Franey, president of Friends of Fairfield Rugby, will be honored with the Alumni Service Award at the 2020 Fairfield Awards Dinner on March 26 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.
Since 1988, the annual Fairfield Awards Dinner has been a true celebration of Fairfield and has raised more than $19 million for the Alumni Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other endowed scholarships.
Continuing to recognize professional achievement, outstanding leadership, and volunteer commitment to Fairfield, this year’s Fairfield Awards Dinner will honor H. Bart Franey ’67.
Franey retired in 2015 as co-founder and principal of Wellness Environments, which manufactures and installs clinical spaces for new hospital construction or renovations. He is also a founding member of CHER, the Coalition of Health Environments Research, which aims to promote, fund, and disseminate peer-reviewed research contributing to effective and improved healthcare facility environments.
Beyond his professional résumé, Franey has engaged in years of service associated with Fairfield rugby — an organization that he became involved in as a young athlete at Fairfield in 1964. He began serving as the director of Communications and Logistics for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Fairfield University Rugby Football Club (FURFC) in 2013, and has served as the Friends of Fairfield Rugby president ever since. Franey has raised the profile of FURFC, while also spreading the joy and life lessons of rugby to budding athletes beyond the University community.
From securing new uniforms and expanding scholarships for rugby athletes, to funding compensation for rugby coaches and training, Franey has demonstrated his commitment to growing FURFC. In 2016, Franey also helped launch COBRA, the City of Bridgeport Rugby Alliance, with mentors, part-time coaches, and members of the Fairfield rugby club teaching the sport to more than 600 children in 15 Bridgeport schools, as part of an after-school program.
Franey received a BA from Fairfield in business and psychology, and was featured in “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities” during his undergraduate career.
For more information on Fairfield Awards Dinner sponsorships, tickets, or journal ads, please contact Anissa DeMatteo at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2115.
