By Marivi Prado - St. Thomas University
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Posing for a photo in the front of the newly renamed Mimi Dooner Hall, from left: John Dooner, Cindy Dooner, Myriam Van Scoter, Jacqueline Dooner and Msgr. Franklyn Casale.
MIAMI | St. Thomas University has rededicated Kennedy Hall � the first building on campus � and renamed it Biscayne College Mimi Dooner Hall in honor of the daughter of university donors John and Cindy Dooner.
The rededication ceremony took place March 19.
Biscayne College is the original name of St. Thomas University, which was founded in 1961 as a small Catholic men�s college. It traces its roots to Augustinian friars who founded Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva in 1946 in Havana.
After Fidel Castro�s regime confiscated the school�s land and expelled faculty, priests, administrators, and students, the Diocese of Miami invited the Augustinians to start a new college in Miami to meet the education/transition needs of the newly-arriving Cuban exiles.
In 1984, with the establishment of the School of Law and other graduate degree programs, Biscayne College, now coeducational, became St. Thomas University.
As the original school of St. Thomas University, Biscayne College now encompasses the university�s liberal arts and social sciences programs: the Department of English and Humanities; the Department of History, Philosophy, and Global Studies; the Department of Social Sciences and Counseling; and the Institute for World Languages. It also houses the University Honors Program and the Center for Ethics.
Biscayne College is directed by academic Dean Scott Zeman.
The rededication ceremony took place March 19.
Biscayne College is the original name of St. Thomas University, which was founded in 1961 as a small Catholic men�s college. It traces its roots to Augustinian friars who founded Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva in 1946 in Havana.
After Fidel Castro�s regime confiscated the school�s land and expelled faculty, priests, administrators, and students, the Diocese of Miami invited the Augustinians to start a new college in Miami to meet the education/transition needs of the newly-arriving Cuban exiles.
In 1984, with the establishment of the School of Law and other graduate degree programs, Biscayne College, now coeducational, became St. Thomas University.
As the original school of St. Thomas University, Biscayne College now encompasses the university�s liberal arts and social sciences programs: the Department of English and Humanities; the Department of History, Philosophy, and Global Studies; the Department of Social Sciences and Counseling; and the Institute for World Languages. It also houses the University Honors Program and the Center for Ethics.
Biscayne College is directed by academic Dean Scott Zeman.
Students in its global leadership program join Pax Romana, an international movement of more than 400,000 intellectuals, professionals, and university students, through which they can obtain internships and study-tours with the United Nations in New York, Paris, and Rome.
Biscayne College also has a new Institute for World Languages and Culture that will support the university�s goal of having every student graduate with fluency in at least two languages, including Mandarin. Students also will gain international experiences by studying at universities in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and majoring in interdisciplinary programs such as Global Studies.
�St. Thomas is poised to elevate students to leadership positions in a global marketplace for the next 50 years,� said Msgr. Franklyn Casale, St. Thomas University�s president.
Biscayne College also has a new Institute for World Languages and Culture that will support the university�s goal of having every student graduate with fluency in at least two languages, including Mandarin. Students also will gain international experiences by studying at universities in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and majoring in interdisciplinary programs such as Global Studies.
�St. Thomas is poised to elevate students to leadership positions in a global marketplace for the next 50 years,� said Msgr. Franklyn Casale, St. Thomas University�s president.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Msgr. Frankly Casale and John Dooner look over a display of the history of St. Thomas University.
