Longtime St. Thomas board member and benefactor Harry McNeely Jr., left, received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Father Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas.
Honorary degree presented to Harry McNeely Jr.
The University of St. Thomas bestowed an honorary doctor of laws degree on a member of its Board of Trustees at dedication ceremonies Wednesday, Oct. 18, for the new McNeely Hall.
Harry McNeely Jr. spoke at the dedication of McNeely Hall, named for his parents.
Harry McNeely Jr. was honored as a "highly principled business executive and philanthropist." He has been on the St. Thomas board since 1969. Over the years he has helped support faculty development programs and the creation of graduate programs in business. As a member of the second of three generations in his family’s business, he helped establish the university’s Center for Family Enterprise. Click here to read the honorary degree citation.
McNeely Hall is named in honor of his parents, Harry McNeely Sr., a 1908 graduate of St. Thomas, and his wife, Adelaide.
A bust of the couple is located just outside one of the Summit Avenue entrances to the new building. Harry Sr., who died in 1968, founded the St. Paul Terminal Warehouse Co. It originally provided storage and distribution services for railroads; over the years it diversified and expanded operations throughout the Midwest and beyond.
