Naming Names
The slightly odd construction, ‘naming names’, is generally associated with bad behaviour and those so-named are usually implicated in something awful like, for example, a communist conspiracy. Here I will attempt to name some names related to Western University and to do so for a positive purpose. That purpose being: 1) to more clearly identify and define those whose names we see when we visit campus, either physically or electronically, and 2) to propose that a registry be constructed so that they can be easily found.
Such a project is already underway and provides the impetus for this one. Just recently the folks at Research Western began to place plaques and link them to digital profiles of those who have contributed to the research endeavours of the University (for details see below). That seems like a very good idea to me. There are others who have contributed in other ways and some of their names are already on campus and there are many yet to be identified. Who are these people? Is the name on a building associated with someone who taught within it, or to a person who paid to have it built? Apart from acknowledging the person, a description surely would be useful for the highly transient student population, some of whom probably wonder who Paul Davenport was when they file into ‘his’ theatre.
I know some of you are thinking that the construction of a biographical name registry is a bad idea and that it is ironic that the one suggesting it ranted, in a year-end post a couple of years ago, that we should abandon the practice of naming buildings and constructing statues for reasons that are now so obvious. As this is being written, the name ‘Trutch” is being removed from a building at UVic and today’s philanthropist could be tomorrow’s felon. As well, even the names of scholars can become suspect if, for example, they wrote something positive about a prime minister, or cranial size and criminality, or even used improper pronouns.
A Western Biographical Register could get around these problems. As we become more enlightened and censorious we could continue to remove names from buildings and rooms and Chairs, but keep the registry. In it, an alteration could be made to a name that was rendered unsuitable to indicate exactly when we became ‘woke’ and, as well, ‘signal our virtue’.
Research Western asked for suggestions and nominations related to the research mission of the university. The ones provided below are names that are already somehow associated with Western and some are related to research since they are encountered when using the Western Libraries. Others come from buildings and rooms; still others relate to scholars, donors, lectures and historical figures important to the University. All should be checked.
In those cases where I easily found information, it is provided. Often information can be found when a naming occurred or a donation was made, but such information needs to be gathered in a central place to be easily located.
The List
[Update - 2021: I noticed that some embedded links no longer work. They are another reason for a more permanent home for them.]
3M Centre
(Okay, this is not a personal name, but still one might want to know why the Centre has such a label, other than the fact that Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company probably wouldn't fit.)
Alexander Charles Spencer Engineering Building
(see also below - Thompson Engineering Building)
The Alexander Norman Collection of Comic Books
(A collection in the Western Libraries)
Alice Munro Chair in Creativity
("The Alice Munro Chair in Creativity will recognize and honour our Nobel laureate, inspire student writers and foster creative expression of all kinds. Alice Munro is counted among the University’s most extraordinary alumni." For more see here. )
Allyn and Betty Taylor Library
(“The Allyn and Betty Taylor Library was officially opened on November 22, 1991, with the design and construction of the new library funded through the Renaissance Campaign (1989 –1994). At the time of the Library’s opening, Dr. Allyn Taylor (Western’s Chancellor from 1976 to 1980) was quoted as saying: “My long association with Western is very close to my heart. Betty and I are proud and thankful indeed to have our names linked with this fine, new library, and can only say how grateful we are to the anonymous benefactor responsible.” The $11.8 million three floor addition to the north side of the Natural Sciences Building had a total seating capacity of 1,000 in 1991.”)
see also the J. Allyn Taylor Building below.
Arthur & Sonia Labatt Health Sciences Building
The Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing
(“Western opens innovative new home for Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, June 8, 2017”
“Arthur and Sonia Labatt, long-time donors to health education at Western University, opened the building Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and tour. They were awarded honorary doctorates from Western in 2012 and Arthur Labatt was Western University chancellor from 2004 to 2008. Both are well-known philanthropists whose volunteer work includes arts, culture, health care and environmental causes.”)
