Most of the published remembrances of Lola Aiken, who died at 102 on Monday, have stressed her engaged life in politics and public service as the wife, then widow, of Vermont governor and senator George D. Aiken.

Over the years, Lola, as she was affectionately known to almost everyone who knew her, also loomed large at UVM.    

“Lola Aiken was a vital figure in the life of the University of Vermont for nearly four decades,” said UVM president Tom Sullivan. “We’re enormously grateful for her many, varied contributions -- from launching UVM’s best known lecture series to helping find a home for our natural resources school to inspiring our students, staff and faculty every time she met with them. We will miss her dearly.”

Many of Aiken’s contributions to UVM are easy to identify, because they bear her family name.

She helped launch -- and find the resources to endow -- UVM’s longest running and most well known lecture series, the Aiken Lecture Series. For 30 years she served on the board of the series, which has brought a notable speaker or speakers to the university every year since 1975, helping select lecturers and, until recently, attending all their talks.

Aiken also played a key part in creating a home for the School of Natural Resources, now named the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, which had been scattered in buildings around campus. She helped build a compelling case for a new building, the George D. Aiken Center, which opened in 1982, and raised funds for its construction. Thirty years later, she actively supported the Aiken Center's expansion and environmental renovation and was on hand as the guest of honor when the newly green building re-opened in 2012. 

In 1993 she was a founding member of the board of advisers for the School of Natural Resources and was an active participant in advising its leadership for two decades. 

“She was generous with her time and resources and was a vigorous contributor to the life of the school during and after her time as a member of the board of advisors,” said Larry Forcier, associate professor emeritus in the Rubenstein School, who worked closely with Aiken and knew her well, as a faculty member and dean of both the School of Natural Resources and the Rubenstein School.

“She brought both Vermont values and a world perspective to all of us,” he said. "She made students, staff and faculty feel that what they were doing was important now and for others in the future.” 

To commemorate her many contributions to the School of Natural Resources, the school named its honors program after her. Aiken would meet with the honors class each year to tell her story and share her viewpoints on Vermont and national politics. At commencement the Rubenstein School still bestows the Lola Aiken Award on those of its students who demonstrate great potential in the natural resources field.

From the spring of 1975 to the spring of 1979, Lola and George Aiken were occasionally full fledged members of the UVM community, as couple-in-residence in Suite B-120 of the newly opened Living Learning Center, spending three or four days living there most semesters.  

Aiken received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UVM in 1975.

“She was a true citizen of UVM, as well as of the world,” Forcier said. “She will be missed.” 

A memorial mass will be held at St. Augustine's Church at 16 Barre Street in Montpelier on Monday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m.