St. Lawrence University: Office of the President

I want to welcome you all to this special dedication of our new Robie Squash Center—one of the very best collegiate squash facilities at any college or university in America. This outstanding center was made possible through the wonderful, and very strategic, generosity of Dick Robie (Class of 1954 and University Trustee), his wife Ann, and their children—Chip, Doug, Beth, Jay (Class of 1991) and Brad (Class of 1995). John Greenwood (Class of 1975) has also made a generous gift.
Dick is going acknowledge a number of other people in a moment during his remarks, but I also want to welcome to St. Lawrence two of the very best professional squash players in the world: Jonathon Power (currently ranked #2 in the world and #1 in Canada) and Shahier Razik (currently ranked #40 in the world, and #3 in Canada). Some of you watched or participated in the clinic they offered earlier today. All of you, I hope, will stay to watch their exhibition match here at the conclusion of this dedication ceremony.
I know what Dick is going to say because he shared his remarks with me ahead of time, but he doesn’t know what I’m going to say, which is a good thing because he would have insisted that I tone down what I’m about to say about him, and that’s not where I want to be.
Dick attended Choate before coming to St. Lawrence as part of the Class of 1954. When he became a St. Lawrence trustee in 1987, he had been a long-time Choate trustee. His devotion to his schools, giving time, leadership, and philanthropy, is legendary. Dick believes that great schools and colleges are necessary for there to be a great America, and he has devoted much of his life to doing what he could for two educational institutions he dearly loves.
In 1958, he married Ann Christenson, a graduate of Russell Sage College, and they have had a wonderful partnership ever since, during which Ann has also become very close to St. Lawrence. What they weren’t, for a long time, was sufficiently persuasive: Chip went to Harvard, and Doug and Beth went to Williams, but their youngest two children, Jay and Brad, are graduates of St. Lawrence in the classes of 1991 and 1995, respectively. They are now very persuasive about St. Lawrence.
By the time I got here as president in 1996, Dick was chair of the trustee Architecture and Physical Plant Committee. Because I knew facilities improvement would have to be a major strategic thrust during my time as president, I was so grateful to learn of his grasp of the big issues involved in campus facilities planning, his sense of balance, his willingness to take the time to understand what needed to be done, his devotion of time to ensuring that we got the details right, his credibility with his fellow trustees, his willingness to listen carefully to the views of faculty, staff and students, and also his, and Ann’s, profound generosity of spirit, taking personal responsibility for getting this truly wonderful squash facility to happen as part of a comprehensive program of interrelated campus improvements.
Folks, it doesn’t get any better when you’re working with someone like Dick to get the amazing amount of construction and renovation done that we have accomplished in the past six years: complete renovation of Owen D. Young Library, renovation of Brewer Field House into the Brewer Bookstore, renovation and addition to Dana Dining Hall, refurbishment of the Noble University Center, renovation and addition to the president’s home (now MacAllaster House), a major annual residence hall refurbishment project, construction of a new student center, construction of new senior townhouses, renovation of Appleton Arena, construction of The Newell Field House and the fitness center, construction of new outdoor fields, including North Country Field, Sandy MacAllaster Field, Leckonby Stadium, Merrick-Pinkard Track, Tom Fay Field, and new fields for softball, rugby and practice. I’ve probably forgotten some projects, and, of course, about to begin is a $60 million program of new construction and renovation of science and mathematics facilities. In Dick’s time as chair of the committee, the University has invested in excess of $60 million in facilities improvements. Having his steady, intelligent, and concerned hand on the tiller during these years has made an enormous difference. All I can say is “Wow!” and “thank you!”
Dick goes off the board at the end of this year, having reached our mandatory retirement age, but he will surely be with us long into the future as a trustee emeritus, and I know there will be no reduction in his tireless effort on behalf of St. Lawrence. A tennis player myself (my Ann and I enjoy annual mixed doubles contests with Dick and Ann), and (if my foot continues to improve) also a squash player, this new squash facility has special meaning for me personally. Dick, Ann, and Robie children, bless you all for making this happen!
And now I’d like to introduce Director of Athletics, Margie Strait, who will make some remarks.





