Why is the Margaret Chase Smith Library affiliated with Northwood University?
The relationship between Margaret Chase Smith and Michigan-based Northwood University began in 1975 when she addressed the school’s Florida Round Table. The following year, the school presented Senator Smith with a Northwood Distinguished Woman Award. She went on to chair the school’s National Women’s Board from 1978 to 1981. During this same period, Senator Smith received an honorary doctorate from Northwood and joined its Board of Trustees. Significantly, she also made the decision to donate her Congressional papers and Skowhegan house to Northwood, with the understanding the school would establish a library on the site. Ground was broken for the facility in 1981 and the Northwood University Margaret Chase Smith Library opened to the public the next year. From 1982 until her death in 1995, Margaret Chase Smith regularly hosted visitors from Northwood, including the school’s cofounders, Gary Stauffer and Arthur Turner, administrators, supporters, and most importantly, University Colle
