in West Hartford in 1956, I attended Bennington College for one year. I wanted to be a modern dancer, but after measuring my abilities against the other dance majors, I knew I didn’t have the right stuff. So instead, I fell in love, got married in August 1957, and started another dance.

It was always understood that I would continue my education, but where? I had a new friend, a smart girl from New York City, who had married a Hartford lawyer after two years at Radcliffe. She got her diploma from St. Joseph’s. I had confidence in her having researched the possibilities, so I followed in Ann Z.’s footsteps. Hillyer existed, but I was under the impression that it was more technically-oriented and I was interested in the liberal arts.

After a year at St. Joseph’s, I switched to Hartford College for Women which had a reputation for having excellent liberal arts professors who came from schools such as Mount Holyoke. In June 1960, seven months pregnant with my second child, I received my associate’s degree. I was called to the office because they wanted to know how I wanted my name to appear on the diploma. They did not want me marching in the graduation processional belly first. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn. I was never one for the ceremonies of life. When I graduated from Hall, at the Bushnell, I left my diploma under my chair and had to drive down the next morning to retrieve it.

By this time the University of Hartford had already been incorporated, so in July I took one or two courses on Hudson Street. One of the courses was Russian History with George Athanson, who later became mayor of Hartford. He was a blustery fellow, and every so often he would say as I walked into class, “Don’t drop it today, Blumenthal!” Edward Harry was born on August 3.

I believe in September of 1960 the first building on the new campus was completed. So I started attending classes there – part-time, always part-time. Registration was a nightmare. I would tell the baby sitter, “I don’t know when I’ll be home.” I remember one time being very exasperated and storming into Dean Doyle’s office. I got a memorable lesson from a charming Irishman on how to take the wind out of someone’s sails. He agreed with everything I complained about!

I had some memorable courses with Mrs. Finch in Art History and Mme. Begue in French, my first opportunity to take French with a native speaker. All my courses were good and suited me just fine. I graduated in June 1962 with a major in history. This was the first graduation on the new campus. The only thing I remember about the ceremony was the Good Humor truck at the back of the grounds which captured the attention of our two children, Betsy and Eddie – (almost 4 and almost 2). My husband Sam and I gave a big party and I used a copy of my diploma as the invitation, whiting out some words and substituting Place, Time, and Date. We had about 150 guests outside, a catered affair with music and dancing.

I had decided I wanted to be a teacher and felt I could never know enough History but I could know enough French. So in September I started on a Master’s Degree in French at Trinity. It took me five years — one course at night each semester, and one month each summer. The summer courses were excellent as they had a visiting professor from Dijon who was a wonderful teacher. My third child, Laurence, was born in April of 1967.

My formal studying days were over. I got a job right away at Kingswood School, which at that time was an all-boys school, teaching two classes in French. I was hired to fill in for one semester for a teacher who was late arriving from Europe. They didn’t permit women in the dining room so I ate in the back room of the kitchen with the headmaster’s secretary and the grounds superintendent.

The next two years I taught at Westledge School in West Simsbury, a progressive school which is no longer in existence. In 1971, I started a business called Accent, Inc., which was a language school for adults and a translation service, from which I retired in 1992.

I had occasion to take one more course at the University of Hartford. In 1981 we planned a trip to Israel and I wanted to study Hebrew. I took Hebrew 101 with Professor Yetiv and in one semester learned to read, write and speak elementary Hebrew.

The colleges have grown and changed. St. Joseph’s can be proud of its many degree programs. Hartford College for Women became part of the University of Hartford. Trinity is coed, and of course, we all know how UofH has expanded and prospered. I believe the University of Hartford is egalitarian, inclusive, welcoming and do-able for a huge variety of students. It fills a great need in the community and the country. It suited me perfectly. I feel lucky that it came into being just at the right moment for me. And that is why I gave my money to the University of Hartford. Each time I visit the campus I’m thrilled with the diversity of the students and their sense of purpose.

In the summer of 2006, after checking with her tax adviser, Frances Blumenthal instructed her broker to transfer a significant number of shares of highly appreciated stock directly from her portfolio to a gift account at the University of Hartford. In exchange for her gift, the University co-signed a charitable gift annuity contract guaranteeing her annuity payments for the rest of her life. As a result of her gift, Frances became eligible for a charitable income tax deduction, avoided a substantial capital gains liability on the gift assets, and immediately began to receive payments in quarterly installments from the University of Hartford.

You may also want to explore the possibility of making a similar gift. Our plan a gift link tells you how to plan a gift with different types of potential gift assets.

Please follow the link to return to the Planned Giving homepage or read more stories from, and about, members of the Founders’ Planned Giving Society.

For more information on Planned Giving, contact Peter Congleton at 860.768.2415 or congleton@hartford.edu


Please note that the University of Hartford does not provide tax or legal advice. Gift calculations may be provided for illustrative purposes only, and the actual values may vary based on the timing and nature of your gift. Advice from legal and tax counsel should be sought when considering a charitable gift of any kind.