When former U of G president William “Bill” Winegard retired in 1975, the University’s Board of Governors gave him a brick as a parting gift. He still has it and uses it as a doorstop in his Guelph home.
Now he has a second red brick given to him Sept. 24 during the re-dedication of Winegard Walk, which was restored over the summer. Both bricks are reminders of why the University’s signature walkway was named in Winegard’s honour. It was the path he took each day from the President’s House to his office across campus.
More importantly, said current U of G president Alastair Summerlee, the red bricks symbolize the community created during Winegard’s tenure that endures today as a defining feature of the University of Guelph. “We are a community of caring, accepting of people from all walks of life, friends and colleagues in the pursuit of knowledge and our desire to build a better world.”
During the re-dedication, Winegard was serenaded by children from the University’s Child Care and Learning Centre, where he often reads stories to the children, and former board chair Ken Murray repeated part of the speech he gave during the original 1975 ceremony to name Winegard Walk. The event was attended by several former board members and Winegard’s academic colleagues.
