Fleck Hall room takes new name
St. Edward’s University will honor a former Catholic bishop by dedicating a room in his honor Wednesday.
The university will bestow the name of retired Bishop of the Austin Diocese John McCarthy upon Fleck Hall 305 as part of a celebration of McCarthy’s 80th birthday, which occurred in June.
To help commemorate the naming, McCarthy, who is currently a member of the university’s Board of Trustees, will donate a portrait of himself, which will be installed in the room.
McCarthy, who served as Austin’s bishop from 1985 until 2001, is back on the university’s Board of Trustees after serving there from 1979 to 1981. An advocate for human rights and human development issues, McCarthy once described himself as fiscally conservative but socially liberal regarding civil rights, human rights and economic development.
Those invited to the event may also make a donation to McCarthy’s foundation, The Most Reverend John McCarthy CAMP Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship helps to benefit students who entered the university through the CAMP program, which assists students who are migrant farm workers or their children.
“He wanted to have this event because in the past, when he has been honored at the university, it has been a good way for him to reach out to his friends and supporters,” said Gillian Jeter, constituent relations associate in the Office of Advancement.
Jeter said that five former McCarthy CAMP scholars, as well as some close friends and religious community members and some university leadership, will be in attendance at the event.
In addition to the scholarship and the room, McCarthy’s name is also attached to a lecture series about the Catholic Church that the university hosts in the spring and fall semesters. The university has also given McCarthy an honorary degree and the SEU Mission Award.
St. Edward’s has named many of the rooms that can be reserved by student organizations. The third floor of Ragsdale contains the Brothers Room, the Lucas Room, the Rice Room, the Herndon Room, the Ikard Room, the Bodine Room and the Bain Boardroom, all of which were named in honor of people who have made an impact on the university.
