La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Paton Receives Degree By Jack Scavicchio The construction site is located on what was formerly the faculty and student parking lot. Students now find alternative parking at Good Shepherd. administrative directors, and also hold group study rooms and stack space. In addition, it will house an audio-visual department with visual tapes, compact discs, micro-tilm, and microfiche. And to provide more reading space, there will be a Special Collections Room. The top floor will be situated under an eighty- foot skylight which will provide a pleasant atmosphere for studying and reading, which will be the primary function of the third floor. Jean W. Haley, La Salle ' s director of library services, said that the skylight is an example of La Salle ' s destined direction in the use of technological advances. The new library will be adaptable to any and all future technological advances, Ms. Haley said. There also will be an informal student lounge on the ground floor which will accomodate students with vending machines and coin- operated lockers. Ms. Haley sees the new library as a great addition to the La Salle campus and welcomes the adeauate space for students. With the new library, students will have access to more volumes, longer hours, additional departments, and a lounge. It will be many things wrapped into one. The date for moving the collection from Lawrence ana Wister to the new library will be announced at a later date by Ms. Haley. The Lawrence Library will be converted to administrative offices, and the Wister Annex will be a combined bookstore, textstore, and computer lounge. Brother President Ellis announced in the late spring of 1986 that the donor will underwrite the full $11 million cost of the project. The University has been afforded a magnanimous gift and has not been forced to increase tuition. The costs for converting the book collection from Dewey to Library of Congress cataloging (currently underway) and for conversion from manual to a fully automated library operation are being borne outsiae the project budget. The La Salle community anxiously awaits the new addition to the campus. It was a fine Sunday afternoon in October as the La Salle community gathered for the 1986 Honors Convocation. The purpose of this annual event is to recognize the achievements of those students who have attainea Dean ' s List status during the previous academic year. South African writer and political activist Alan Paton was chosen for special distinction at this year ' s convocation, receiving the honorary aegree Doctor of Humane Letters, in recognition of his outstanding work for the improvement of the human condition over the past six decades. After the students ' names were read by the deans of their respective schools, all attention turned to the guest of honor, who actually began his career as a physics teacher in 1925. Mr. Paton, however, soon left this profession to pursue other interests, and first gained international attention in the mid 1930 ' s for his efforts to reform the South African penal system. Then, with his first novel, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), he embarked upon a literary career which wouia see him explore the underlying causes and effects of the apartheid system in South Africa. As Paton ' s reputation grew, so did his active involvement in the internal political turmoil of his native land. A firm belief in the eguality of all men caused him to join the multi-racial Liberal Party, eventually becoming its National President in 1958. He bravely endured government harassment, which included the revocation of his passport for ten years and constant surveillance by the secret police, while continuing to speak vehemently for the peaceful reformation of government policies toward the native black population. As introductory speaker Mr. Claude Koch pointed out, Paton ' s literary reputation in the west was probably his only protection against more drastic reprisals by the South African government. This literary reputation is a Brother President Patrick Ellis and Professor Claude Koch congratulate Alan Paton. Koch sponsored Paton for his honorary degree.

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Campaign for the 8o ' s Phase II marches on By Richard R. O ' Brien The new La Salle University Library, presently being constructed on the southwest corner of 20th Street ana Olney Avenue, is expected to be completed in February or March of 1988. Its arrival will thrust La Salle into the age of technology and aid in the provision of a better education for present and incoming La Salle students. When La Salle received an initial donation of $2.5 million, three plans for a new library were considered. Technology Forges New Concept for the Library constructed in 1952 when the college had an undergraduate enrollment of 1,050 full-time students ana 1,020 part-time stuaents. With a planned life expectancy of approximately twenty years, it has served the school for almost thirty-five. The Wister Hall Annex was added in 1973 to provide more volume space. Although the two facilities house almost 210,000 volumes, a larger library is needed to accomodate La The ground breaking ceremonies took place June 9, 1986. Because the school designated a new library as top priority, the donor, who later contributed an additional $8.5 million in the fall of 1985, approved the proposed use of funds. La Salle ' s present library facilities are housed in two separate buildings on campus. The David Leo Lawrence Library was Salle ' s growing enrollment. The Library Building Committee (LBC), established in January of 1985, met seven times during the summer of 1985 with Brother President Patrick Ellis and other administrators to review the presentations of prospective architects an d construction firms. The The design for the New Library showing the east elevation. Presiaent and Provost Bro. Emery Mollenhauer, following consultation with representatives of the University and the LBC, chose the highly regarded architectural firm of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott of Boston, Massachusetts. The firm has had a distinguished list of commissions, including libraries at Harvara, Cornell, and Dartmouth. Nason and Cullen, Inc., of Rosemont, PA, was appointed as the construction firm. The LBC also made