Beatrice Hitchins Memorial Collection of Aviation History
(A collection in the Western Libraries)
C. B. “ Bud” Johnston Library
(At the time this Library was named, I had some association with it. Assuming that people would want to know who “Bud” was, I created a profile and bibliography. It is no longer available on the Western Libraries website. I have a copy and it holds up well if you want to borrow it.)
Claudette Mackay-Lassonde Pavilion
“The Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Pavilion (CMLP) officially opened its doors on Saturday, October 3, 2009. It is a 45,000 square-foot, $20-million facility, featuring advanced environmentally sustainable construction technologies and methodologies. The CMLP houses research geared towards green technologies, processes and materials. This description also has a good link to the Lassonde Family Foundation”.)
Collip Building
(The assumption here is that it was named after Dr. J. Bertram Collip. A good profile of him is
here.)
Conron Hall
Most likely named for Dr. A.B. Conron.
DAN Department of Management & Organizational Studies
The D.B. Weldon Library
Dr. Don Rix Clinical Skills Learning Building
The Dr. Don Rix Protein Identification Facility
(“Named after Western medical school graduate Don Rix, who donated $2 million to assist in the construction of the laboratory, the Dr. Don Rix Protein Identification Facility has established Western as a leading proteomics research hub in Ontario.”) For a good account see: "What's in a Name: Dr. Don Rix Clinical Skills Building," Paul Mayne, Western News, Oct. 10, 2013.
Don Wright Faculty of Music
(“The name became the Don Wright Faculty of Music in October 2002 following a generous donation by alumnus, musician and philanthropist Dr. Donald J. Wright.”)
The Dr. Eddy Smet Collection of Comic Books
(A collection in the Western Libraries).
Elborn College
Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Sport Medicine Clinic
(One can find on their site a "History of the Fowler Fellowship". Another profile and picture of Fowler is found on the site of the JP Metras Sports Museum.)
Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites
(“The Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research is a joint venture between Western University and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal, Germany").
The G. William Stuart Jr. Collection of Milton and Miltoniana
(A collection in the Western Libraries).
Gibbons Lodge
The Gordon J. Mogenson Building
Gregory Clark Piscatorial Collection
(A collection in the Western Libraries).
The Hannah Collection on the History of Science and Medicine
(A collection in the Western Libraries).
One could start here.
The Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory
(“The observatory was presented by Mrs. Frances Amelia Labatt Cronyn in memory of her husband (Hume Blake Cronyn) who had considerable interest in science even though he worked in the financial world as general manager of the Huron & Erie Savings and Loan Company (later to become the Canada Trust Company), and president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company.” See here. )
Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership
A description is here.
The J. Allyn Taylor Building
(see the Allyn & Betty Taylor Library above.)
J. Gordon Thompson Recreation and Athletics Centre
The James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collections
(“In 1999, Special Collections benefited from an endowment provided through the estate of Lillian Benson, a retired thirty-seven year employee and friend of Western Libraries. Ms. Benson had been Assistant Librarian, Administration, to Western Librarian, Dr. James J. Talman. In recognition of her gift, Special Collections was renamed The James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collections in honour of Ms. Benson's parents.”)
The J. J. Talman Regional Collection
Joanne Goodman Lectures
John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library
John George Althouse Faculty of Education
(“1965 - The provincial Department of Education opens two new teacher training colleges in Ontario, one in Kingston and the other in London - Althouse College named after John George Althouse.” A good profile and picture are provided here.
John Labatt Visual Arts Centre
Josephine Spencer Niblett Law Building
The Joyce C. Garnett Innovation Fund
(Ms Garnett was University Librarian from 1998-2013.
The information needed is provided in: “Gift Builds 'Bridge' to the Future,” by Crystal Lamb, Western News, September 14, 2016).
JP Metras Sports Museum
(“The athletic history at The University of Western Ontario covers a wide range of sports spanning well over 100 years. Between 1935-72, Western’s athletes prospered under the guidance of JP Metras as coach and athletic director. To preserve his legacy and Mustang history, the JP Metras Sports Museum opened in Alumni Hall").
J. W. Little Memorial Stadium
See here.
