Merrimack College - Merrimackan Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

Page 9 text:

o m The Very Reverend Henry E. Greenlee, O.S.A., S.T.D., Rector- Provincial of the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova, is Chair- man of the Board of Trustees. A former college professor him- self before assuming high office in the Augustinian Order, Father Greenlee has manifested a strong personal interest in the develop- ment of Merrimack College. 5

Page 8 text:

TRUSTEES The last meeting of the Trustees over which the late Very Reverend Father Pro- vincial, Joseph M. Dougherty, O.S.A., presided: Very Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A., Very Reverend John B. Martin, O.S.A., Very Reverend James M. Hurley, O.S.A., Father Provincial, Very Reverend Patrick J. Campbell, O.S.A., and Reverend Thomas F. Walsh, O.S.A. Another most important milestone in Merrimack College’s brief history was reached on April 19, 1954, when the Most Reverend Archbishop of Boston, Richard J. Cushing, broke ground for the new chapel dedicated to Christ the Teacher. Here the Archbishop is seen with a part of the crowd present for the historic ceremonies.

Page 10 text:

The rugged green countryside of New England, so well known for its colleges and universities, dynamic industries and research centers, became the home of Merrimack Col- lege in 1947. A young institution under the guidance of the centuries-old Order of St. Augustine, Merrimack College is the product of the faith which the people of the Merri- mack alley have in the new generation. It stands now, alert to the needs of a present-day America that is crying out for leadership, educating young men and women to be leaders who will employ the teachings and ideals of Christ in their lives. But how did it come to be that on this site where Abiel Wilson, a Cod-fearing farmer of the hard soil of New Eng- land, struggled generations ago, plowing and reaping on his small farm, we now see handsome Colonial brick build- ings and wide roads, cowled figures and hundreds of active students busy in intellectual pursuits? How was it possible that Merrimack College came to be the manifestation of a monumental faith in the youth of the area? The idea for the founding of a college arose in 1946, out of the deliberations of a Haverhill labor-management group, headed by Mr. J. Leo Cronin. With thousands of returning veterans overtaxing college facilities in the nation, the group resolved to broaden its industrial relations program, and undertake the erection of a suitable college in the north of Boston. They laid their plans before the Right Reverend, and now Bishop, Jeremiah F. Minihan, who was at that time Secretary of His Excellency, Richard J. Cushing. They found a ready friend and ally in the Archbishop. His Excellency secured the Augustinians from Villanova to found and staff the proposed college. Under the inspiring leadership of the Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A., Ph.D., who was designated President in December, 1946, the project was launched with the construction of a long, E-shaped classroom building on Peters Street, below Wil- son’s Corner, North Andover. On September 29, 1947, amidst hammers and saws and fresh cement, the first class of Merrimack College, consisting of 165 men, was under way.