Remembering Paul Swain Havens

Following Paul’s passing in 1980, Lorraine and her children received an outpouring of sympathy from Paul’s friends, colleagues, and former students. Several Wilson College alumnae who knew Havens during his years as president penned tributes to their former mentor, describing the influence which he had on the college and the lives of its students. These eulogies focused on Havens’s personal qualities as much as his leadership of the college, revealing a man who was beloved for his patience, values, love of poetry, and occasional eccentricities. It is evident from these tributes that Havens cared about the wellbeing of Wilson’s students as much as their academic success. He is described as participating in recreational sporting events, plays, and other campus activities with Wilson's students, as well as greeting them by name whenever he passed by them on campus.

Today, the legacy of Paul Swain Havens is very much alive at Wilson College, and can be found throughout the campus itself, as well as in the memories of those who knew him. Wilson College grew substantially during the presidency of Havens, adding 15 buildings and expanding to cover 101 acres. The number of faculty members furthermore grew by 40% during Havens’s leadership, and new opportunities were created for students through increased course offerings, new degree programs, and a greater availability of financial aid. The former president’s home now houses the Hankey Center for the History of Women’s Education and the C. Elizabeth Boyd '33 Archives.