Merrimackan Yearbooks College Publications & Events

Merrimack College Merrimack ScholarWorks Merrimackan Yearbooks College Publications & Events 1-1-1954 Merrimackan Merrimack College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/merrimackan Recommended Citation Merrimack College, "Merrimackan" (1954). Merrimackan Yearbooks. 4. https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/merrimackan/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications & Events at Merrimack ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Merrimackan Yearbooks by an authorized administrator of Merrimack ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 ^B'.M.C^0LLE6E M tHEMcQ0AD t U^V- Wfi Mr, '> . * \ / %^Va ^ >r* A a, ^ z' \\/y f, c i/ ^r ~' «> r>^' r>r ' fc . > *0*5 ^ ». '•*•«**. r. i t r \ k_/£.tr 1 -i 4 ^ « ( i r -? ^ ' [j: *1 ri '«N ) tA tfV 1*3^ ?£* S is / *> V }3 3 33tV -; "*U/^r. /Jrjf. i » 4 v? ->> ^V; T *• £ £ <* .*?**• y ,,« ct^ 7*' // \ Ou -v kV f/v <»i .Jim* . m THE FIRST STEP . m. 30k w f li/e aAe. the date. of 1954. And thu yeadooh i<L ou/i d&uf,, the, cltsvanicie of a ciaAA and » a lehool. 9t Aepind whesie we Ae- <fO+t ad f^iedtunen at MeMimach College. merrimackan presented by the senior class • merrimack college north andover • massachusetts DEDICATION ' *1 i •Of# | ; ft" 2 , Jfifr filHl 'iMlt 1 Wn1 mi ' it , 1 i i m We the Class of 1954 most gratefully dedicate this fourth volume of The Merrimackan to the Merrimack Association. Yours was the first organization assembled in the interests of the College, long before a foundation was dug, or a brick laid, or a teacher hired, or a student enrolled. It was on the abiding faith and trust of those of you who whould one day send your sons and daughters to Merrimack that this great institution was built, and on the enthusiasm of those of you who were motivated solely by the importance of Catholic training and higher education. We might dilate on the many meetings you attended, activities that you sponsored, the moral support you so generously proffered, the gigantic penny-sale you organized for the erection of our gymnasium. These will ever remain an integral part of the golden pages of Merrimack’s history. May we' humbly dedicate this volume of our school, of your school, to you in tribute to your spirit and vision. //igj a ' ' //•y. ; *•£. %. “A. • : ! m> l l.ll h 1 . | 1 JMIHB • ' : V • - f : | M § w *.«i ' 8 : , Si 8 ' ? \? >4 l* * V J , \l *V *'*«V VINCENT A. McQUADE, O.S.A. * * *r VERY REVEREND JOSEPH M. DOUGHERTY, O.S.A., S.T.L. Prior Provincial of the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova REV. PATRICK J. CAMPBELL, O.S.A. * 1 - —i ~~”T T. t —j . ^Ti hi/t - ! LI / L t j_jr: .1 REV. JAMES H. HURLEY, O.S.A Board of Trustees REV. THOMAS F. WALSH, O.S.A. REV. MICHAEL A. HOPKINS, O.S.A. Merrimack College is less than a decade old but its story is crowded with events. What was a dream in 1946 is in 1954 five hundred students in the regular sessions, some forty faculty members, and a group of graduates that will soon approximate four hundred in number. Six buildings on a hundred and forty-five acre campus form the present physical plant. The first event, the idea for a Merrimack, arose out of the deliberations of the veterans education panel of a Haverhill labor-management committee. This panel sought the assis- tance of Archbishop Richard J. Cushing of Bostori, and His Excellency announced in June of 1946 that the Augustinian Fathers had agreed to found the new college of the Merri- mack Valley. That December the Augustinian Order ap- pointed the Very Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A. as President of the new institution of higher learning. Our Campus Rises j Scaffolding the temporary sinews of the completed brick structure is a familiar sight on the campus of Merrimack. Above, we view Austin Hall near completion. *i Father McQuade and the original trustees drew plans, secured land, and received on April 27, 1947 the charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that made Merrimack College a reality. That summer a cinder block classroom building was erected. One hundred and sixty-five students and a faculty of fourteen began classes on September 29, 1947. Faculty and student body increased as a new class was added each year until the present senior class became fresh- men in 1950. The first fruits of this institution came on June second 1951 when Merrimack College graduated its first class of 112 students. As the enrollment grew so too did the buildings. Two important fund raising projects stimulated this physical growth. The Merrimack Association penny-sale in June 1948 pro- vided money for the erection of the college gymnasium, which was dedicated in November of that year. During the Father McQuade shows his char- acteristic concern for all aspects of the college as he supervises construction. With . This panoramic view of the permanent campus was taken during the construction of Austin Hall. Cushing Hall stands in the center foreground with Sullivan Hall to the left. To the right scaffolding masks the partially completed Austin Hall. jrt T/-V. *t -V* . * a* f P .. » .