BY DAVID MCALLISTER , PhD FORMER LEAD LIBRARIAN AND UNIVERSITY ARCHIVIST

Imagine a student in 1967 . They finish studying for an exam at Lourdes Library , walk down to Aquinas Hall to take their test , then race back over to the John F . Kennedy Student Center to eat lunch before another class . This doesn ’ t sound like Gwynedd Mercy University , but it almost was .

When buildings were built before 1965 , they were not named . They were referred to simply by their function : the Dorm , the Liberal Arts Building , the Nursing Building . In 1967 , a committee chaired by Sister Mary John Aloyse McCormick , RSM chose new names for the buildings .

Before 1953 , Assumption Hall was referred to simply as The Great Hall . Keiss Library was Lourdes Library until 2014 when it was renamed after the University ’ s third president , Sister Isabelle Keiss , RSM . Valie Genuardi Hall , which now houses advanced nursing labs and classrooms , was , until recently , the Valie Genuardi Hobbit House , and before that it was called Trocaire , Gaelic for mercy .

Admissions House was initially called Our Lady of Mercy Convent before adopting the name Annunciation Convent . Transfiguration Convent was simply known as the Carver House , after Milton Carver , a longtime employee who managed Plant Services .

Other buildings on campus were named after saints , Sisters of Mercy or college benefactors , or chosen by college employees and students . All four residence halls were named after saints , and Waldron and Byrne Halls were named after two Mothers Superior of the Sisters of Mercy .

Campbell Hall was named after the second president , Sister Mary Gregory Campbell , RSM . Gustav Martin Hall was named after a local scientist , instructor and benefactor to the college . Julia Ball Auditorium was named after a benefactor of the Sisters of Mercy and Gwynedd-Mercy College .

The Griffin Complex gained its name as part of a contest , with staff member Brenda Bingaman of the Computer Science Department and Sister Madeleine Smith , RSM of the Education Department submitting the winning name .

Students in Maryllyn Dormitory , 1958

Assumption Hall is known for its ghost stories .

Campus used to house a pond ( where the flagpole stands today ) and an outdoor swimming pool .

Master iron craftsman Samuel Yellin created the Lady Garden gate in the 1920s . His work can be seen at Bryn Mawr , Princeton and Harvard universities and elsewhere around the country .

gmercyu . edu / 75years

1964 1965