During his freshman year, former government professor and founding director of the Rockefeller Center Frank Smallwood '51 bonded with his classmates by playing hockey on ice rinks they created by flooding hallways during the winter. An active leader on campus, Smallwood died in his Vermont home on Oct. 3. He was 86.
Smallwood will be remembered for his intellectual curiosity, witty sense of humor, open-mindedness and his love for his family and the Dartmouth community.
As Smallwood was completing his PhD at Harvard University and working for the Atomic Energy Commission, he accepted an offer to serve as assistant to College President John Dickey in 1957. Among his first tasks was to examine the Board of Trustees' structure, which prompted changes in board elections and facilitated the inclusion of academic, female and minority candidates.
After becoming a full-time government professor in 1959, Smallwood continued to push for educational and institutional change in response to the changing societal norms that challenged Dartmouth's "old boys' club" reputation. Smallwood pioneered and supported various interdisciplinary programs, including African and African-American studies, Native American studies, women's studies and public policy. He helped lead an aggressive recruitment campaign to attract Native American students and hire female and minority faculty.
In a 2010 interview in Rauner Special Collections Library's oral history project, Smallwood said his second daughter, who later became a member of one of the College's first coeducational classes, inspired his early support for coeducation.
Among government department faculty, Frank was viewed by many as "the designated hitter with respect to the administration," former government professor Richard Winters said.
"Whenever and whatever the faculty needed, he was there and able to serve," he said.
Smallwood's involvement in politics extended beyond the Dartmouth administration. During a sabbatical, Smallwood won a seat in the Vermont State Senate, where he served from 1973 to 1974. His colleagues recognized him as rookie of the year, and many were disappointed when he decided to return to Dartmouth to teach.
"Frank had a wonderful reputation in the political community," classmate Haviland Smith '51 said. "He was Republican the right kind of Republican you could say a New England or Rockefeller Republican, socially liberal and fiscally conservative."
Winters said Smallwood could have become governor, had he chosen to remain in politics.
"It's very rare to find an academic who can be a successful politician," he said. "Frank was one of the true geniuses at bridging that kind of gap."
Smallwood's daughter Sandy Rendall '78 attributed her father's passion for politics to his genuine interest in people.
She recalled accompanying her father during his campaign and handing out flyers, while watching him tirelessly introduce himself to passerby.
"He went to every single town in Windsor County and stood on the sidewalk shaking peoples' hands," she said. "I remember thinking, How can you keep doing this?'"
Rendall said her father's decision to go into politics was motivated by his desire to gain hands-on experience in the field and enrich his perspective as an educator.
"Teaching was a first love, he never looked elsewhere," she said. "Part of what made him a successful human being was that he had a career doing something he loved and made him a happy man. He was a man who loved his family very much."
Rendall said students described her father's classes as highly interactive during an era dominated by traditional lectures. His classes often featured student discussions, arguments and debates. As an educator, he believed that he was learning just as much from his students as they were learning from him.
In addition to teaching introductory classes in government, he also established an urban studies exchange program between Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rendall's friend Helene Rassias-Miles said she remembered Smallwood's gift for listening to people.
"He was always smiling, always present, always interested in who you were as a person," she said. "He really treasured everyone individually."
Throughout his tenure at Dartmouth, Smallwood was also associate dean of social sciences, acting dean of the faculty and vice president for student affairs.
Smallwood is survived by his wife Ann Logie and their children Susan Ernst, Dave Smallwood, Don Smallwood and Rendall.
