Patterson Hall is the new home of Acadia’s F.C. Manning School of Business, thanks to the support of alumni and friends who contributed to an ambitious building renovation. On October 22, Manning School students, faculty and staff had an opportunity to extend their gratitude to all the donors to the project, and to celebrate the official opening of Patterson Hall.

A total of 46 individuals committed nearly $2.5 million to finance the dramatic overhaul of the building. According to Dr. Ian Hutchinson, Director of the Manning School of Business, “this has been a dream of ours for a long time, and now it’s a reality because of our illustrious and generous supporters. Our faculty and staff are reveling in this outstanding new space.”

Extending thanks on behalf of President Ray Ivany and Acadia’s Board of Governors, Board Chair Paul Jewer (’94), himself a graduate of the Manning School, emphasized that “this new home for the School marks a new chapter in a continuing story of excellence and accomplishment here at Acadia.”

Dr. Rod Morrison, Vice-President, Advancement, applauded all of those who had rallied behind the fundraising effort, beginning with Dr. Bruce Galloway (’68), the volunteer leader of (and the first donor to) the “Twenty Wing” campaign, which targeted 20 gifts of $100,000 to complete the building. There was a parallel and complementary effort to secure additional gifts to name individual rooms in Patterson Hall. Morrison noted that the “successful completion of this project is a boon not only to our current students, but to prospective business students who are considering Acadia.”

Dr. Galloway concurred, recognizing all of his fellow Patterson Hall donors for making the transformation possible. “It’s a group,” he said, “that reaches from Nova Scotia all the way to Hong Kong and Singapore. We’re all proud to have contributed to this project and to the future of the Manning School.”

Meg Keevil, a fourth-year Marketing student and President of the Business Society, agreed, and said to donors, “I can’t tell you how proud we feel as Manning students when we walk through the doors of Patterson Hall. You are role models for us and we are committed to emulating your example – to achieve our goals, to build meaningful careers, to contribute to society, and to give back to Acadia.”

Donors pictured above at the event: (front) Peter Miller, Rob Jeffery, Ryan Sutherland, Bobby MacNeill, Evan Phinney, Lana Wood, Jane McIntrye, Pat Schurman, Sandra Greer, Margo Schurman Thompson, Patricia Hastings and Lorraine Bishop; (back row, left to right) Ross Munroe, Kelly Cochrane, Bruce Galloway, Gordon MacNeill, Don Clow, Nader Haddad, Charles Coll, Bruce Phinney, Charlie Coll, Ron Smith, Bill Thompson, Norm McIntyre, Tim McIntyre, Don McIntryre, Michael Schurman, Bob McKim, Bert Frizzell, John Greer, David Hastings and George Bishop. Donors missing from the photo: Paul Bailey, Henry and Rena Demone, John and Linda Carter, Fred and Elizabeth Fountain, Margaret and David Fountain, Robert K. Irving, Jack and Faye MacDonald, Bob Reeves, Beverly Smith, Michael and Gwen Trask, Jann and Stephen Wetmore, Robert A. Balcom and Shari Balcom, Shelley, Matthew and Stuart Clow, Kathryn Coll, Hailee Coll, Susan Haddad, M. Ross Langley and Tracy Langley, George MacLeod, Jim Mills and Leilany Garron-Mills, Steven Perry, Keith Skiffington, Verne Wood, Tim Formuziewich, Tom Foran, and Francis Yip. (Photo: Peter Oleskevich)