St. Lawrence University: Commencement

Donald Rose '64, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Remarks
Dedication of the Sullivan Student Center
May 15, 2009

When people mean as much to an institution as Dan and Ann Sullivan mean to St. Lawrence University, the appropriate honors and expressions of gratitude are virtually impossible to imagine as adequate, and yet they are wonderfully manifest when they are determined and announced. That has been the circumstance in which the University Board of Trustees has found its members as we anticipate the end of an era led by the Sullivans.

We knew that the honors we offer Dan and Ann needed to reflect the enduring respect and the deep affection that we all feel. One of Dan’s favorite scholars is economist Thorstein Veblen, and Veblen has advice for us: Invention is the mother of necessity. Think about all those inventions that have become necessities in our lives…could you imagine your life without your cell phone? Your television? Decaf coffee?

Dan and Ann Sullivan created many aspects of a St. Lawrence education that have become central, necessary parts of our mission. We trustees, in turn, invented an honors plan that is emblematic of those same St. Lawrence necessities.

You know that we have created the Dan and Ann Sullivan Funds for Student-Faculty Scholarship, the overarching name for a collection of primarily named funds supporting student-faculty research, as well as student-faculty work in the arts during the academic year and in the summer. Students participating in a project funded from this source will be named Sullivan Fellows. St. Lawrence has a number of such funds in place thanks to generous alumni, parent and friend donors; one of the funds is the new Daniel F. ’65 and Ann H. Sullivan Endowment for Student-Faculty Research, a University Fellows endowment for summer research projects. 100% of the Board of Trustees and 100% of the Alumni Executive Council have made a gift to the Sullivan Endowment Fund.

We believe that applying an all-embracing name to all of the funds that support collaborative student-faculty scholarship honors a deeply cherished value that the Sullivans have espoused throughout their time at St. Lawrence.

The second aspect of the dual honors is the reason we gather today. The trustees’ decision to honor Dan and Ann Sullivan by fixing their name to this special facility is best told in the Resolution that the Board voted unanimously to approve. Let me read it for you:

Whereas from his days as a student worker in the basement of E.J. Noble University Center, overseeing a pool room, ping pong room, and bowling alleys, President Daniel F. Sullivan has understood the power of place in the life of students; and

Whereas Dan and Ann Sullivan, upon their arrival in 1996, immediately saw and appreciated the need to create a new space on campus where students could live, eat, study, meet, and play; and

Whereas Dan and Ann Sullivan believe, from the bottom of their hearts and through their tireless hospitality, that student life outside the classroom is as important to the college experience as life within the classroom; and

Whereas the Sullivans spent their first leadership years listening, planning and raising support for a new student center that would transform student life at St. Lawrence; and

Whereas the Sullivans inspired the Alumni Executive Council to make a collective leadership gift that launched the serious design phase for the building that would become our new student center; and

Whereas the Sullivans, especially Ann Sullivan, were integrally involved with the design of the décor to enhance the warm, inviting, relaxing environment of the Student Center; and

Whereas the Sullivans regularly enjoy events at the Student Center’s Winston Room, attend meetings in its many community spaces, and catch a bite to eat in its Northstar Café, all opportunities to meet students and faculty in this dazzling building that welcomes Laurentians 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and

Whereas St. Lawrence’s campus center has been redefined and transformed thanks to the leadership of Dan and Ann Sullivan; and

Whereas the Student Center has become the heart of campus, pulsing with the energy of ideas, the power of commitment and the vigor of relationships with fellow Laurentians;

Therefore, the Board of Trustees hereby designates the name of this facility as the Sullivan Student Center to honor the Laurentian leaders whose legacy should be and will be remembered and honored always.

So, now, therefore, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I invite Dan and Ann Sullivan to step forward as we reveal the plaque that will share with generations to come the role—incomparable and admirable—that they have played in the life and future of St. Lawrence University.

