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| College benefactor Peter Wege, circa 1960. Wege took a leave of absence from Steelcase Corporation in 1959 to supervise the development campaign and the construction of Albertus Magnus Hall of Science and the House of Studies. |
This 1960 photo from The Thomist shows students studying in the library, by then located in the Administration Building. |
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| 1960 |
| • Albertus Magnus Hall of Science opens for classes in September. The building is dedicated by Grand Rapids' Bishop Allen J. Babcock. The dedicatory address is given by Fr. William A. Wallace, O.P. entitled "St. Albert and Modern Science."
In recognition of Peter Wege's service to Aquinas, the building is dedicated to the memory of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Wege, Sr. |
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To hear physics professor Chuck Frydrych reminisce about the opening days of Albertus Hall and 1960's science faculty, click here. This audio link is from "Historically Speaking," an oral history of Aquinas College. |
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• A language lab with 42 private acoustic-walled booths is installed. Languages taught include French, Spanish, German and Swahili, taught by a student from Tanganyika. Some college classes are offered on closed-circuit TV, and Aquinas drama students perform on WOOD-TV. |
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| • House of Studies opens for Dominican Sisters in training to live on campus. |
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• A graduate institute in theology for religious sisters is begun, later to become the Aquinas Institute of Religious Studies (AIRS). Graduate programs in history and English are begun and masters degrees are offered in those fields until 1967. (These programs were discontinued.) |
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| • Throughout the 1960s, The Yacht Club, in the nearby Eastown neighborhood, provids off-campus entertainment for students, and a challenge for directors of student life. |
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To hear Betty Jennings, former Aquinas faculty member, reminisce about her days policing The Yacht Club on Wealthy Street with Dean of Women Gertrude Horgan, click here. This audio clip is from "Historically Speaking," an oral history of Aquinas College. |
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• President Bukowski announces that college enrollment tops 1,000 for the first time in its history. 48% of the student body is from out of town. The College employs 74 full-time faculty. |
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• The House of Studies, for Dominican sisters attending Aquinas, opens in the fall on Fulton Street. |
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| 1961 |
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| 1961 Homecoming Queen Judy Martin and her court pose for their royal portrait. |
Fans beat the drum for the Tommies at this 1961 sporting event. |
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• Baseball and golf teams win city championships. |
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• "Orbit," a collection of student creative writing, is published. Film festivals bring foreign films to campus, some of them controversial, like Bergman's "Virgin Spring." |
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• Under Sr. Mary de Chantal Luke and Jack Rang, the Aquinas College theater program takes off, memorably staging "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1962) and "A Man for All Seasons" (1964), as well as many other works of classic and contemporary theater. |
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| Tommies fans get swept up in the action, 1961. |
Aquinas College plays before a packed house in this 1962 game against longtime rivals Calvin College. |
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1962 |
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| The Tommies and the Knights go for the ball in '62. |
A Tommie works the boards in '62 and
makes the rebound! |
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• Regina Hall opens as a residence for women students. |
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| • A Michigan Historical Marker is unveiled in central campus to commemorate the 40th year of Aquinas College as an institution of higher education, and the 75th anniversary of its founding as Novitiate Normal School. Monsignor Bukowski celebrates his 25th year as president of the College. |
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| Gertrude Horgan and other dignitaries and students break ground in 1962 for Regina Hall. |
In 1962, the Aquinas College theater presented Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." |
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• A wooden statue of St. Albertus Magnus, carved by American Seating Company's master carver Robert E. Hellem, is added to the entrance of Albertus Magnus Hall of Science. |
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| • Radio station WXTO continues operating in the tower of the Administration Building. The station is a collaborative effort with the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese and is directed by Father Michael Beahan. It offers quality music, news, and commentary, and provids media training for students. |
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| Gwendolyn and Cecily make up in 1962's "The Importance of Being Earnest." |
Students gather at "The Hub" of campus life in 1963 for a quick coffee or a snack. |
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| 1963 |
• The College purchases Willowbrook to serve as a residence for senior women. (Men continue to live off campus.) |
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• Operation Latin America, a service trip to Bogota, Colombia, is organized by Gertrude Horgan. The College undertook later service projects in Guatemala and Appalachia. |
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• Vatican II brings about changes in liturgy and nuns' habits. Ecumenical dialogues take place with members of various religions. |
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| 1964 |
| • St. Joseph the Worker Hall opens in September for men students to live on campus. |
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To hear alumni Patricia Kozal, Peg Duva and John and Katy McDonald talk about life in the residence halls in these years, click here. This audio clip is from "Historically Speaking," an oral history of Aquinas College. |
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The turbulent 1960s bring the first of many protest marches. Here Dominican sisters march for Civil Rights in 1964. |
Grand Rapids bishop Allen J. Babcock dedicates St. Joseph the Worker Hall in 1965.
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| 1965 |
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| Groundbreaking for Wege Center takes place on March 10, 1965.
Pictured above are Student Senate officers (left to right): Max Otto, Tamara Paul,
Alfred Liu, and Garry Fewless. |
Errol Harvey directs traffic on Fulton
Street as students eagerly await a surprise campaign visit by vice-presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey in 1964. |
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| 1966 |
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Students line up to register for classes in 1966. |
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| • The Carriage House is renovated to make it into an intimate little theater. |
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An academic Mass is held at nearby St. Thomas the Apostle parish with Monsignor Bukowski presiding. |
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In 1967, Aquinas College engineering students built
this bridge over Coldbrook stream. |
Aquinas College theater students go classical with
this 1967 production of Moliere's "Tartuffe." |
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| 1968 |
• Monsignor Bukowski announces his planned retirement, to be effective the following year. The Board of Trustees sets up a search committee to find his replacement. |
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| Students perfect their line drawing in this
1968 art class. |
In the activist 1960s, student marches were common, but this one as Monsignor Bukowski retired has a festive feel. |
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| 1969 |
| • January 29: Students stage a spontaneous farewell demonstration for Monsignor Bukowski. After his retirement, Msgr. Bukowski spent a year in Appalachia doing missionary work, then returned as a priest to the Grand Rapids diocese, teaching at St. Joseph Seminary. He died October 10, 1989. |
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| • Laymen admitted to Board of Trustees. |
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To hear alumnus Russ Hogan talk about this student uprising, click here. This audio clip is from "Historically Speaking," an oral history of Aquinas College. |
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When Monsignor Bukowski retires in 1969, students stage a spontaneous "protest," storming the president's office and escorting him around campus in the back of a convertible chanting "Mon Buke! Mon Buke!" |
Monsignor Bukowski's portrait at the time of his retirement, 1969. |
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• Physical Education and Assembly Building (popularly known as the Fieldhouse) opens. |
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• February: Dr. Norbert Hruby (pictured at left) is selected by the Board of Trustees to replace Monsignor Bukowski as the president of Aquinas College.
• Hruby creates Encore, a degree completion program for mature women. R.J. Bennett creates an evening degree program in business and accounting.
• Hruby calls for an institutional self-study, a comprehensive revisioning process for the entire college. This process yields a new curriculum, new rules and a new college governance structure. The self-study involves |
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| extensive meetings and discussions among students, faculty, administrators and an outside board. The Self Study National Advisory Board members are Dr. Robert T. Blackburn, Professor for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Michigan; The Reverend Carl Hangartner S.J., Professor of Education at St. Louis University; Dr. Ann Heiss, Center for Research and Development in Higher Educatino at University of California Berkley; Dr. Nevitt Sanford, Professor of Psychology and Education, Stanford University; and Dr. John F.A. Taylor, Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University. |
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• Aquinas Institute for Religious Studies is formed. |
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