University Day Celebration, September 9, 2011
Amid celebrations of its past, present and future, College of Notre Dame of Maryland became Notre Dame of Maryland University on September 9, 2011 – the 116th anniversary of the institution’s first day of class in 1895.
University Day Mass
Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, graduates, SSNDs and friends crowded into LeClerc Auditorium as Cardinal William Keeler presided at a University Mass, celebrated by Bishop Denis Madden and concelebrated by Reverend Robert Kennedy.
Dedication Ceremony
President Mary Pat Seurkamp led the Dedication Ceremony, with remarks by Kathleen Cornell, SSND ’69 and Patricia J. Mitchell ’69, chair of the Board of Trustees.
University Day Luncheon
Several generations of the Notre Dame community came together to celebrate the day’s events with a luncheon in the beautifully decorated MBK Gymnasium.
Gateway Ribbon Cutting
Noted architect Robert A.M. Stern and designer David Ashton created a beautiful welcoming entrance bringing visitors to the doors of Gibbons Hall, the first building erected on Notre Dame’s campus more than 116 years ago. Fashioned in granite, ironwork, and gold leaf lettering, the gateway is understated and elegant, a style befitting the oldest Catholic college for women in the U.S. and Baltimore’s newest University.