Return to Commencement	Donald Rose '64, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Remarks Dedication of the Sullivan Student Center May 15, 2009 When people mean as much to an institution as Dan and Ann Sullivan mean to St. Lawrence University, the appropriate honors and expressions of gratitude are virtually impossible to imagine as adequate, and yet they are wonderfully manifest when they are determined and announced. That has been the circumstance in which the University Board of Trustees has found its members as we anticipate the end of an era led by the Sullivans. We knew that the honors we offer Dan and Ann needed to reflect the enduring respect and the deep affection that we all feel. One of Dan’s favorite scholars is economist Thorstein Veblen, and Veblen has advice for us: Invention is the mother of necessity. Think about all those inventions that have become necessities in our lives…could you imagine your life without your cell phone? Your television? Decaf coffee? Dan and Ann Sullivan created many aspects of a St. Lawrence education that have become central, necessary parts of our mission. We trustees, in turn, invented an honors plan that is emblematic of those same St. Lawrence necessities. You know that we have created the Dan and Ann Sullivan Funds for Student-Faculty Scholarship, the overarching name for a collection of primarily named funds supporting student-faculty research, as well as student-faculty work in the arts during the academic year and in the summer. Students participating in a project funded from this source will be named Sullivan Fellows. St. Lawrence has a number of such funds in place thanks to generous alumni, parent and friend donors; one of the funds is the new Daniel F. ’65 and Ann H. Sullivan Endowment for Student-Faculty Research, a University Fellows endowment for summer research projects. 100% of the Board of Trustees and 100% of the Alumni Executive Council have made a gift to the Sullivan Endowment Fund. We believe that applying an all-embracing name to all of the funds that support collaborative student-faculty scholarship honors a deeply cherished value that the Sullivans have espoused throughout their time at St. Lawrence. The second aspect of the dual honors is the reason we gather today. The trustees’ decision to honor Dan and Ann Sullivan by fixing their name to this special facility is best told in the Resolution that the Board voted unanimously to approve. Let me read it for you: Whereas from his days as a student worker in the basement of E.J. Noble University Center, overseeing a pool room, ping pong room, and bowling alleys, President Daniel F. Sullivan has understood the power of place in the life of students; and Whereas Dan and Ann Sullivan, upon their arrival in 1996, immediately saw and appreciated the need to create a new space on campus where students could live, eat, study, meet, and play; and Whereas Dan and Ann Sullivan believe, from the bottom of their hearts and through their tireless hospitality, that student life outside the classroom is as important to the college experience as life within the classroom; and Whereas the Sullivans spent their first leadership years listening, planning and raising support for a new student center that would transform student life at St. Lawrence; and Whereas the Sullivans inspired the Alumni Executive Council to make a collective leadership gift that launched the serious design phase for the building that would become our new student center; and Whereas the Sullivans, especially Ann Sullivan, were integrally involved with the design of the décor to enhance the warm, inviting, relaxing environment of the Student Center; and Whereas the Sullivans regularly enjoy events at the Student Center’s Winston Room, attend meetings in its many community spaces, and catch a bite to eat in its Northstar Café, all opportunities to meet students and faculty in this dazzling building that welcomes Laurentians 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and Whereas St. Lawrence’s campus center has been redefined and transformed thanks to the leadership of Dan and Ann Sullivan; and Whereas the Student Center has become the heart of campus, pulsing with the energy of ideas, the power of commitment and the vigor of relationships with fellow Laurentians; Therefore, the Board of Trustees hereby designates the name of this facility as the Sullivan Student Center to honor the Laurentian leaders whose legacy should be and will be remembered and honored always. So, now, therefore, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I invite Dan and Ann Sullivan to step forward as we reveal the plaque that will share with generations to come the role—incomparable and admirable—that they have played in the life and future of St. Lawrence University.
St. Lawrence University · 23 Romoda Drive · Canton, NY · 13617 · Copyright · 315-229-5591