A New Campus
As the College grew through the 1960s the original 88 Hanover Street location became inadequate. Space was rented or purchased in a range of buildings in the area to provide classroom, dormitory, and administrative space. The sprawling amalgamation of buildings was facetiously called “Hanover U.,” and students were increasingly vocal about the need for a true campus. A number of plans were explored, including a downtown campus and the use of land on North River Road that had been purchased by Edward and Ann Shapiro.
Mrs. Shapiro recalled a conversation that jumpstarted the process:
“I went to this man, he was a developer, I said ‘You know, we can do everything and we’ve done everything, but we can’t seem to get a campus going.’ And I think that I threw something at him that he felt that: ‘here was something I want to put my teeth into and try and see if I can help these people out.’”
That conversation led to the involvement of developer Robert Kuras in the project. He would become heavily involved in the financing of the campus, among other things helping to secure a loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to finance the dorms and cafeteria. A condition of the loan was that financing be secured for the remaining buildings. Mrs. Shapiro recalled:
“That's when we really got busy with the banks. Within nine months we were building the campus… When we went out to bid, we felt if we could get there with the essentials, we would be fortunate. The bid came through as the architects had planned, therefore, we could build as planned.”
With the realization of a new campus, Gertrude Shapiro, then 66 years old, decided that it was time to retire from her position as College President. The Board of Trustees re-elected her as president in October of 1970, and she accepted the post with the understanding that she would retire on January 1, 1971. It was Mrs. Shapiro’s desire that her son Edward would succeed her as president, though there was no agreement in place guaranteeing that outcome when she retired. She said: “I have held the presidency for many years and it is time a younger person took over the responsibilities of the office.” She also indicated that her retirement didn’t mean a complete disengagement from the College: “When you have worked as long as I have, it is difficult to slow down. So I plan to remain as chairman of the board of trustees and work at the college in an advisory capacity, probably with the financial aid department.”
Despite her initial statements that she wished to continue on the Board, Mrs. Shapiro resigned as Chairman late in 1971 and was succeeded in that role by William S. Green. She did, however, take up a position in the business office, working with students on financial matters. From 1973 to 1986 the Student Handbook include the note: “Mrs. Shapiro is available to students for financial advising to aid them in the payment of their college obligations.”
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Mrs. Shapiro received numerous accolades for her lifetime of achievements with the College. Most notably, in 1971 she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from New Hampshire College and in 1975 she received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of New Hampshire:
“GERTRUDE CROCKETT SHAPIRO, President Emeritus of New Hampshire College: your achievements in helping to shape and in guiding what was the New Hampshire School of Accounting and Secretarial Science, with an original enrollment of seven students, through its development into New Hampshire College, an accredited institution of fifteen hundred students, have earned you the distinction of being one of New Hampshire’s truly outstanding women. A hallmark of your service has always been concern for students, and the assistance you have given so many in providing ways in which they have been able to secure the benefits of post-secondary education has continually identified your career.”
The Trustees of New Hampshire College declared April 30, 1978 “Dr. Gertrude C. Shapiro Recognition Day,” unveiling her portrait and re-dedicating the library to the Harry A. B. and Gertrude C. Shapiro Library.
At the May 12, 1979 meeting of the Board of Trustees the Board voted to amend the college’s bylaws, creating the position of Trustee Emeritus and elected Gertrude Shapiro as the first person to hold that post:
“The Board of Trustees may, by majority vote, elect individuals to serve in the capacity of “Trustee Emeritus”. Those elected to said status shall hold the status for life or until removed by a majority vote of the trustees. Trustees Emeritus shall have the privilege of attending all meetings of the board of Trustees, receive all materials sent to the Trustees but shall have no vote.”
Mrs. Shapiro attended meetings on an on and off basis, last attending on March 22, 1991.
Late in life, Mrs. Shapiro moved to the Carlyle Place nursing and retirement community in Bedford, New Hampshire. Ultimately, the woman who had saved, preserved, and brought to flourishing New Hampshire College would pass away on April 26, 1993 in a Manchester hospital after an illness.
At the 1978 rededication of the Shapiro Library, Ann Shapiro summed up Gertrude Shapiro’s legacy:
“In Gertrude Crockett Shapiro, we see a woman who predated the Women’s Movement, who nurtured and nourished her family and home, and who then ever increasingly dedicated her life to the growth of New Hampshire College.
She has been and continues to be a role model for women, past and present students, and for me. She is a woman who achieved in a man’s world before it became fashionable, who has been a source of inspiration for women who came under her guidance – both those who were directly touched and affected by her advice, kindness, and attention, and for those women who see in her a source of inspiration for what women can achieve.”