MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Community College of Vermont (CCV) on Tuesday honored Lois McClure, co-founder of the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, by dedicating a space in her name. A celebration was held at CCV’s Winooski academic center, where the vestibule has been formally named the Lois McClure Atrium.
The McClure Foundation has been CCV’s closest, most-trusted philanthropic partner for close to two decades. As a champion of equitable access to higher education and career pathways for all Vermonters, the Foundation has been instrumental in expanding opportunities for diverse student populations, including veterans, first-generation college students, and incarcerated Vermonters. The Foundation has supported the establishment of dedicated career services, veterans services, and secondary education initiatives, including the Free Degree Promise, which creates accelerated pathways to associate degrees through Vermont’s Early College program.
“Their work has opened many doors for Vermonters,” said CCV President Joyce Judy. “It is more than fitting for us to formally name and dedicate this entryway to Lois. By naming this space the Lois McClure Atrium, we honor a woman who believed in the value of learning, in the power of community, and whose legacy lives on in the lives of so many Vermonters who have created a better life for themselves and their families with the support the McClures have so warmly given.”
A new plaque at CCV-Winooski honors Lois McClure.
Lois McClure, who passed away in January 2025, believed in the power of education to transform lives. She returned to college as an adult learner, earning her degree from Nazareth College at the age of 49. She founded the McClure Foundation alongside her husband J. Warren (“Mac”) in 1995. Together, they were deeply committed to serving Vermonters.
Carolyn Weir, executive director of the McClure Foundation, spoke about Lois’s guiding values: “bloom where you’re planted, keep moving forward, and don’t forget joy.”
“When I think about all that CCV does to be an engine that moves forward the hopes and dreams and goals of the people who choose to study here, it makes all the sense in the world why CCV has been the cornerstone partner in the work of the McClure Foundation to support youth development and career pathways and economic mobility,” Weir said. “I think Lois would be really pleased to know that this atrium, a literal front door into lifelong learning and opportunity, is a part of her legacy.”
