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Dr. Robert R. Ivany
President
University of St. Thomas
On July 1, 2004, Dr. Robert Ivany became the eighth president of the
University of
St. Thomas . Prior to his retirement from the Army with the rank of Major General, Ivany had presided over one of the nation’s most respected institutions for the education of strategic leaders: the U.S. Army War College in
Carlisle, Pa. Today, under his leadership, the
University of
St. Thomas - a comprehensive Catholic university in the heart of Houston - is committed to make every effort to be counted, within a generation, among
America ’s great Catholic Universities. Ivany is dedicated to educating leaders of faith and character.
Read Dr. Robert Ivany's Bio. |
Link Lee Mansion
In June 1946 the T.P. Lee home at 3812 Montrose was purchased as the site of the University of St. Thomas at a cost of $120,000. This home had been built in 1912 by J.W. Link, a financier and president of the Houston Land Corporation. T.P. Lee had purchased the estate from the Link family in 1916. On campus the first year, the Link-Lee Mansion housed the library, the registrar’s office, and the student reading room were housed on the first floor of the Mansion The second floor held the chapel (a very small room), the offices of the President (Father Guinan), the Dean of Women (Dr. Hennigan), the women’s lounge, and other rooms used for offices and classes. On the third floor, a former ballroom was used for the women’s physical education and student dances.
Link-Lee Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places. the ceremony had a double meaning: “The focus on the National Registry designation is fitting not only for recognizing a special building, but also as part of the excellence of the University’s academic programs since 1947,” Father J. Michael Miller,CSB, then UST president, stated. |
UST Houses Architectural Gems Designed by Philip Johnson
University of St. Thomas Academic Mall
Not long after its founding in 1947 by the Basilian Fathers, the University of St. Thomas began planning for the future. At the recommendation of philanthropist and art patron Dominique de Menil, the University hired Philip C. Johnson to design the campus. His design of the Academic Mall was patterned after Thomas Jefferson’s concept for the University of Virginia: two rows of classroom buildings linked physically and in concept by elevated walkways. A chapel and a library would anchor either end of this mall, symbolizing the dialogue of faith and reason.
The mall was not built overnight. Johnson himself designed the mall’s first three buildings: Welder, Jones and Strake, and they were completed during the 1950s and early 1960s. He often played a consulting role as additional buildings were added. As the University acquired additional properties, the mall continued to grow. During the mid-1990s the University acquired the land for a chapel at the north end of the mall, and Johnson was consulted in the design. Then into his early nineties, he came out of retirement to design the Chapel of St. Basil, one of eight sacred spaces in this architect/sculptor’s portfolio. Finally, in 2001, the $8 million Malloy Hall was completed, thanks largely to the success of the $65 million Shining Star Capital Campaign. The campaign also allowed the University to add another $33 million in construction west of the Academic Mall. These structures include a 300-bed residence hall, a parking garage and the Campus Life Mall, built on the site of a former parking lot.
Chapel of St. Basil
The Chapel of St. Basil is the most prominent and striking feature on the University of St. Thomas campus. Within the chapel’s unique architecture, light and shadow interplay to recreate the dramatic emotional power of historic European churches. Yet its elegant design embodies the most contemporary architectural concepts to reinforce the University’s ongoing mission with its students. The chapel is dedicated to St. Basil the Great, a 4th-century Bishop and patron of Christian educators. For more information go to the Chapel of St. Basil page.
The chapel received two 1998 American Institute of Architects’ Design Awards for Religious art & Architecture Design.
The Art and Architecture of St. Basil (PDF)
Bookends of a Great Career, Philip Johnson (PDF) |
Edward P White Memorial
Houston Mayor Bill White, Houston Chronicle Publisher Jack Sweeney and University of St. Thomas President Robert Ivany unveiled one of the last creative designs of world renowned architect Philip Johnson at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 8, in front of the Link Lee Mansion, 3800 Montrose Boulevard. The Edward P. White Memorial Plaza will complete a series of campus improvements in progress since 2001.
Raye White and the Wortham Foundation are the primary benefactors. Mrs. White will attend as a special guest. A Certified Investment Counselor and one of the principle stockholders of Fayez Sarofim & Co., Mrs. White now holds the position of executive vice president, secretary and treasurer of the company and its subsidiaries, and she is a Director of these entities. She joined Fayez Sarofim & Co. in 1958.
“The University of St. Thomas has been blessed with some of the earliest and the latest Philip Johnson designs,” said Dr. Ivany, president. “During the middle 1950s, the late Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil brought a virtually unknown Mr. Johnson to Houston to design her own home, then to create what would become the Academic Mall here at the University. He later came out of retirement to design the Chapel of St. Basil. His influence on Texas, Houston and the St. Thomas campus has been a lasting one.”
The first building on the Academic Mall, Welder Hall, was completed in 1959. Welder was designed by Johnson himself as a cafeteria and student center. It now houses the Cameron School of Business. The last of the Mall’s buildings was the ultramodern Malloy Hall, dedicated in 2001.
Johnson came out of retirement during the mid-1990s to design the Chapel of St. Basil, dedicated in 1997. The chapel, located at the north end of the mall, directly opposes the Doherty Library at the south end, representing a dialogue between faith and reason. Thus, the architecture represents the philosophy of UST’s patron, St. Thomas Aquinas. The Philip Johnson design, with classrooms opening onto a lush, green lawn, resembles Thomas Jefferson’s design of the University of Virginia.
Just as Johnson came out of retirement to design the Chapel of St. Basil, the architect also rendered a “landmark” design to herald the University as a gateway to the Houston Museum District.
University of St. Thomas President Robert R. Ivany led the ceremony dedicating the memorial plaza on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Edward P. White Memorial Plaza completes a series of campus beautification projects.
Construction on the Edward P. White Memorial Plaza began in 2006. Turner Architects, a local firm that handled much of Johnson’s Houston-based work during his lifetime, is coordinating the details of the landmark design and construction with the offices of Johnson Ritchie in NYC and local builder Linbeck Construction. Louis Nelson, a well-known New York artist who designed the commemorative wall mural for the Korean War Veterans Memorial, designed the landmark plaques.
The Johnson landmark consists of a granite-clad reinforced concrete structure with a studded cross attached at the same angle of repose as the cross in the west wall of the Chapel of St. Basil. The black granite monument, also called a stele, which stands about 36-feet tall and 14-feet wide, alludes to the black granite plane that bisects the campus Chapel. The white granite plaza around the landmark is made of the same material as the plaza in front of the Chapel. Additionally, the landmark has a 17- x 32-foot reflecting pool tiled with a blue glass tile. A water wall, standing 6-feet in height, is erected on the plaza’s west side. The water cascades behind a set of aluminum letters that spell out “University of St. Thomas.” |
UST Gueymard Meditation Garden
Ruth Westkaemper ’55 and Adolphe Gueymard’s contributions have made the labyrinth and chapel garden a reality. They are located adjacent to the Chapel of St. Basil on the University of St. Thomas campus.
This labyrinth was modeled after the one in the Cathedral of Chartres in France. A familiar feature of many Gothic cathedrals, all labyrinths follow the same pattern, containing eleven circles that loop their way to the center. Traditionally, walking in the labyrinth has been used as a substitute for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Slowly traversing the circuitous path, the “pilgrim” is invited to meditate and reflect on the Christian mysteries as he or she makes the solitary way to the central rosette. The delay in reaching the center creates a sense of expectancy and brings to mind the patience and perseverance required to complete the pilgrimage of life itself. Seen from above, the four arms of the pattern stand out, a clear image of the cross of Jesus Christ. |
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