W
ith hard hats on and shovels in hand, various members of the Manhattan College community gathered together on April 26 to break ground on what will be the crown jewel of the south campus: the new Patricia and Cornelius J. Higgins ’62 Engineering and Science Center. After a welcome from Thomas Mauriello, vice president for advancement and master of ceremonies for the event, Brother Jack Curran, FSC, vice president for mission, began the program with a lot of gratefulness, sincerity and inspiration, but also with a little humor. “To find God, some people go to synagogues, some to mosques, and some to churches. To find God, some people go to beautiful parks, majestic mountains, or ocean shores,” he began. “But we Jaspers — and friends of the Jaspers — today we gather here in this parking lot … on this holy ground … in the Holy Presence of God.” 40 N spring 2018
In addition to thanking Cornelius and Patricia Higgins for their great generosity in providing the inspirational lead gift for this exciting project, President Brennan O’Donnell talked about the next chapter in the College’s history, while referencing its past. “Today, we set in motion construction that will create a stateof-the-art building housing laboratories and collaborative space,” O’Donnell said. “The building will be both a tremendous addition to our facilities and also the first step in a comprehensive program of renovation and upgrading of all of our science and engineering facilities. The vision, in addition to providing the teaching and research facilities we need to continue Manhattan’s distinctive tradition of excellence for the next generation and beyond, is to transform these two and a half blocks into a true south campus.”