MCC Founder Recognized for Service in World War II
Manchester, CT – (May 3, 2007) . . . Eleanor Coltman, one of the founders of Manchester Community College, will receive the Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal for her honorable service in World War II.
The Connecticut Veterans Wartime Service Medal was established by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2005 to specifically honor Connecticut residents who served for at least 90 days on active duty in a time of war and were honorably discharged. Coltman served two years during World War II as a criminal investigator in the United States Army Air Force (Women’s Army Corps).
“Eleanor is an icon in our community,” stated Dr. Jonathan M. Daube, President of Manchester Community College. “Her intellectual curiosity, her creativity and her integrity are beyond praise; I am profoundly grateful to my colleague, Dianne E. Williams, President of Quinebaug Valley Community College, for helping make this award possible.”
Coltman was instrumental and worked tirelessly in establishing Manchester Community College in 1963. She joined the faculty as a part-time lecturer in 1966 and retired as professor emerita in 1980. In 1987, Governor O’Neill appointed Coltman to the state-wide community colleges’ Board of Trustees; she was re-appointed in 1993 by Governor Weicker, and retired from the Board in 1999. In 1990, she received a special award from the American Association of Women in Community and Junior Colleges in recognition of her many years of visionary leadership. In 2002, Coltman received an honorary degree from MCC.
Coltman has lived in Manchester for many years and was very active in the community, serving as a member of the Manchester Public Library board, the Manchester Board of Education, the board of directors for the Town of Manchester, the Manchester League of Women Voters, and the Manchester Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees; she was also a corporator of the Savings Bank of Manchester.
Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The College offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. MCC is situated on a park-like campus and is easily accessible from I-84.
