With the help of puppets, music, guests and a world of make believe, Fred Rogers helped children handle issues of race, grief, anger and divorce. By the end of his life, Fred Rogers had engaged, consoled and delighted millions of children around the world in the comfort of their own homes with his groundbreaking preschool series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
At the core, Fred Rogers saw that every child’s healthy development relies on the power of human connection, and each of us has unique and enormous potential to nourish a child’s life with positive interactions. The Fred Rogers Institute at Saint Vincent College continues his legacy for a new generation of educators and students – to imagine how to inspire children to thrive as confident, competent and caring human being.
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”
– Fred Rogers
The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things (2003)
Fred Rogers chose Saint Vincent College – in his hometown Latrobe, PA – for the Institute and his Archive based on his dedication to further resources for childhood development through education opportunities for students. Through the Fred Rogers Institute, Saint Vincent students integrate modern technology with Fred’s legacy to build a richer, more nurturing world for children and their helpers.
The Fred Rogers Archive contains a wealth of resources and is our connection to understanding Fred’s life and approach. From the time he was a young man, Fred saved newspaper clippings, school notes and papers, and letters. The Fred Rogers Archive is a unique collection that incorporates these early papers into Fred’s work and office files—television scripts, essays and articles, speeches and more.