• Donor's gift funds Campus Ministry building
Special to The Observer
Board of Trustees member Thomas Coleman, '56, died Friday, July 14. Elected to the Board of Trustees in 1984, Coleman also served for 32 years on the advisory council for Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University in 1993.
In addition to his many years of service, Coleman made numerous significant benefactions to the University, perhaps none more notable than his gift to underwrite the $7 million restoration of Notre Dame's historic Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Completed in 1990, the project included the restoration of the church's 19th century murals, stained glass, altars and statuary.
More recently, Coleman made a major gift in 1998 to underwrite construction of the Coleman Family Center for Campus Ministry, named in memory of his parents and brother.
Centrally located on South Quad, the center will include offices for Campus Ministry's programs in spirituality, retreats, campus liturgies, religious education and other ministries, as well as a chapel, a rehearsal space for campus choirs and a classroom for religious education.
Coleman was honored in 1998 with the Rev. Howard J. Kenna Award for service. He also received recognition from the Notre Dame Fire Department as an honorary fire chief and Notre Dame Security/Police as an honorary director of public safety.
Soon after graduation from Notre Dame, Coleman was elected a member of the New York Stock Exchange and in 1957 joined C.M.J. Partners, where he was a senior partner at the time of his death.
Coleman served on the boards of governors and directors of the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Futures Exchange. He was a director of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, the chairman of the board of St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, and a trustee of New York Catholic Charities and St. Patrick's Cathedral. He also served as a member of the Board of Councilors of the Knights of Malta and the Cardinal's Committee of the Laity.
In addition to the honorary degree from Notre Dame, Coleman was similarly honored by St. Bonaventure University and the College of Mount St. Vincent.
All News Stories for Saturday, August 19, 2000