Home	Remarks—Robie Squash Center Dedication Daniel F. Sullivan—January 25, 2003 I want to welcome you all to this special dedication of our new Robie Squash Center—one of the very best collegiate squash facilities at any college or university in America. This outstanding center was made possible through the wonderful, and very strategic, generosity of Dick Robie (Class of 1954 and University Trustee), his wife Ann, and their children—Chip, Doug, Beth, Jay (Class of 1991) and Brad (Class of 1995). John Greenwood (Class of 1975) has also made a generous gift. Dick is going acknowledge a number of other people in a moment during his remarks, but I also want to welcome to St. Lawrence two of the very best professional squash players in the world: Jonathon Power (currently ranked #2 in the world and #1 in Canada) and Shahier Razik (currently ranked #40 in the world, and #3 in Canada). Some of you watched or participated in the clinic they offered earlier today. All of you, I hope, will stay to watch their exhibition match here at the conclusion of this dedication ceremony. I know what Dick is going to say because he shared his remarks with me ahead of time, but he doesn’t know what I’m going to say, which is a good thing because he would have insisted that I tone down what I’m about to say about him, and that’s not where I want to be. Dick attended Choate before coming to St. Lawrence as part of the Class of 1954. When he became a St. Lawrence trustee in 1987, he had been a long-time Choate trustee. His devotion to his schools, giving time, leadership, and philanthropy, is legendary. Dick believes that great schools and colleges are necessary for there to be a great America, and he has devoted much of his life to doing what he could for two educational institutions he dearly loves. In 1958, he married Ann Christenson, a graduate of Russell Sage College, and they have had a wonderful partnership ever since, during which Ann has also become very close to St. Lawrence. What they weren’t, for a long time, was sufficiently persuasive: Chip went to Harvard, and Doug and Beth went to Williams, but their youngest two children, Jay and Brad, are graduates of St. Lawrence in the classes of 1991 and 1995, respectively. They are now very persuasive about St. Lawrence. By the time I got here as president in 1996, Dick was chair of the trustee Architecture and Physical Plant Committee. Because I knew facilities improvement would have to be a major strategic thrust during my time as president, I was so grateful to learn of his grasp of the big issues involved in campus facilities planning, his sense of balance, his willingness to take the time to understand what needed to be done, his devotion of time to ensuring that we got the details right, his credibility with his fellow trustees, his willingness to listen carefully to the views of faculty, staff and students, and also his, and Ann’s, profound generosity of spirit, taking personal responsibility for getting this truly wonderful squash facility to happen as part of a comprehensive program of interrelated campus improvements. Folks, it doesn’t get any better when you’re working with someone like Dick to get the amazing amount of construction and renovation done that we have accomplished in the past six years: complete renovation of Owen D. Young Library, renovation of Brewer Field House into the Brewer Bookstore, renovation and addition to Dana Dining Hall, refurbishment of the Noble University Center, renovation and addition to the president’s home (now MacAllaster House), a major annual residence hall refurbishment project, construction of a new student center, construction of new senior townhouses, renovation of Appleton Arena, construction of The Newell Field House and the fitness center, construction of new outdoor fields, including North Country Field, Sandy MacAllaster Field, Leckonby Stadium, Merrick-Pinkard Track, Tom Fay Field, and new fields for softball, rugby and practice. I’ve probably forgotten some projects, and, of course, about to begin is a $60 million program of new construction and renovation of science and mathematics facilities. In Dick’s time as chair of the committee, the University has invested in excess of $60 million in facilities improvements. Having his steady, intelligent, and concerned hand on the tiller during these years has made an enormous difference. All I can say is “Wow!” and “thank you!” Dick goes off the board at the end of this year, having reached our mandatory retirement age, but he will surely be with us long into the future as a trustee emeritus, and I know there will be no reduction in his tireless effort on behalf of St. Lawrence. A tennis player myself (my Ann and I enjoy annual mixed doubles contests with Dick and Ann), and (if my foot continues to improve) also a squash player, this new squash facility has special meaning for me personally. Dick, Ann, and Robie children, bless you all for making this happen! And now I’d like to introduce Director of Athletics, Margie Strait, who will make some remarks. [After Vijay Chitnis, I invite Dick to come make some remarks. When he finishes, Dick and Ann join in unveiling the plaque. I read what it says: ROBIE SQUASH CENTER Made possible through the generosity of Richard S. Robie, Jr. ’54, University Trustee, and his wife Ann, and their children, Richard, Douglas, Elizabeth, Jonathan ’91, and Bradford ‘95 Dedicated January 25, 2003 I then present dick with a token of our appreciation (framed photo of plaque), thank everyone for coming, and invite Jonathon Power and Shahier Razik to commence their match.]