> * * -mi • - r , i & Buildings fall of the same year plans were formulated for the mammoth drive for funds for the college to be held throughout the Merrimack Valley in the late spring and summer of 1949. Over eight thousand solicitors secured pledges aggregating well over the original goal of one million dollars. Fortified with this fund the College initiated construction of the red brick buildings on the permanent campus. This program continued uninterruptedly until the summer of 1952. First to he erected was the science building, Cushing r To the left. Most Reverend Joseph A. Hickey, O.S.A., S.T.M., J.C.D., former Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine, lays the cornerstone for Sullivan Hall. Here, one of the hrst graduates of Merrimack College is seen kissing the ring of His Excel- lency Archbishop Cushing who presided over this first com- mencement in 1951. The Archbishop on September 29, 1952, came to Merrimack in order to dedicate our first three buildings. One of these, the science building, was named Cush- ing Hall in honor of His Excel- lency. Hall, which opened in the fall of 1949. Sullivan Hall, the liberal arts building, and the second link MERRIMACK of the quadrangle, was completed by September of 1951. Austin Hall, the faculty-administration build- COLLEGE ing, was ready for occupancy at the end of the summer of 1952. All of these buildings were solemnly dedicated by Archbishop Cushing on September 29, 1952, a mile- stone in the history of the College. With this event the first phase of the permanent building program, that of rapid construction, was completed. The second phase, that of more gradual accretion, officially begins this spring with the breaking of ground for the college chapel. nd Events Apace with this growth in faculty, student body, and physical plant has gone the development of a complex and diverse curriculum. Women students were first admitted in the fall of 1950. A year later a division of engineering was added to the already existing divisions of arts and sciences, and of busi- ness administration. Other new courses included secretarial science and nursing. Enrollment in part- time sessions, the evening school and the summer school now rivals the enrollment in the regular sessions. And Merrimack has achieved a modest but important series of successes in intellectual and athletic competition with other colleges. Merrimack College, a member of the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, is proving itself a dynamic force for progress in contemporary Ameri- can life. administration The administration of a college is an art and a science that includes more than efficiency in management techniques. It involves strong intellectual leadership based upon breadth of experience and a profound understanding of man’s nature. A curriculum must be devised that will integrate the theoret- ical and practical into an harmonious whole. Academic standards must be maintained at a level equal to the demands of a highly complex society. And yet it is the individual who is trained, and he alone is the measure of the success of the administration. president . The name of the Very Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A., Ph.D. will be inscribed always in the annals of Merrimack College. As the first president of the College he has been the person most in- strumental in the accomplishments of this institution. His initiative and tremendous energy, which are exemplified in his work here, stand as a shining ex- ample to all graduates who must encounter the heavy burdens of any career. dean . The Reverend Joseph J. Gildea, O.S.A., Ph.D. is Dean of the Faculty and Director of the Division of Arts and Sciences. His quiet, unassuming way en- hances the true greatness of this friar. His adminis- trative policies, which affect both faculty and students, show a deep concern for all. Patience and efficiency are the marks of the success of the academic functions which lie in his hands. Liberal Arts It is the purpose of the Liberal Arts course to in- troduce the student to the cultural and scientific world in which he lives. More than this, academic method- ology and scientific procedure are stressed in order that the graduate may be able to judge for himself, think logically, investigate systematically.

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