Kresge Building
“Pennsylvania-born businessman Sebastin Kresge met with Western President Ed Hall and Board of Governors member Jack White to discuss a possible donation for the nursing building. The meeting was successful, as Kresge donated $200,000 to the project. In recognition of his generosity, the new building was named the Kresge School of Nursing.”
From this very good link, complete with pictures:
Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management
(“The Lawrence Centre was established in 2002 with a generous gift from Canadian businessman, Jack Lawrence, HBA '56, who was a strong proponent on behalf of business playing an active role in Canadian public policy.”)
The Laurene O. Paterson Building, Western Science Centre
Lawson Hall Residence
Lawson Research Institute
McIntosh Gallery
(Here is the information from: The Art of London, 1830-1980, Nancy Geddes Poole, 1984.
p. 103.
“While the Art Museum opened its doors in the autumn of 1940, the following June the cornerstone was laid for a second art gallery in the city, the McIntosh Memorial Gallery at the University of Western Ontario. Wilhelmina Morris McIntosh, when she died, left a bequest to the University in memory of her husband John Gordon McIntosh. The bequest not only included her personal art collection, but also provided funds to build the “English Renaissance-style” gallery at a cost not exceeding $50,000, as well as an endowment to provide for the upkeep of the building and for additional acquisitions for the collection.”)
McKellar Room
Paul Davenport Theatre
(“Renovations to Talbot Theatre were completed in August 2009 and the hall was renamed in honour of retiring university president Paul Davenport.”)
Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship
A profile of Morrissette is here.
Richard Ivey Building
Robarts Research Institute
SCHOLARSHIPS
(Named scholarships could be problematic, in that there are probably a large number of them.. I did not quickly find a list of scholarships at the Office of the Registrar. They are often found at the department level; there are for example, at least three Professor Kenneth Hilborn ones listed by the History Department. Perhaps all of the scholarships could be subsumed under that heading and divided by faculty.)
Siebens Drake Research Institute
(Might also wish to consider “The Haeryfar Lab [which] is located in the Siebens-Drake Research Institute (SDRI) at Western University, under the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and within the Department of Microbiology & Immunology.”)
Somerville House
Spencer Hall
Stevenson Hall
Stevenson-Lawson Building
The Stiller Centre
Sydenham Hall Residence
TD Waterhouse Stadium
Thompson Engineering Building
(see above Alexander Charles Spencer Engineering Building)
The Valberg Educational Resource Centre (VERC)
(for Dr. Leslie S. Valberg, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine)
See here.
Von Kuster Hall
(Named in honour of Clifford von Kuster, the first dean of the Faculty of Music, the recital hall is located in the Music Building with the entrance off the main lobby.)
William J. Cameron
(The name was attached to the William J. Cameron Reading Room in what used to be known as the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Many of the books once located there show up in the Western Libraries catalogue, with his name attached.)
Sources:
For information about the Research Western project see: "Plaques Celebrate Rich History of Research," by Paul Mayne, Western News, Nov. 9. 2017.
Information about the Heritage Plaques is found on the Research Western website.
A useful list of Western University buildings is found here.
For a good example of how such a list could be done for the buildings see UCLA's BuildingName Origins.
For a better one that honours philanthropists see this example of how the Canadian de Gaspe Beaubien family was featured when they made a large donation to the Baker Library. Click on the entries on the left to see other examples : A Campus Built on Philanthropy.
Post Script
If Western ever encounters a situation where a donor wishes to have his/her name attached to a building already named they can again look to Harvard for solutions. When Mr. Bloomberg asked to have the name of his father on the Baker Library, he was accommodated. It is now know as the Baker Library/Bloomberg Center.
It seems to me that this would be a good project for those in the Western Libraries, working inter-departmentally with their colleagues over in Advancement Operations. The former have access to the university records and internal contacts with the scholars. The latter would know about the external donors and have access to the cash. Perhaps they could hire a hagiographer to write glowing bios and attract even more donors.
The Affiliates also have some names that could be named as does Fanshawe where one finds, The Lawrence Kinlin School of Business, the Donald J. Smith School of Building Technology and the Norton Wolf School of Aviation Technology.
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