Annhurst College was founded in 1940 by Mother Marie-Louis du Sacré-Coeur, D.H.S., the Provincial Superior of the American Province of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, as Ker-Anna Junior College, an all-women's institution. The name honored a major French shrine to Saint Ann located in the village of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray in Brittany, the region of France where the Sisters had been founded and first served. The first classes were held on September 23, 1941.[3] The name was changed two years later, when the school was accredited as a full four-year college by the State of Connecticut.[4] The new name was created as a combination of "Ann" with the Old English suffix "-hurst," referring to the grove-like setting of the campus.[5]
Student life on campus included a newspaper called The Heather, a yearbook called The Sylvan, and athletic programs.[6][7] An alumnae association was formed in 1945 by the first graduating class.[8] Students called their college "Annie U."[9]
Annhurst had an active arts community. The college sponsored and housed the Eastern Connecticut Performing Arts Group, which had 50 members at the time of the college's closure.[10] In 1967, the college decided to construct a new fine arts building to meet demand;[11] it opened in 1970 as the Annhurst College Cultural Center.[12][13] Although a private, Catholic college, Annhurst had received state funding for its cultural center's construction.[14] This was found not to be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution by the Supreme Court of the United States in Tilton v. Richardson (1970).[15][16]
In its final years, administrators tried multiple approaches to counter the college's mounting debt, which reached $4 million (USD) by 1980.[17] Co-educational evening and part-time students were accepted by 1971,[18] with men admitted as full students starting in 1972.[2] The Annhurst International Institute provided English as a second language education to international students.[19] In 1977, the college began offering admission to students with learning disabilities who were unable to complete high school.[20] In an appeal to Catholic students, administrators emphasized philosophy and religion in the curriculum.[10] A month before closing, the college auctioned off physical assets, including its sign.[17]
At its closing in May 1980,[21] Annhurst had 350 students,[17] 25 of whom were male.[citation needed].
Former campus
The rural 180-acre (0.73 km2) campus[17] was sold to Data General Corporation, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts.[22] The Data General Facilities group, led by Roland Quillia, converted the college to a Field Engineering training center. The converted Data General field engineering training center opened in November 1981.
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