visits to three college libraries (Widener, Drexel, and Lehigh) to assess the strengths of their newly built libraries. The visits provided the staff with insight concerning features that have been implemented at these institutions. With all the planning stages completed, groundbreaking ceremonies were held on June 9, 1986, and Nason and Cullen began construction in early September. Decisions to be made during construction will be the responsibility of administrators working directly with the architects and the manager of Nason and Cullen. The new library will have the capacity for 500,000 volumes, compared to the present limit of 150,000 volumes at the Lawrence Library. The 105,000 square foot structure will contain three floors and have a seating capacity of 1,250 students. The combined seating of the present two facilities is listed at 600. The new facility will feature the Library of Congress Classification system (replacing the Dewey Decimal system), ' an automatic card catalogue, computer terminals, twelve group study rooms, and a large classroom complete with a television projection system. The first floor will contain the Reference Department, Current Periodicals, the Inter- Library Loan Office, and two rooms with personal computers. The second floor wili serve as home for the

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direct result of Paton ' s ability to prevent his political beliefs from vitiating the quality of his art. In his fiction, Paton is always able to portray realistically the social and psychological consequences of the apartheia system through carefully constructed plot and character development, rather than through mere propagandist exposition. Commenting upon this difference between Paton and other political writers, Brother Patrick Ellis remarked that, It is rare indeed to find a politically motivated individual who manages to retain his artistic integrity while still being able to convey his political message. Using the Literature and Religion theme of the convocation as a basis, Mr. Paton discussed this ability of the highest art to effect positive change in the human community. He began by describing the dual nature of mankind as the capacity to perform the greatest deeds, or the worst. He sees these worst deeds, emanating from the animal part of man ' s nature, as being directly opposed to the potential for good acts which comes from the development of man ' s more spiritual faculites, language and reason. Only through the cultivation of these tools, he explained, can man form a more solid bond with his Creator. Mr. Paton emphasized the role of the artist in the formation of this bond by citing Sydney ' s idea that the poet is mankind ' s closest spiritual link to God. His mastery of the Word places a special moral obligation upon the writer to use his talents to make the rest of mankind aware of its Creator ' s wishes. This prophetic role of the poet was exemplified by a short excerpt from William Blake ' s poem, The Tyger. While observing the majestic beast, the poet asks, Did he who made the lamb make thee? Paton understands Blake to be sifting through the multiplicity of the natural world in order to comprehend clearly the intention of its Creator, and hence to perceive more precisely the role of man in that creation. This constant probing and redefining of the human condition must result, says Paton, in a more just and moral course for the race as a whole. The presence of this great man, eighty-three years old, who has witnessed the worst of violence and persecution during his lifetime, but who, nevertheless, has the courage to stand before the world and say, Yes, I do believe that there is hope for the future, surely served as an inspiration to those in the audience about to begin their own careers. His life ' s work places into proper perspective the real purpose of education: to enable the human race to make decisions intelligently and collectively that will improve the quality of life. And that, as Brother Emery Mollenhauer remarked in his closing address, is the whole purpose of education at a liberal arts university, and what the 1986 Honors Convocation was all about. McCloskey Marks 40th Anniversary By Mary Goldschmidt 1986 saw many changes among La Salle ' s administrators. The departments formerly supervised by the Vice President of Public Affairs Mr. John McCloskey are now headed by the Vice President of Development, Fred Foley. Foley has replaced former Vice President John McCloskey, while McCloskey now occupies the position of Director of Public Affairs. Also under Development are the directors of Alumni, Career Planning and Placement, Communications, ana the News Bureau. The Special Activities Office has been phased out. 1986 also marked Mr. McCloskey ' s fortieth year at La Salle, and on Sunday October twelfth, he was honored with the La Salle University President ' s Medal for outstanding and dedicated service to the school. A reception, held in the ballroom, was attended by Wilson Goode, Mayor of Philadelphia, Senator Joseph Rocks, and representatives from other area high schools and colleges. Other personnel changes include the appointment of Dr. Alice Hoersch, of the Geology department, as Associate Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Mr. Greg Bruce, formerly Director of the M.B.A. Program, as Associate Dean of the School of Business Administration. Upon the resignation of Dr. Joseph Brogan, Mr. John King has been named the new Director of Admissions in the Evening Division. Actors from the British Stage By Anne Undine For one week in October, the La Salle community enjoyed the talents and energy of five British actors who made up the Actors- in-Residence Program. Faculty coordinators Dr. Barbara Millard and Mr. Sidney MacLeod arranged to bring these representatives of the British stage to campus through an educational program developed by the Alliance for Creative Theatre, Education, and Research (ACTER). ACTER draws its members from companies such as the Royal Shakespeare, the National Theatre, and the BBC. Almost as soon as they prrived on campus, actors John Burgess, Vivien Heilbron, David Rintoul, Michael Thomas, and Philip Voss began a whirlwind agenda of workshops and class lectures. Michael Thomas met with members of La Salle ' s Gavel Society and offered tips on oral interpretation of poetic and