Robert Cummings Vance (February 21, 1894 – November 4, 1959) was a Connecticut newspaper publisher and philanthropist.

Background

He was the son of Robert Johnstone Vance, founder[1] and publisher of the New Britain Herald from 1881 until his death in 1902. During his tenure as publisher, the elder Vance won a term in the U.S. Congress, and was later elected mayor of New Britain. Robert C. Vance’s mother, Mathilda O'Connor Vance, became publisher of the Herald in 1904[2]

A New Britain native, Robert C. Vance attended New Britain High School and graduated from Yale College in 1918.[3] He married Arlene-Dorothy Story on July 8, 1928.[4]

Military service

In 1917, during World War I, he served the French Army as an ambulance driver until the US entered the war, at which time he joined the US Army,[5] returning to the US in 1918. For the remainder of his life, he was “active in national, state, and local veterans’ affairs and, from time to time has been honored for this activity.” [6],[7] According to an editorial which ran in the Hartford Courant after his death, “Mr. Vance will be remembered, too, for his interest in veterans' affairs. It began in Paris, when he was one of the group that founded the American Legion.”.[8]

Work with the Herald

Vance was on staff at the Yale Daily News[9] before joining the family business, where his older brother Johnstone Vance (1891-1951) had already assumed the role of managing editor.[10]

Upon Mathilda Vance’s death In 1938,[11] Johnstone Vance assumed the role of Herald publisher and president, holding these positions and that of managing editor until he died in 1951. At that point, Robert inherited all three positions.[12]

Whereas Johnstone Vance was actively political, using the Herald to promote his candidacy in 1924 for U.S. Congress,[13] and making news himself,[14] Robert C. Vance appears to have befriended the leaders of both parties in New Britain (as well as the publishers of other newspapers, who accorded him much more respect than his brother had enjoyed).[15]

When Vance’s son died in 1955, funeral attendees included both U.S. senators from Connecticut, Republicans Prescott Bush and William Purtell; local U.S. Congressman Thomas J. Dodd, a Democrat, and Democratic governor and New Britain native Abraham Ribicoff.[16],[17]

Speaking at a dinner honoring Robert and his late brother Johnstone in 1953, Ribicoff’s predecessor, Republican John Davis Lodge wished “the Vance Family and to the staff of the Herald my friendly greetings and my good wishes for the continued growth of their fine newspaper and of its influence in the New Britain community.”[18]

Death

Vance, who “had been in poor health for some time”,[19] died on November 4, 1959. Ribicoff characterized his death “a great loss to Connecticut … It is also a personal loss to me, for I had the privilege of his warmth and understanding friendship for many years”.[20]

Agnes Vance Weld, Robert’s sister, succeeded him as publisher of the Herald,[21] which continued to be run by the Vance and Weld families until 1995.[22]

Robert C. Vance Foundation

Vance's mother was “known for her philanthropies, always carried out in a quiet manner,”[23] and Vance himself appears to have followed her example during his life. In 1956[24] he founded the Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation, Inc., which he designated in his will as a major beneficiary of his estate. His estate, valued at about $US 1.3 million in 1960,[25] was the largest probated in New Britain that year.[26]

The foundation has provided grants to a range of charitable causes in central Connecticut, including the local School Readiness Council,[27] the New Britain–Berlin YMCA[28] and the Friendship Shelter Center, a homeless shelter in New Britain.[29]

Association with Central Connecticut State University

In 1967 the Connecticut Board of Trustees for the State Colleges resolved to name the planned industrial education building at Central Connecticut State College the “Robert C. Vance Industrial Arts Center.” At that time a separate science building was also planned. However, in 1971, the board approved a new plan for a single science and industrial education building to be named for longtime professor Charles E. Pratt (the building was eventually named Copernicus Hall). As part of this change, a newly completed dormitory building was named Robert C. Vance Hall.[30] In 1983 the foundation established the Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecture Series at Central Connecticut State University, and in 2000 the foundation donated $US 1.4 million to establish the Robert C. Vance Distinguished Professorship of Journalism and Mass Communications at the same institution.[31] At that time a new classroom building at CCSU was named the Robert C. Vance Academic Center in his honor.[32]

