John A. Russell of South Burlington, a 1970 graduate of Saint Michael's College, and well known realtor in Vermont, was named the college’s alumnus of the year at Reunion 2010 award ceremonies held June 12 on the college campus in Burlington.
Mr. Jack Russell, native of Jersey City, N.J., came to Saint Michael’s College on a basketball scholarship in 1966. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, he stayed in the Burlington area and taught at Missisquoi Valley Union High School. He then made a career change when he opened Century 21 Jack Associates, a real estate and development business. Mr. Russell he opened several offices across the state, becoming the largest agency in Vermont for many years. He was named Vermont Realtor of the Year in 1983 and is a former president of the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors, director of Vermont Association of Realtors, and director of Northern Vermont Homebuilders Association.
Mr. Russell was praised for staying close to Saint Michael’s, while also being a busy real estate agent, developer, husband, father, little league and basketball coach. He served the college as an associate trustee, helping create the SMC Green Mountain Scholar Golf Classic that raises $50,000 yearly to help Vermont students attend Saint Michael’s College. He served as president of the SMC Purple Knights Athletic Booster Club for five years, and annually hosted basketball and soccer outings at his home for local alumni, current players, coaches, and friends of the College.
Jack Russell has also been a Saint Michael’s Fund leadership donor since the early years of his career. Offering his real estate expertise, Mr. Russell has consulted with the SMC Academic Review Committee, while also serving as a local career counselor for students. This spring, he served on the search committee for the college’s new basketball coach, Michael Harding.
Mr. Russell traveled to France with his wife Lynn, the Edmundites priests, and college officials to trace the life of St. Edmund, and better understand the commitment and works of the Society of St. Edmund. He currently serves on the board of St. Anne’s Shrine, an Edmundite shrine in Isle La Motte, Vt., and he financially supports Edmundite Campus Ministry programs on campus.
The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael’s provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael’s College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America’s top college towns. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation’s Best 371 Colleges, and will be included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael’s is one of only 270 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael’s has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael’s students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson,Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation’s Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.