Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.11.1997, Side 1

Inside this ssue:

HeimsKringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Lögberg Stofnaö 14. januar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Daily News from lceland..................2
In Our Forefathers’ Steps................3
Book Review: Erik the Viking Sheep.......4
Is Trusting Humans Sane?.................4
The Giantess Below the Falls/ Skessan
undir fossinum........................5
Children’s Corner........................6
Calendar of Events.......................7
Soldier’s Memorabilia Displayed..........7
111 Argangur “Oldest ethnic periodical still publishing in Canada” Föstudagur 7, november 1997 Numer 39
111thYear Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, November 7, 1997 Number39
By Kevin Jón Johnson
a cool, cloudy aftemoon
I mwhich would see some
snow, on Friday, 24 Octo-
ber 1997, hundreds of well-wishers filled
and overflowed the Lewis D. Whitehead
Lecture Hall, in the newly refurbished
Clark Hall at Brandon University, to cel-
ebrate the grand opening of the recently
restored Brandon College and Clark Hall
complex. This multi-million dollar res-
toration program took place under the ad-
ministration of Icelandic-Canadian Dr.
Dennis Anderson, President and Vice-
Chancellor of Brandon University.
Dr. Anderson, who was Master of
Ceremonies, opened his remarks by
greeting those present in the platform
party and the audience, and by thanking
the team of workers who had completed
and coordinated the funding and recon-
struction of Brandon College and Clark
Hall. Under the Direction of Elizabeth
Grant, the Brandon University Chorale
led those gathered in the singing of O
Canada.
The President of Brandon University
spoke of the way in which this restora-
tion has improved morale among both
students and staff — even adding an ex-
tra kick to his own step, which is the more
remarkablc considering his 55 years of
age! Dr. Anderson extended special
thanks to the Honourable Gary Filmon,
Premier of Manitoba, whom he ap-
proached in the early 1990s with an ap-
peal for funding. Despite the fiscal re-
straint of that period, the Govemment of
Manitoba made this University restora-
tion project a priority; the province sup-
plied $11.3 million to the project. The
President and Vice-Chancellor then in-
vited Premier Gary Filmon to address
those gathered.
Premier Filmon thanked Dr.
Anderson, and then explained why the
Government of Manitoba saw it fit to
fund this project. Although Manitoba has
historically relied on a strong agricultural
and natural resource base to support its
economyi the future will call more
strongly upon intellectual skills.
His Worship, Mayor Reg Atkinson,
the Mayor of Brandon, spoke next. He
mentioned a conversation he’d had
earlier that day with the Chancellor of
Brandon University, Dr. Kevin Kavanagh,
who had spoken of “intellectual capital.”
He had never heard the two words com-
bined in this way before. Mayor
Atkinson, a grade twelve graduate, knew
a lot about capital; he had spent much of
his life producing capital for the sake of
his children. One type of “intellectual
capital” which interested him was the
amount of civic taxes paid by Brandon
Uni versity each year — an amount equal
to $1.8 million each year!
George Cibinel, of Corbett Cibinel
Architects, spoke next of his company’s
involvement in the project. Mr. Cibinel
first visited the site in November of 1990;
over a period of seven years he would
make 198 visits to the Brandon campus
from Winnipeg. He used the analogy of
an iceberg to describe a mammoth effort
such as this: the finished project is the
tip of the iceberg. The extensive planning,
the coordination with Bird Construction
and othercontractors, the dismantling of
decayed intemal stmctures, the bracing
of the almost century old exterior stone
walls, the hauling away of accumulated
debris, and the rebuilding of the edifice
from the inside-out constitutes the part
of the iceberg submerged beneath the
water. The ambitiousness and scope of
the project appeared clear to Mr. Cibinel
when he stood at the centre of the gutted
buildings, with its huge volumes of va-
cant space stretching in every direction.
This was a proud day of culmination to
him and his associates.
Dr. Anderson then spoke of the fact
that a time capsule had been laid at the
foundation of the original Brandon Col-
lege and Clark Hall, and that it may be
opened in two years’ time, when the Uni-
versity celebrates its centenary. A second
time capsule, which may be opened on
the bi-centennial, would be compiled on
that day of the grand opening. President
Anderson invited Doug Adams, the Presi-
dent of the Brandon University Alumni
Continued on page 2
Brandon University President Dr. C. Dennis Anderson in tlie basement of Clark Hall.
Manitobans today have penetrated tech- of higher education, such as Brandon
nological markets in which intellectual University, will prove instrumental in
capital plays a vital role; the Province of preparing future Manitobans for this
Manitoba has funded this restoration pro- march into the future by increasing the
gram because it believes that institutions intellectual capital of the Province.
Dr. Dennis Anderson Presides
Over Brandon University
Buildings Restoration