Historical Sketch

In the early 1940s, Lane and Marguerite (Margie) Boutwell met while performing in an undergraduate play at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska.  During WWII, Lane was stationed at Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna. After the war the family moved to Illinois where Lane completed his Ph.D. at Northwestern and Margie graduated from the National College of Education. The Boutwells also had two children, Richard and Gill.

Lane Boutwell joined the Middle Tennessee State College faculty in 1947, and served as a member of the English and Speech and Theatre departments until his retirement in 1974.  He was largely responsible for the development of the speech and theatre curriculum, served as the department’s first chairman, directed several Buchanan Dramatic Club Players productions, and sponsored the forensics program that had a reputation for producing stellar debate teams. In 1982, the Dramatic Arts Building became the Lane Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building.  In 1971, Lane was an MTSU Outstanding Teacher and Professor Emeritus in 1992.

In 1972, Marguerite Boutwell retired from Campus School where she had taught kindergarten and first grade.  Additionally, Marguerite was one of the initiators of kindergarten in Tennessee.

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