It’s Flashback Friday!
Each Friday, we will include historical facts about the college in The Dome, on Facebook and Twitter. Flashback Fridays are another part of our yearlong sesquicentennial celebration, which culminates in September 2020 when Canisius turns 150 years old.
Today, we flash back to May 1940 when two outstanding bequests made it possible for Canisius to grow its campus plan with the construction and dedication of the Horan-O’Donnell Science Building.
Buffalo school teacher Marian A. Horan bequeathed $100,000 to Canisius in 1936, specifically “to build and equip a scientific laboratory … in memory of the Patrick Horan family.”
Shortly thereafter, neurologist William J. O’Donnell, MD, bequeathed one third of his estate to Canisius for the erection of a science building.
The design of the three-story, $250,000 structure included an ample number of windows for its day in order to “afford sufficient lighting for scientific research.”
Submitted by: College Communications
