BANGOR, Maine — Clara Swan, one of Husson University’s most esteemed graduates and former employees, has died.
Husson spokesman Eric Gordon said the university was notified of Swan’s death on Saturday. He did not yet have information about when and where she died, or her funeral arrangements.
“Clara Swan was a Husson University icon,” Gordon said on Saturday.
An educator, administrator and a pioneer in women’s athletics, Swan touched the lives of hundreds — if not thousands — of Husson students over her more than 30 years on the university’s Bangor campus.
“She was truly loved,” Gordon said. “She was really someone who was very hands-on and very interested in students’ lives and helping to promote the successes of each individual.”
She encouraged students to follow their dreams — and held them accountable, Gordon said, citing his conversations with alumni at Swan’s last three birthday parties at Husson.
“But they loved her for it. She was someone who took a personal interest and helped those students make sure that they were successful,” Gordon said.
Born in the Washington County town of Princeton, Swan graduated from Brewer High School in 1930 as valedictorian and went on to attend the Maine School of Commerce, today known as Husson University. She graduated in 1933.
After teaching for five years Mexico, Maine and Dover-Foxcroft, she earned degrees from the University of Maine and American International College before returning to Husson in 1939. There she taught and served as an administrator for 34 years.
She also coached women’s basketball for 19 years, achieving a win-loss record of 240-34-7 — including two undefeated seasons, according to information compiled by the university on the occasion of her 104th birthday last April. She was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
In tribute to the Swan’s contributions to the campus, Husson named its fitness center in her honor in 2002.
Two years ago, former UMaine women’s basketball standout Emily Ellis broke ground on an apartment complex development near Husson University. She named it after Swan, recognizing her influence on the school and its legacy.
Husson Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Lynne Coy-Ogan remembered Swan as one of the university’s most acclaimed faculty members and administrators.
“When people think of Husson University, they think of Clara Swan,” she said. “She had an amazing impact on hundreds and hundreds of students over her career and so many alum, when they returned to the university, asked about Clara, sharing personal stories of how she helped transform their lives.
“She was a woman with high aspirations, a caring presence and a real dedication to make a difference in the lives of every Husson student that she came in contact with,” Coy-Ogan said. “She’ll be greatly missed and she’ll continue to be an acclaimed part of Husson’s history.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins also was among those mourning Swan’s passing.
“Clara was an inspiration for so many students at Husson whose lives she touched through her teaching and coaching,” she said. “She was an amazing woman who lived a long and fulfilling life. I shall miss her and feel lucky to have known her for more than 20 years.”
As a student at Brewer High School in the mid- to late 1920s, Clara was introduced to three-court basketball, which was the only interscholastic team sport available to girls at that time, according to the Brewer School Department’s website. An outstanding guard, she not only received her “B” letter all three years she played basketball, she was a significant factor in leading the Brewer girls’ team to their first winning season in school history her senior year.
In August of 2014, the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame inducted her in the category “Legends of the Game,” which recognizes those who helped the early development of basketball in Maine.
Kissy Walker, who followed in Swan’s women’s basketball coaching footsteps, said that her predecessor remained a fixture in the university’s sports scene, attending games until recently.
“She was very direct and very stern and told it like it was,” Walker said of Swan.
One of those times involved a game in which the Husson team wasn’t rebounding well. After the game Swan said, “Your girls, you know. You need to get them up on the board if you want to win games,” Walker recalled.
“She did great things and had a great life but it’s sad, you know, because she was an icon,” Walker said.