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Building Named after Alumnus Brian Mulroney Hall |
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On August 28, the new professional studies building was named Brian Mulroney Hall after the 18th prime minister of Canada and a St. Thomas alumnus. Mulroney, his wife Mila and their four children came to the University for the dedication ceremony. President Dr. Daniel O’Brien told the crowd that it is a tribute to a great Canadian, former prime minister and world leader and a man the school is proud to claim as one of its graduates. He said that an education inspires the imagination, engages the spirit and creates in students a love of learning that continues long after they have left St. Thomas University. “In all of these ideals, the Right Honorable Brian Mulroney is a leader and a role model,” said O’Brien. “Hence it is very fitting that one of our newest and most impressive buildings takes the name Brian Mulroney Hall. “It was a unanimous decision on the part of the St. Thomas University Board of Governors to name the university’s new professional studies building after one of its most distinguished alumni.” In September 1953, a young man from Baie Comeau, Quebec, arrived at St. Thomas College, then located in Chatham, New Brunswick. Mulroney pursued his high school studies at St. Thomas and graduated in 1955. After growing up in an isolated mill town in Quebec, St. Thomas seemed to present a world of opportunity. Mulroney took top prize in Latin in 1955, he participated in the debating club and played hockey for the junior varsity team. After an initial bout of loneliness upon his arrival, Mulroney soon grew to love St. Thomas and Chatham and remembers families such as the Leas, the O’Reillys and Jacobsens as being particularly kind and teachers such as Fathers Bro-derick, McFadden and McGrath for their excellence. “It opened the doors to a great deal of opportunity for me,” he told Daily Gleaner reporter Chisholm Pothier. “It was a good process of maturation and learning the ideas of compromise and reasonableness in life.” Mulroney went on to earn a university degree from St. Francis Xavier, a law degree from Laval University and, 31 years after starting at St. Thomas, he became the 18th prime minister of Canada. New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord also spoke at the event saying that St. Thomas helped prepare Mulroney for his career in the private sector and the many challenging moments he faced as prime minister. “I want to give my support to this institution in recognition of what it has given me and also in the hope it will continue to help future generations of young Canadians to realize their dreams and ambitions,” said Mulroney. Mulroney quoted Grattan O’Leary, a former prominent Canadian journalist, who said education does not provide a standard of living; it provides a standard of life. “To
the young people and students here today and to those who will frequent
Mulroney Hall in the future, I say simply: may your standard of life
be your gift to the nation,” Mulroney said concluding his remarks.
“And may your idealism and principle be your legacy to the world.” |
St.
Thomas University President Dr. Daniel O'Brien stands by while Brian
Mulroney and his wife Mila unveil the plaque at the building naming
ceremony on August 28.