May 8, 1998
Middlebury Legend Stephen A. Freeman
To Observe 100th Birthday
Middlebury College President John M. McCardell,
Jr. Presents Freeman with a Congratulatory Letter from Governor
Dean
Professor Emeritus of French at Middlebury College,
pioneer in the field of foreign language teaching, and long-time
resident of Middlebury, Stephen A. Freeman will turn 100 years
old on May 9. Earlier in the week, on May 7, Middlebury College
President John M. McCardell, Jr. joined Dr. Freeman at Shard Villa
in Salisbury, where Freeman now lives, and presented the distinguished
educator with a framed congratulatory letter from Governor Howard
Dean. Bob Youngman, a College trustee; Edward C. Knox, French
professor and former Middlebury Language Schools director; and
several other College representatives also were present.
The gathering at Shard Villa was held both in honor
of Freeman’s birthday and in recognition of Freeman’s critical
role-spanning more than six decades-in the life and academic affairs
of Middlebury College, and in the Middlebury community.
A loyal citizen of Middlebury for many years, Freeman
has volunteered his time as a member of the Addison County Grammar
School Corporation, moderator of the elementary school district,
village moderator and president of the Friends of the Ilsley Library.
He is also a long-time member of the Middlebury Rotary Club and
the Middlebury Congregational Church.
A World War I veteran, Freeman served in the U.S.
Navy as an aviator, training flyers in Massachusetts, Florida
and New York. He has led Middlebury’s parade for many years on
Memorial Day, fitting perfectly into the aviator’s uniform he
wore decades ago.
Freeman joined the Middlebury College faculty in
1925 as professor of French and dean at the fledgling French School,
the second of Middlebury’s summer Language Schools. In 1943, he
was named the College’s first vice president for foreign languages
and assumed the additional duties of director of the Language
Schools in 1946. In 1949, he established the first of Middlebury
College’s Language Schools abroad in Paris.
He served on the faculty for 45 years, occupying
more academic and administrative appointments than any other individual
in the history of the College. During three academic years between
1940 and 1953, he led the College as interim president.
Freeman was president of the American Association
of Teachers of French from 1940 to 1944. He also led the National
Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations from 1948
to 1954.
The recipient of five honorary degrees, he was decorated
twice by the French government with the title of Chevalier in
the Legion of Honor and Commander of L’Ordre Des Palmes Académiques.
He also received the Bicentennial Award of the National Education
Association. For 25 years he was president of the Middlebury College
Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1993, the Middlebury College board of trustees
voted to name the College’s international center in Freeman’s
honor.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1919 from
Harvard. He also received a master’s and doctorate from Harvard
and did additional graduate work at the Universities of Paris
and Lyon. Before coming to Middlebury, Freeman taught for two
years at Brown University.
Dr. Freeman has enjoyed the birthday visits, congratulations
and warm wishes of family, friends and former colleagues during
this memorable birthday week in Middlebury.