Remembering Charles Condon

Charles Condon, whose wisdom, institutional knowledge, and dedication to the University of Hartford touched the campus community for more than four decades, died on Dec. 13.

Condon began his tenure at the University in 1969 and would go on to work under four different UHart presidents (Archibald Woodruff, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Humphrey Tonkin, and Walter Harrison) before retiring in 2007. Initially hired by Woodruff to serve as associate provost, Condon’s legal knowledge and background (two law degrees from Harvard) soon led to his appointment as general counsel and University secretary, the position he held upon retirement.

Condon remained involved on campus in subsequent years, serving as a special assistant to the president for five years. His impact on campus spanned many areas. Condon was a founding member of the Board of the van Rooy Center for Complexity and Conflict Analysis. He was an integral member of the University’s annual Martin Luther King Day Planning Committee for more than a dozen years.

“Charles Condon had an enormous influence on the University of Hartford and on me personally,” recalls President Emeritus Harrison. ”He was a trusted advisor and good friend. He handled all of his assignments with grace and humility, both as legal counsel and as secretary of the University. But he also loved the University and its mission and frequently used this quote from Daniel Webster in the early 19th century, referring to Dartmouth College: ‘It is a small college, sir, but there are those who love it.’ No one loved the University as much as Charles did.”

President Emeritus Tonkin, who preceded Harrison, was also greatly influenced by Condon, describing him as "the ideal university counsel: careful and measured in his relationship with the law, loyal and creative in his relationship with higher education. He and I worked together throughout my presidency. I depended heavily on his advice, his good sense, his coolheadedness, and his candor. This last was perhaps the most noteworthy: I always knew where Charles stood on the often knotty issues that we had to deal with, but I was also always assured of his support. He knew the University of Hartford, and its history, like the back of his hand. So much of what I learned, I learned from him. I will miss him and his good sense."

Condon was a major champion of the John G. Martin and Marion A. Bills Scholarship, awarded to senior University of Hartford students to support two years of graduate study at Oxford University's Hertford College. He worked with then-President Trachtenberg to create the scholarship and spent many years developing and maintaining strong relationships with Oxford representatives.

Condon became a member of the Emeriti Association—an organization he himself created 25 years earlier—in 2014 and one year later was part of its executive committee, a role he remained in until his passing.

Among the many contributions Condon made to campus, as described in the Fall 2021 edition of the Emeriti Association’s newsletter, was the donation he made of a ceremonial University mace—a subject that always brought a smile to his face. “Like a proud father, he always reminded University marshals about the proper handling (no fingerprints) of the mace during Commencement.”

"When I think of Charles, I think of a person who always had time for me," recalls Randi Ashton-Pritting, former director of Harrison Libraries. "Charles had a way about himself that made you comfortable with your question and he made sure that you completely understood the answer along with the reason." 

The spring edition of the University’s magazine, H, will include many more memories about Charles Condon and his impact over 40-plus years at the University of Hartford.

courtesy of University of Hartford Archives and Special Collections