In celebration of 50 years of co-education on the Hilltop, we share some of the most memorable stories and accomplishments of the women who have helped make Saint Anselm what it is today.
#1 + #2
1974 AND 1978
While we know the fall of 1974 saw the first co-ed class arrive on campus, the first cohort of women enrolled in the liberal arts program graduated in 1978 with 125 women receiving diplomas on Commencement Day in 1978—with degrees in economics and business, chemistry, criminal justice, English, nursing, history, mathematics, psychology, and sociology.
Saint Anselm College Board of Trustee Susan R. (Berthiaume) Horton, D.N.P. ’78 was one of those 125 graduates, and what she went on to accomplish during the next 50 years has been impressive.
Currently a parish nurse navigator for St. Agnes Parish in Dalton, Mass., as well as a nurse practitioner providing community primary care at Volunteers in Medicine, an organization committed to providing whole person healthcare to the uninsured, she was a cardiology nurse practitioner at Berkshire Faculty Services in Pittsfield, Mass., vice president of Perioperative, Community, and Employee Health Services for Central Maine Healthcare, and executive director of the Central Maine Heart & Vascular Institute in Lewiston, Maine.
She also has worked for the New England Heart Institute and Catholic Medical Center, both located in Manchester. She received a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island in 1980, postmaster’s Family Nurse Practitioner certification from the University of New Hampshire in 1998, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Northeastern University in 2009.
When asked what advice she would give to women graduating today, she was thoughtful, but quick with an answer. “Follow your heart … and don’t let anyone hold you back—that’s critically important, to just know you can be yourself, and know you can do those things,” she says. “Follow that, feel the richness of this campus, it’s an incredibly special place.”
#3
SISTER NIVELLE BERNING, O.S.B.
Arriving on campus as a biology professor in 1968, Sister Nivelle Berning, O.S.B., went on to serve as dean of women and then assistant dean of students. She was Superior of the Benedictine Sisters and was named professor emerita in 1995. Nivelle Hall, which is part of Father Bernard Court, was named for her in 2000.
#4 + #5
RUTH BAGLEY, R.N., M.ED., AND MARGARET AMSBURY
These women were the first female faculty members of the Saint Anselm College nursing program. According to nursing program history, it was in 1951 when Bagley and Amsbury requested the college begin offering professional nursing courses, as well as establish a degree program for graduate registered nurses.
Bagley was then the director of nursing at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, and Amsbury was director of nursing at the Veterans Administration Hospital, now called Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manchester. This photo, from the 1954 yearbook (below), shares that these nine women were the beginning of a four-year Basic Nurse Program established by Rev. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B., and Ruth E. Bagley, R.N., M.Ed., directress of nursing.
#6 + #7
BARBARA STAHL, PH.D., AND ANN SULLIVAN
The arrival of Stahl and Sullivan on campus predated our milestone year of 1974 by 20 years (they were both hired in 1954 in the biology department), and both would go on to spend decades at the college. Stahl, an internationally renowned paleoichthyologist, was the first tenured woman on the faculty.
#8 + #9
JEANNE KENISON, ED.D. (MOUNT SAINT MARY) ’62, AND PAULA HAGAN ’78
Professor Jeanne Kenison was instrumental in helping to shape the department of Economics and Business. Her husband, Arthur Kenison, Ph.D. ’63, was also a professor in the department. She began teaching at the college in 1988 and retired in 2010, and served as the chairperson of the department beginning in 1994. “Jeanne Kenison was an outstanding professor and department chair within the Economics and Business Department for many years,” says Michael McGuinness ’78, associate professor of Economics and Business. “Jeanne’s top priority was always Saint Anselm students, with the college being second and the department third.” McGuinness also shares memories stretching back to the pre-digital age. “I remember preregistration for 400 majors when it was manually done—with the assistance of Faye Tresvik, Jeanne pulled off a miracle each semester in getting everyone into the vast majority of courses they wished to take,” he says. “I was very fortunate to work with Jeanne and Art.”
McGuinness also recognized classmate Paula Hagan ’78. “She was [one of] the original female Economics and Business majors in 1974, so she set the path for every female that has followed,” he says. Hagan remembers those days well. “Susan (Scales) Brown ’78 and I were the two Business Economic grads,” she says. “Most of my fellow students were respectful and tolerant of my presence, [and] being a commuting student gave me a unique circle of friends—we townies would hang out in the Coffee Shop.” Hagan says the Work Study program introduced her to the world of on campus students. “The first person I met at Saint A’s was through this program and we are still friends today.”
#10
NORMA CREAGHE
In 1971, Norma Creaghe was appointed head librarian, a position she held until her retirement in 1981.
During her time as head librarian, she oversaw the first major addition to Geisel in 1973, and today The Creaghe Room offers students, faculty, and staff a quiet place to study and read within the Geisel Library.
#11
DENISE ASKIN, PH.D., H.D. ’08
The Saint Anselm community felt the loss of Denise Askin upon her passing June 6, 2023. She was part of the Hilltop from 1972 to 2009 — teaching in the English department, and also serving as its chair. She was appointed as the first woman in administrative leadership as the executive vice president in 1985, and assistant to the president for inclusiveness in 2008. She also was a member of the board of trustees after retiring in 2009, and served until 2020. In 2022, she was elected as a trustee emerita. She received the American Association of University Professors’ Faculty Member of the Year Award and an honorary doctorate from the college.
