Merrimack College - Merrimackan Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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Guild Hall: The parent build- ing of the College has been renovated to serve as the Engin- eering School with an ever ex- panding store of technical equipment. Sullivan Hall: The Liberal Arts building houses the class- rooms and laboratories for Business Administration, Biol- ogy and Nursing courses as well as the canteen and the book- store. Austin Hall: The nerve center of the campus, the faculty resi- dence and administration build- ing contains all the administra- tive offices and the lihrarv. CusHi?4G Hall: The Science Building anchors one end of the quadrangle to he. Here are all the laboratories and scien- tific apparatus needed for the higher courses in Chemistry and Physics.

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the Veteran’s Bureau at Villanova, accepted the re- sponsibilities of President of Merrimack College. Father McQuade and the trustees formulated their plans and on April 27, 1947, received the charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that made Merri- mack College a reality. Construction was begun on the first building of the new college in the summer of 1947. On September 22 at St. Augustine’s Church in Andover, Archbishop Cushing presided over the dedication ceremonies which were celebrated by the Very Reverend Mortimer A. Sullivan, the late Prior Provincial. A week later classes began in Guild Hall which housed class rooms, offices, library and chapel. The first student body con- sisted of one hundred and sixty-five members; the initial faculty numbered fourteen. The desire for accomplishment and the avid spirit of this group resulted in the beginnings of the Fraternity of the Holy Name, the Student Council, the Glee Club, and the Annual Retreat. The following year, 1948, proved to be a successful one. Parents of the students and friends of the college united to organize the Association of Merrimack Col- lege. They wasted no time in proving their sincerity and on June 4, 1948, held a mammoth Penny Sale at the Lawrence Memorial Stadium. Proceeds from the sale were utilized for the construction of a new gym- nasium which was begun in the fall of the same year. How can one relate the history of an institution? The story of Merrimack College is so much more than that. The dreams of so many courageous people, the foresight and driving enthusiasm of His Excellency, Archbishop Richard J. Cushing, and the Augustinian Fathers, the sacrifice and confidence of the business and civic leaders of the Merrimack Valley, the con- tinued and divine guidance and assistance from Christ the Teacher and His Holy Mother — these are the glories of Merrimack. Shortly following the close of World War II, a meet- ing was called of the veteran’s educational panel of a Haverhill Labor-Management Committee under the direction of J. Leo Cronin. The problem in point was the anticipated overflow of students in colleges and universities following the return of thousands of vet- erans seeking higher education. The members of the committee decided that the ideal solution would be a college in the Merrimack Valley. A consultation with the Most Reverend Richard J. Cushing followed. The Archbishop accepted the idea and shortly thereafter announced that the Augustinian Fathers would assume the tremendous task of founding and staffing the newly conceived institution. The Very Reverend Vincent A. McQuade, O.S.A., Ph.D., a man of boundless energy and dynamic personality, then serving as Chairman of 7

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•■Nil . , Scholasticism { ithin The next venture of Merrimack College was a million dollar drive for funds. Through the kindness and generosity of the friends of the Merrimack the drive was eminently successful and, as a result, construction of the campus proper was begun. In September of 1948, ground breaking ceremonies were held for Cush- ing Hall, the new science building. The next few years were years of memorable events and a rapid expansion of the College proper. In June, 1951, Commencement exercises were held for the first graduating class of Merrimack College. Autumn of the same year brought coeducational policies to a stu- dent body which had hitherto been all male. In September, 1951, Sullivan Hall, the Liberal Arts build- ing was ready for occupancy. Austin Hall, the faculty and administration building, was completed in 1952 and on September 29, Archbishop Cushing solemnly blessed the campus and dedicated the new buildings. In April, 1954, the Archbishop returned to preside over the ground breaking ceremonies for the Collegiate Chapel of Christ the Teacher. The Chapel, a gift from Merrimack’s most benevolent friend, the Arch- bishop himself, was dedicated in May, 1955, at a solemn high Mass celebrated by His Excellency. The Chapel, a beautiful and imposing structure, is the phy- sical symbol of the goal toward which all intellectual endeavors are directed.