James A. Frost

Early life and education

Frost was born on May 15, 1918, in Manchester, England. He was the son of Rev. Harry Arthur Frost and Janet Florence Roberts Wilson Frost.

Frost enrolled at Columbia University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1940. He continued his studies at Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he received his master's and doctoral degrees in American history. In 1993, he was honored with an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

New York

Frost held administrative positions at the state colleges located in Oneonta and New Paltz, New York. He served as the provost for Academic Planning and Undergraduate Education and vice-chancellor for University Colleges at the State University of New York system.

From 1947 to 1949, Frost taught American history at the State University of New York at Oneonta. He later served as the special assistant to the president. On December 2, 1949, he was appointed dean of the college.

While at Oneonta, Frost was appointed to a Smith-Smudt professorship in American history at the University of Ceylon in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He held this position from July 1959 until April 1960. During his sabbatical leave, he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, which allowed him to visit various American studies centers in Japan.

Frost was elected an honorary fellow of the New York State Historical Association and appointed to the College Entrance Examination Board's Committee on Research and Development.

Connecticut

Frost led the 33,000-student system for 12 years, significantly expanding academic programs and dormitory growth at Central Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut, and Western Connecticut state universities.

Upon assuming his position, Frost identified that the programs offered across the four campuses were mainly centered on teacher education and liberal arts. Therefore, he oversaw the expansion of the educational initiatives to include courses in business administration, social work, computer science, and health science. Frost played a critical role in transforming the four-year state colleges into a university system, which was implemented on March 1, 1983.

... His integrity in leadership and scholarship has greatly influenced the development of our state universities and the quality of programs they offer our students. — Gov. William A. O'Neill

In 1984, Frost delivered the 134th commencement address at Central Connecticut State University to an audience of approximately 1800 graduating students.

During his speech, he emphasized:

Robinson School, West Hartford

In 1973, Frost, a resident of Simsbury, was appointed to serve on the board of trustees of the Robinson School in West Hartford, Connecticut. He filled the unexpired term previously held by the late Francis Hogan of Torrington Connecticut. James T. O'Donnell and Theodore M. Smith were class speakers. C. Edward Lamson distributed diplomas.