CWC HONORS THREE FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO RECENTLY PASSED

Three former Central Wyoming College employees passed away in fall 2021. The college honors former president Richard St. Pierre, as well as Professor Richard ‘Dick’ Winslow and WACE Office Assistant and Community Education Instructor Judy Hubbard. 

Richard St. Pierre

(1940 – 2021)

Richard St. Pierre graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1961 and went on to teach high school and coach basketball in Watertown, Connecticut. While in graduate school, Dr. St. Pierre worked in the Pittsfield school district in Massachusetts. 

St. Pierre earned two master’s degrees; one in biology from St. Joseph’s College in Connecticut in 1965 and one in geology, the following year, from Union College in New York. 

In 1966, Dr. St. Pierre began teaching science at Berkshire Community College in Massachusetts. While at this college, he pioneered an environmental program and served as the Dean of Admissions. 

St. Pierre was named assistant dean of academic affairs at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts in 1971. During his five years at Bristol, Dr. St. Pierre was appointed to the Board on Vocational Technical Education in 1972 and became a dean in 1976. The same year, Dr. St. Pierre earned his doctorate in higher education management from Southeastern University in Florida. 

St. Pierre’s wife said his short but productive presidency was typical of his career.

After completing his doctoral education, Dr. St. Pierre became the interim president of Quinsigamond Community College in Massachusetts. He had this position until he was hired as CWC’s third president. He and his wife, Margaret, moved their four daughters to Wyoming in 1980. 

At CWC, Dr. St. Pierre founded Wyoming Public Television, secured funding for the Arts Center, and acquired the horsemanship facility for the equine and rodeo programs. He also got approval from the Community College Commission to become the first community college in the state with a nursing program.

“He was always in a hurry to get things done,” Margaret St. Pierre said. “He did a lot in the three years he was there, then on to the next challenge. “

In 1983, Dr. St. Pierre left the college to take his first company public on the Vancouver, B.C. stock exchange. With Margaret as his partner, he pioneered two mineral exploration companies with properties in the United States and Canada. 

When the market crashed in 1987, Dr. St. Pierre began working out of Manhattan and Gothenberg, Sweden to help introduce Swedish businesses to the United States. 

St. Pierre never fully left the field of education. Bishop Ricken appointed him to the Board of Wyoming Catholic College in 2005, where he served until his death in December 2021.