References

  1. ↑ Agnes Weld Dies; Herald Publisher. (1975, February 28). Hartford Courant, p. 4, ¶3:
    “…the daughter of the paper’s founder, Robert J. Vance.” [emphasis added]
  2. ↑ Mrs. R. J. O’Connor, Publisher, Is Dead: Owner of New Britain Herald Was Widow of Congressman. (1938, June 26). New York Times, p. 27.
  3. ↑ Arlene-Dorothy Story to Wed Robert C. Vance. (1928, April 15). Daily Boston Globe, p. A8.
  4. ↑ Robert C. Vances Mark Wedding Date (1933, July 9). Hartford Courant, p. 4.
  5. ↑ Robert C. Vance, 65, Editor, Publisher. (1959, November 5). New York Times, p. 35.
  6. ↑ R. C. Vance, Publisher, Dies At 65. (1959, November 5). Hartford Courant, p. 12.
  7. ↑ Robert C. Vance Cited By Army. (1959, March 13). Hartford Courant, p. 36c.
  8. ↑ Robert C. Vance [editorial]. (1959, November 5). Hartford Courant, p. 18.
  9. ↑ R. C. Vance, Publisher, Dies At 65. (1959, November 5). Hartford Courant, p. 12.
  10. ↑ Weddings at St. Mary's Church. (1915, June 7). Hartford Courant, p. 13.
  11. ↑ Mrs. Mathilda O'Connor Vance Dies, President of New Britain Herald. (1938, June 26). Hartford Courant, p. 1.
  12. ↑ Robert C. Vance Heads New Britain Herald. (1951, April 20). Hartford Courant, p. 2.
  13. ↑ Vance Washed Hands of Major Parties. (1924, October 7). Hartford Courant. p. 2
  14. ↑ e.g., Investigation of Charles Gardini's New Britain Story. (1921, October 9). Hartford Courant, p. 1.
  15. ↑ Robert C. Vance was a featured speaker is many events typically reserved for delegates from or members of either the Democratic or Republican parties; e.g.,
    • Dodd Candidacy Seen Choice of City Delegation. (1958, June 28). Hartford Courant, p. 8C. ;
    • Republicans Pay Tribute to Lincoln (1955, February 13). Hartford Courant, p. B15A.
  16. ↑ Bearers Listed For R. J. Vance In New Britain. (1955, December 19). Hartford Courant, p. 12.
  17. ↑ State Notables Attend Funeral of R. J. Vance. (1955, December 20). Hartford Courant, p. 10.
  18. ↑ Vance Brothers Honored At Press Club Banquet. (1953, April 10). Hartford Courant, p. 24B.
  19. ↑ City Briefs [item 3]. (1959, November 4). Hartford Courant, p. 12.
  20. ↑ R. C. Vance, Publisher, Dies At 65. (1959, November 5). Hartford Courant, p. 12.
  21. ↑ Mrs. Weld Named Editor of Herald (1959, November 25). Hartford Courant, p. 5.
  22. ↑ Downs, Peter. (2001, September 14). Judith W. Brown Dies; Was Herald Publisher; Executive Also Known For Service To New Britain. Hartford Courant, p. B1.
  23. ↑ Mrs. Mathilda O'Connor Vance Dies, President of New Britain Herald. (1938, June 26). Hartford Courant, p. 1.
  24. ↑ Widow, Daughter Beneficiaries In Publisher's Will. (1959, November 18). Hartford Courant, p. 20C. ; the National Center for Charitable Statistics gives an "approximate" date of 1958 in its overview of the Foundation
  25. ↑ Publisher Leaves $1.3 Million. (1960, April 22). Hartford Courant, p. 6.
  26. ↑ 67 Estates Probated Valued above $25,000. (1961, January 1). Hartford Courant, p. 6C1.
  27. ↑ Waldman, Loretta. (2004, December 18). Preschool Training Gains Funds. Hartford Courant, p. B3.
  28. ↑ Chedekel, Lisa (1996, February 29). New Britain–Berlin YMCA Starts Fund Raising Drive. Hartford Courant, p. B.1.
  29. ↑ Woolfe, Tao. (1982, December 30). Refuge Opened To Poor. Hartford Courant, p. E1B.
  30. ↑ Board of Trustees for the State Colleges (1971, June 4). Resolution concerning the Naming of New Buildings at Central Connecticut State College. Board Resolution 71-51. Retrieved 2014-10-7.
  31. ↑ Guzman, Karen. (2000, November 3). Central to Honor Vance. Hartford Courant, p. B1.
  32. ↑ Board of Trustees for the Connecticut State University System (2000, November 2). Resolution naming the new classroom and office building at Central Connecticut State University in honor of Robert C. Vance. Board Resolution BR#2000-89. Retrieved 2014-10-7.
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