On Friday, November 17th St. Mary’s University was honoured to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of St. Basil’s Library and the very special Grand Opening of the Gerry and Anna Maier Special Collections Reading Room.
Mr. and Mrs. Maier’s generosity has forever changed the landscape of the St. Mary’s University campus by making an invaluable impact on the university’s high standard of excellence, and allowing it to acquire important resources that will further strengthen the foundation of academic experience for which it has become known.
St. Basil’s Library serves as the trusted keeper of intellectual and cultural records providing research and learning services that foster innovation and experimentation. It has become the academic heart of St. Mary’s where students and faculty are provided the tools and resources for research, collaboration and discovery, none of which would be possible without the generous support of members of the community such as the Maiers and countless others who have helped ensure that St. Mary’s can continue to collect, preserve and provide access to a broad spectrum of materials.
The Gerry and Anna Maier Special Collections Reading Room, created through a generous $200,000 donation, will provide a rich collaborative work space for St. Mary’s students to study and conduct their research with unparalleled access to rare holdings and Special Collections, including the Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible, whose acquisition was originally made possible by a lead gift from the Maiers in 2012.
During the event Mr. Maier spoke on how grateful he was to support St. Mary’s University and be part of the community that is really helping to uplift the university while providing unique and invaluable resources to its students. He also mentioned how he is thrilled that the Gerry and Anna Maier Special Collections Reading Room will house so many special texts and collections – including volumes one through twelve of The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years, which the Maiers also donated to St. Mary’s.
“Gerry and Anna Maier are renowned as major philanthropists in Calgary and beyond, but they are especially known to support projects that encourage faith and learning. Their important gifts to St. Mary’s University over the last few years have had a profound impact on the quality of student intellectual life on campus.”