The staff of the University Archives thought it might be fun (and hopefully useful!) to spotlight some of the individuals whose names adorn our campus buildings. First up is Jacques Allan Gerard and his namesake, Gerard Hall.
Jacques Allan Gerard
Jacques Gerard was born in Russian Empire-ruled Minsk. At age 16 or 17, he enlisted in the Russian Imperial Army. He later fled Russia to study engineering in Germany and France, eventually rising to become president of his own manufacturing company in Paris. He came to the U.S. for the first time in 1936 and settled in Windsor, Vermont, taking a job with the Cone Automatic Machine Company. In 1939, he founded his own machine parts company in New York City. By the end of the 1940s, Gerard's company was successful enough to make him a tenant of Rockefeller Plaza!
His residency in Windsor, as well as his friendship with Henry Chaplin, Cone’s then-president and Norwich trustee, made a lasting impression on Jacques Gerard. As did Norwich University. In 1956, Gerard added two $750 scholarships to his previous $25,000 in donations.
Gerard’s visits to Northfield were scarce but he maintained strong ties with his friend Henry Chaplin and with Windsor, Vermont. He also continued to be a generous benefactor to Norwich, joining the Board of Trustees in 1959. His most generous gift, a whopping $100,000 to build a new dormitory, came to us in 1962. And thus you have, in a nutshell, the story behind how Gerard Hall came to adorn our proud Upper Parade Ground.
Through Chaplin, Gerard struck up a correspondence with President Harmon. You can read all their letters in Harmon's collection of records in the Norwich University Archives.
Gerard Hall in 1964
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