#12
ISABELLA GADBOIS
Isabelle Gadbois became the first woman appointed to the advisory board of trustees in 1970. Today, there are 12 female members of the board of trustees: Xiorli Bernazzani, Esq., ’99; Susan M. Connelly ’92; Jeannette M. Davila ’83, H.D. ’99; Margaret A. Emmons ’75; Sheila O. Evjy ’74, H.D. ’19; Beverly Grappone H.D. ’21; Susan R. Horton, D.N.P. ’78; Lori Hoyt-Ripa ’84; Elizabeth Kelly ’83; Jennifer Parent ’89; Kara Pitt, M.D. ’88; and Lyndsay N. Robinson ’14.
# 13
FANNY DELISLE, PH.D.
A member of the English department from 1966 to 1993, she was awarded the Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the Saint Anselm chapter of the American Association of University Professors in 1978. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire. She later became the first person to receive a doctoral degree in English literature from UNH. During her many years at the college, she served as English department chair and was chair of the steering committee for the college’s 10-year reaccreditation. She also served as president of the Faculty Senate for two years.
#14
ALICIA FINN, PH.D.
Since Alicia Finn retired in 2024, the campus has been trying to get used to not seeing her on the Hilltop every day. Arriving as dean of students in 2005, she was the first woman to hold the position, and in 2020 became the first woman to serve as vice president of student affairs. She held both leadership roles until her retirement, also serving on the Senior Administrative Leadership Team and the President’s Council. She played an important role in guiding the campus through the pandemic, and was Student Government Association advisor for all her 19 years at Saint Anselm, and advisor to the softball team for 15 years. As she shared in a previous Portraits interview, her focus was always students first. “I am a developmentalist. I believe in students and their limitless potential,” she says. “I wrote these words in my job application 20 years ago. They were true then and they still are.”
#15
ANDE DIAZ, PH.D.
The inaugural chief diversity officer for the college, Diaz joined the college community in 2017, and retired in 2024. She held several leadership roles including chairing the President’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusiveness, and co-chairing the college’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) action plan, and empowering shared leadership for the campus movement of the Anselmian Network for Racial Justice. She also launched the Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Fund, which provided funding to more than 65 innovators to advance an inclusive campus culture. In the last issue of Portraits, she shared what she saw as her impact on the college. “I felt a deep responsibility to integrate our traditions with our future—not just for the decades ahead, but the perpetuity of the college,” she says. “I felt I was laying down a framework that had to be grounded in the mission and identity of the college and yet be forward-thinking to respond to evolving student body needs and the enrollment trends of the future.”
#16
ROSEMARY STACKPOLE
A name synonymous with delicious food, Rosemary Stackpole was first hired as director of cash operations in 1979, and retired as director of dining services in 2021. Her quick thinking helped guide the college through the many challenges of the pandemic, including implementing a new online ordering system to minimize lines. Some of her legacies: the renowned Thanksgiving cheesecake and pie sale—a beloved event that many students, faculty, staff, and alumni continue to look forward to every year, and the Gingerbread House contest, which began in 2005. “It became a long-standing tradition that was looked forward to by everyone,” says Stackpole about the contest. “Since there were only 100 spots each year, the teams began lining up at 5 a.m. for sign-ups—the ballot box was pulled on the night of our annual Christmas Feast and the winners announced the next day … so many lovely memories.”
#17
ARLENE THOMPSON
The office and program coordinator for Student Engagement and Leadership, Arlene Thompson joined the Student Affairs department in 1998, and is known by students as “Mama Arlene” for her caring and protective advocacy of students. She received the Dr. Constance B. Richards Staff Member of the Year Award presented by the Student Government Association in 2009 and the Senior Award presented in recognition of her service and contribution to the class from the classes of 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. “I have been extremely fortunate to have witnessed so many students grow from the nervous, shy incoming freshman to the mature, professional, and successful graduates during my years at Saint Anselm College,” says Thompson. “I am still in contact with so many students that have graduated over the past 20-plus years, and appreciate that these connections continue—it is truly a privilege to have been a part of their lives over the years.”
#18
KIMBERLY BRITTON
Superintendent of Grounds, Roads, and Fleet Kimberly Britton came to the Hilltop in 1992, and in 2014 she received the Walter J. Gallo ’58 Award. “I love planting and designing new campus spaces for our students, staff, and faculty to enjoy,” she says. Her goal is always looking to plant trees and create useful outdoor areas for all to enjoy, and while it’s hard for her to name a favorite spot on campus, when pushed, she names Founders Green, the redesigned lower green. “I love driving down the hill and looking to the right and seeing the beautiful outdoor space that was created instead of the parking lot that used to sit in that area,” she says. Photo by Kevin Harkins
#19
SHEILA LIOTTA, PH.D.
Sheila Liotta, Ph.D. was named Saint Anselm College’s vice president for academic affairs in 2022, a position previously held by Abbot Isaac Murphy, O.S.B.—making her the first female to fill this role. During her short time on the Hilltop, she already has made an impressive impact, and is proud to be considered an Anselmian. “I am honored to lead such a dedicated team of faculty and staff in academic affairs,” she says. “Their commitment to making the academic experience at Saint Anselm College the best it can possibly be inspires me every day—the level of dedication here is truly something special.”