Hampshire College Mourns Founder and Second President, Charles R. Longsworth
Charles R. Longsworth, a founder of the College and its president 1971–77, and co-author of The Making of a College, died on January 8, 2025, in Concord, Massachusetts.
Chuck — as he was known to the community — was the first employee of Hampshire (he then worked for Amherst College), charged with bringing the “New College Plan” into reality. He and his wife Polly were deeply involved in the creation and leadership of what was to be a new kind of college. Chuck started by locating and negotiating the purchase of the land upon which Hampshire now sits.
In June 1966, he and Franklin “Pat” Patterson convened the Hampshire College Conference, inviting leading educators, writers, artists, and musicians from across the country to discuss the design of the curriculum. Over the next few years, Chuck and Pat completed The Making of a College, while Chuck and other founders raised funds and collaborated with architects and builders to construct the campus. Chuck then served as the College’s first vice president, from 1970 to 1971, and for seven years afterward as its second president, from 1971 to 1977.
Chuck remained a trusted advisor and stalwart friend of Hampshire College throughout his life. In later years, he documented his experiences in writing and contributed to the College’s permanent archive. When he and Polly retired to Amherst, they were a consistent presence at campus events, where Chuck could be relied upon to share memories and history with his trademark charm, humor, and pride.
“This is tremendously sad news for the Hampshire community,” said President Ed Wingenbach. “Chuck was an extraordinary person, and his legacy is apparent in every aspect of what makes Hampshire so special — the pastoral beauty of the campus, the rigorously experimenting pedagogy, and, perhaps most importantly, the generations of daring, creative thinkers the College has sent out into the world. I will cherish the time I was able to spend with Chuck, and will be forever grateful for all that he and Polly did to create and nurture this remarkable institution.”
Ken Rosenthal, a fellow founder of the College, former trustee, and College historian who served as interim president in 2019, said, “The experiment we were all embarking on was audacious, an entirely new kind of approach to higher education. And Chuck was right there in the center of it, both creating the vision and making it happen. He and Polly brought together the place, the resources, and the people who made Hampshire the place it is today.”
In 2013, the Hampshire College Board of Trustees unanimously voted to recognize the couple's many contributions by presenting both Chuck and Polly with a Doctor of Humane Letters at that year’s Commencement ceremony.
> The Longsworth family has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Hampshire College.
> Read Charles Longsworth’s obituary.
> Visit our Memorial site to view and share photos, videos, and remembrances.
Photo: Charles and Polly Longsworth on a bicycle on the Hampshire College campus. The Johnson Library can be seen in the background. September 26, 1968. Jones Library, Amherst, Special Collections