BARBARA STAHL, RENOWNED SCHOLAR AND SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE PROFESSOR

Goffstown, N.H. -- Professor Barbara Stahl, the senior faculty member at Saint Anselm College and a driving force for excellence at the school, died Friday after a long illness. She was 73.

"The whole college mourns the loss of this very excellent professor who devoted her entire professional life to the education of Saint Anselm students,"said college President Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B. "In her 50 years with the college she never lost her enthusiasm for the classroom and never weakened in her quest for excellence. In her push for the highest standards, she pushed the institution, as well."

A biology professor, Dr. Stahl served as mentor, coach and advocate for dozens of Saint Anselm students who went on to become physicians and dentists, as well as students who went on to graduate school in the sciences.

Dr. Stahl taught a two-semester comparative anatomy course, which was considered a gateway course for students interested in studying medicine. For years she chaired the pre-professional committee that guides students applying to medical school.

"In their hearts, they have a great, big thanks to her," said Fr. Peter Guerin, O.S.B., professor of theology who worked closely with her during his 25 years as Dean of the College. "She was on a first-name basis with the deans of most of the medical schools. And she would fight for the students who she believed could do the work."

A graduate of Wellesley College who earned her master's in biology from Radcliffe College and her Ph.D. from Harvard University, Dr. Stahl was honored in October 2003 for 50 years of teaching at the college. At the time, NH Sen. Lou D'Allesandro attended a luncheon to present her with a senate proclamation marking her contributions to higher education.

She also was an internationally renowned researcher and author in her field. Last fall, a species of extinct chimaeroid fish was named Callorhinchus stahli to mark her contributions to research in holocephalian fish systematics. In 2000, she published the definitive work on the Chondrichthyes fish. Her scholarly work took her around the world to examine fossils - typically the teeth -- of prehistoric fish that lived some 300 million years ago.

Dr. Stahl served on many college committees throughout her tenure, received numerous honors, and is remembered as an eloquent and strong-willed defender of her points of view. She served as president of the Faculty Senate and as a member of the college's first accreditation committee. As chair of the biology department, she helped build both its size and reputation.

A lover and patron of the arts, Dr. Stahl also was a champion of the college's Portraits of Human Greatness humanities program, for which she taught seminars on Hobbes and Darwin. She, along with her husband, retired dentist Dr. David Stahl, would often allow students to use the couple's permanent seats at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

"She believed that the experience of live music would change a student," said Fr. Guerin.

She also was active in the community, and was a founding director of The Derryfield School in Manchester.

Dr. Stahl was diagnosed with bone cancer in May 2002, after breaking her hip just before the start of a humanities seminar. She gave her lecture without letting anyone know of her physical condition. After her diagnosis and despite a poor prognosis, she remained a full professor, telling colleagues that she would "die with her boots on."

She continued to teach through the fall semester of 2003. Two days before her death, she notified Dean of the College Fr. Augustine Kelly, O.S.B., that she was too weak to teach in the spring semester.

"She was a profound inspiration to us at the college," said Fr. Jonathan. "In the last year and a half of her life, despite her physical difficulties, she maintained her commitment to Saint Anselm College and its students."

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, three daughters, Susan Hardy, Nancy Wilsker and Sarah Stahl, all of Massachusetts; a son, Dr. John S. Stahl, of Ohio; a sister, Carolyn Friedman, of Connecticut; 10 grandchildren, and two nieces and a nephew.