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Sister Kathleen Coughlin, CCVI, vice president for institutional advancement, welcomed the gathering, which included members of UIW’s board of trustees, the development board, donors, alumni, the project’s architect and general contractors, as well as UIW faculty and students — notably those in math, science and engineering. Sister Kathleen recognized and thanked all who had played a part in making the new facility a reality.
Fully Clingman, chairman of the UIW board of trustees, observed that the university had broken enrollment records nine of the past 10 years. “This tremendous complex reflects the exceptional growth in all academic areas, especially in the areas of math, science and engineering,” he said. “Today we are celebrating new buildings, new opportunities made possible by many of you here today.”
Receiving special recognition was Sister Mary Daniel Healy, CCVI, for whom the main lobby in the AT&T Science Center is named. After teaching at UIW for 50 years, Sister Healy returned to the classroom to earn a degree in nutrition, which she then taught for an additional 10 years.
Clingman cited the AT&T Science Center’s new research lab for water control, where the faculty team will continue to do long-term studies of the headwaters of the San Antonio River whose springs surface on UIW’s grounds. He noted that the new Bonilla Science Hall will feature a computer lab and full broadcast studio, and that the university’s nutrition program “remains unique in South Texas,” with strong ties to clinical internships around the world.
In introducing John Montford, AT&T senior vice president, Sister Kathleen noted that AT&T had started out as a subsidiary of American Bell Telephone Company, which installed the first phone line in San Antonio at the Col. George W. Brackenridge home, long a part of the university campus. “We are blessed to have this international organization whose ‘motherhouse,’ as the sisters call it, is their corporate headquarters in our city,” she remarked of AT&T. “What they receive, they give back so generously.”
Montford expressed his thanks to all involved in the project and noted, “By supporting these kinds of endeavors, you are not only ensuring the reputation and success of this great university, but also the reputation and success of this great city, state and community’s businesses.” He then presented the university with a super-sized check in the amount of $1.5 million for its science, math and engineering capital campaign, assisted by Laura Sanford, president of the AT&T Foundation.
Sister Kathleen introduced Congressman Henry Bonilla, a UIW alumnus and honorary doctorate recipient, as having “done more for higher education in South Texas than any other member of Congress in the history of our wonderful city and state.” She noted, “We honor Henry today for his assistance with federal funding for these facilities.”
Said Bonilla, “When you see your name on a building, it is a profound moment, especially for someone whose life started out in a housing project.” He expressed appreciation to President Agnese for this honor, referring to him as a “hard-charging visionary” on the UIW team. “Because of Lou’s willingness to take me through the needs of the University of the Incarnate Word, we have been able to be successful,” he said, regarding the opening of the new facility.
“It is a great legacy that is going to be left behind,” Bonilla added, “not about me and not about the people up here on the podium, but it’s about the kids. It’s about the students who are coming and following us through the system. All we want is for them to have the same opportunity that we all had as young people growing up in this country.”
Auxiliary Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, on behalf of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, congratulated the sisters on the completion of the buildings, adding, “This is an absolutely wonderful investment for our future. The many students, whom the professors who will come here will teach, will learn the wonderful truths of the nature of God’s world, the sciences and the math behind it.”
Assisted by Sister Audrey O’Mahony, CCVI, UIW mission director, Bishop Zurek then blessed two crosses to be hung in the buildings, after which the blessing continued as they proceeded through the complex while the dedication program continued outside.
Agnese extended a “New Year’s” greeting to the attendees, noting it was the start of the Chinese New Year. He compared the present well-kept facilities on campus with what he originally encountered in 1985, when an indoor basketball game was “rained out.” “It’s really wonderful to walk campus today and every day and to see how everything is tied together so very well,” he said, “and everything is so beautiful.”
Recalling it was two years ago that ground was broken for the new science, math and engineering complex, Agnese produced a test tube filled with dirt from that day, relating that they had promised that when the buildings were completed this special earth would be returned to the site. Casting the dirt into the stiff breeze, he referred to the site’s transformation into the five-story AT&T Science Center behind him and the adjoining Bonilla Science Hall, which is a total renovation of the original science hall built in 1950.
Agnese referred to the new facilities as “something that will affect the lives of all of our students and will make them better at what they do, which makes San Antonio a better place to live and makes the great state of Texas a state that we can continue to be proud of.” He continued, “It is our hope and is my hope that today is the beginning of another beginning at the University of the Incarnate Word. Its 125th year is very special, and someday when we’re long gone they’ll be celebrating the 225th year of this university. It is my hope that it will be as meaningful then as it is today in making a difference in people’s lives.”
A unique ribbon cutting ceremony followed, with dignitaries and representatives of the six major departments comprising the School of Math, Science and Engineering manning sections appropriate to their fields.
The biology department’s portion of ribbon was attached to a potted mountain laurel, replete with tiny cardinals (the UIW mascot), which was to be planted later on campus as part of the Headwaters Project. Mathematics was represented by a section of building block-like red flags spelling out its name and symbolizing its role as the basic tool to opening the doors of science.
Hanging from the nutrition department’s ribbon segment were numerous fruits and vegetables, while the chemistry department section featured helium balloons bearing the symbols for uranium (U), iodine (I) and tungsten (W), spelling out UIW. Engineering was represented by a model of a cantilever bridge whose raising was the signal for tours of the building, featuring various demonstrations, to begin.
Unfortunately, the windy weather forced cancellation of the environmental science department’s portion of the ceremony. They had planned to release a small, helium-filled weather balloon, bearing instruments to gather data on atmospheric and weather conditions.
Guests were presented with commemorative mugs marking the dedication (and marked like beakers), with refreshments being served in the courtyard. |