In June of 1984 Judith Swazey resigned from her post as president. Lou Rabineau was named interim president with an appointment time of 1 year. Rabineau, born in New York, had served in WWII as a medic and, at the war's end, went on to receive his doctorate in education from Harvard as well as an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Yeshiva University. Before working at COA, he worked in student affairs at Pratt and served as chancellor of the Connecticut Commission for Higher Education. Following the fire, COA was in need of a strong guiding force to help the school literally rise from the ashes. Rabineau stepped into this role as interim president.

Look through our archived photos for a better sense of Rabineau.