Nan M. Stuart ’71

Foxcroft students were surprised by special guest Nan Stuart 1971 and her furry companions — golden retrievers Kevlar and Kubota — during last Friday’s Morning Meeting. Stuart, the namesake of Stuart Hall dorm, was on campus to receive Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire 1952 Distinguished Service Award, from the Board of Trustees.

As Kate Hastings 1978, immediate past chair of the board, shared during her comments, “On any given day, you can find Nan teaching a course, demonstrating the proper handling of a horse, evacuating animals in a disaster, traveling to speak at a conference, consulting on the phone, discussing the latest NASCAR race, brainstorming new projects, or traveling across the United States in her Code 3 truck with her four-legged children in the back seat. What you won’t find Nan doing is sitting still, waiting for things to happen. She is a woman of quiet action who sees a need and addresses it; someone who is always thinking of ways to, in Miss Charlotte’s words, 'brighten each corner' where she is.” 

Stuart is the founder of Code 3 Associates, a nonprofit dedicated to providing professional training for first responders and emergency assistance to pets and livestock affected by natural disasters. Generations of her beloved golden retrievers have served as teachers for swift water and ice rescue and have done therapy work. They also continue to participate in cancer research at the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University, where she is hopeful that One Cure, CSU’s comparative oncology approach — a collaboration between scientists and doctors working with people and animals — will bring therapies that can save humans as well as animals and may lead to finding a cure for this devastating disease. 

As a Foxcroft Trustee, she helped the School realize many goals, including a new strategic plan and the construction of Stuart Hall, the dormitory that bears her name. At the dedication of Stuart Hall, she surprised the students who participated in Project Green Build, a seminar focused on aspects of the construction of a LEED building, by promising a scholarship to their college if they studied engineering or architecture. Five Foxcroft alumnae received her support as a result. She has also created scholarships to provide access to a Foxcroft education. She has brought speakers like NASCAR driver Danica Patrick to campus and has spoken to our Animal Science and Biology classes, which she did once again after the award presentation. 

After the comments by Hastings, Board of Trustees Chair Natalie Wiltshire 1995 read the official proclamation, and both presented the award to Stuart amid much applause and cheering!