Frances Boudreau, associate professor emeritus of sociology, passed away in April 2017.
Fran received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Rhode Island and her doctorate from the University of Connecticut. She began a series of visiting appointments in the Sociology Department at Connecticut College in 1978, and officially joined the College in 1982 as an assistant professor of sociology. She retired in 2000.
Fran specialized in family, education, gender, aging and urban sociology. She taught courses in human nature and the social order, research methods, aging, deviant behavior, social control and group dynamics, and served as department chair in sociology for several years. A textbook she co-authored, Understanding Social Life: An Introduction to Sociology, and its accompanying reader, Understanding Social Life: A Reader in Sociology, were seen as balanced and thorough surveys of sociological perspectives and issues.
Throughout her career, Fran was a popular and engaging teacher whose students enjoyed learning new issues with her. One of her most popular courses, “Urban Problems,” was sociology’s first service-learning class. It provided students with the opportunity to work with local not-for-profit organizations and advocacy groups.
Fran was a resident of Vernon, Conn., where she lived with her daughter, Laurie Hall ’88, and son-in-law, Frank Salerno. In addition to her daughter Laurie, Fran leaves two daughters, Gayle Holloway, also of Vernon, and Kimson Johnston, of Placentia, Calif., and a son, Joshua Boudreau, of Laramie, Wyo. She was predeceased by her son Adam Boudreau of Seekonk, Mass.