Merrimack College - Merrimackan Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

Page 12 text:

of people who labored . . . Two of the original buildings are the Faculty House, which was used as an administration building and now serves as a residence for seven priests; and the gymnasium which has rendered service for athletics since its erection in 1948. A group of civic leaders meet under the sponsorship of Archbishop Cushing to make plans for the Drive for Merrimack College. The splendid cooperation of the people of the Valley made the Drive an overwhelming success. rehabilitation, and the Right Reverend Jeremiah F. Mini- han laid plans before Archbishop Cushing for the estab- lishment of a college in North Andover. As a result, the Very Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A., Ph.D., heretofore Chairman of the Veterans’ Bureau of Villa- nova, became the first president of Merrimack College in December, 1946. By March, 1947, the newly organized Board of Trustees had met and purchased the one hun- dred forty-hve acres upon which the college was to be built. The charter from the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts was granted in April, and prospective students began to submit applications. On a stormy September 22, Archbishop Cushing presided over the dedication ceremonies at Saint Augus- tine’s, Andover, celebrated by the Very Reverend Morti- mer A. Sullivan, late Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Order. Classes began September 29 in a one-story, E- shaped building containing seven classrooms, two labora- tories, administrative offices, library, and small chapel. Of one hundred sixty-five men in this first group, seventy percent were veterans. The initial faculty included

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A panoramic aerial view of the campus shows the old and the new in contrast. In the center foreground are the Science Building (left), the completed Liberal Arts Building (right), and the new Faculty House under construction (center). Above this, to the right, is the gymnasium and the Administration Building. Situated in the town of North Andover on the Salem Turnpike and comprising approximately one hundred and fifty acres the campus is located on a hill overlooking the city of Lawrence (background) and the surrounding country- side. To the right is the town of North Andover and to the left Andover Square. In years to come buildings will be erected on the permanent campus area (left foreground).

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The Science Building opened its doors to students after its completion in the fall of 1949. The new laboratories and classrooms were equipped with the most modern scien- tific furnishings and machin- ery. Fathers McQuade, Casey, Arconada, Gildea, Gavigan, Burns, Cullen, Hannan, and Wynne. The lay professors were John Hopkins, Maurice McLaughlin, Thomas Riley, Robert Lambert, M.D., and John Lorentz, M.D. The first year saw the organization of the Glee Club, the “Press Club Bulletin,” the Fraternity of the Holy Name, the Student Council, the public lecture series, and the first annual Retreat. Dedication of the chapel to Our Lady of Good Counsel occurred in January. The scramble of the first class elections became a model for the future clowning of placard and parade. Social ac- tivities culminated in the formal dance at the Merrimack Valley Country Club. Parents and friends attested their loyalty to the college by forming the Association of The old library reading room, where arduous hours were spent in the fulfillment of outside reading; and the cafeteria, where relaxing hours were enjoyed away from academic toil.