On April 13, 1992, a committee of Brothers met to brainstorm ways in which the Brothers community could more closely involve the rest of the College community in the concept of Lasallian education. It was Brother President Thomas Scanlan’s suggestion that a committee be composed of both Brothers and lay faculty to better address this question. Br. Scanlan suggested that the first five recipients of the Distinguished Lasallian Education Award be invited to serve as the lay members on the committee. One of the tasks of this suggested committee would be to select the recipient of the Distinguished Lasallian Education Award.
The first meeting of this new committee was held on May 12, 1992 at Christian Brothers Center. Dr. Francis B. Taylor, Rev. Anthony Rubsys, Dr. J. Carl Bennett and Dr. William P. Cain, winners of the Distinguished Lasallian Education Award, represented the lay faculty while Br. William Batt, Br. Robert Berger, Br. Christopher Dardis, Br. John Martin, Br. Luke Salm, Br. Thomas Scanlan, Br. Peter Stewart, Br. Timothy Tarmey, and Br. James Wallace represented the Brothers community. Dr. Robert V. Thomann, a winner of the Distinguished Lasallian Education Award was not able to attend this first meeting, but attended later meetings.
It was agreed that the purpose of the committee was to promote the Lasallian educational spirit on campus. By including the Distinguished Lasallian Educators on this committee, the Brothers thought they would have more power to promote Lasallian ideals on campus. At this meeting, the committee came up with several ideas for increasing the general knowledge of the campus community about the Brothers and their Lasallian mission. An idea emerged to hold a Lasallian Convocation at the beginning of the academic year, to which all faculty would be invited. It was agreed that the purpose of the convocation would be to discuss the Lasallian tradition at the College. It would include a panel of speakers, small group discussions and a dinner.
The following fall, on September 4, 1992, a meeting of the then-termed Lasallian Spirit Committee was held. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize details for the coming Lasallian Convocation. The convocation was held on October 29, 1992. The chosen theme was “Manhattan College: The meaning, challenge and relevance of teaching at a Lasallian institution.” The program was well-attended with 71 faculty members and Brothers participating.
After this event, the Lasallian Spirit Committee continued its work, planned for the second Lasallian Convocation and designed a procedure for the awarding of the Distinguished Lasallian Education Award. By winter of 1993, the committee was calling itself the Committee for Lasallian Education and Br. John Martin, then-director of the Christian Brothers Community, was chair of the committee.
Between 1993 and 1994, the committee was largely responsible for the idea of changing the name of Manhattan Hall to Miguel Hall, after Br. Miguel Febres Cordero, a Christian Brother who was a native of Ecuador, a distinguished scholar in language and the humanities, and canonized by the Church as a saint.
Eventually, the title of the committee was abbreviated to the Lasallian Education Committee. The committee continues to be open to all Brothers at Manhattan College who wish to participate. It organizes the Lasallian Convocation, chooses the recipients for the Distinguished Lasallian awards, and sponsors other Lasallian initiatives on campus. Each year, the committee has invited the newest Distinguished Lasallian Educator to join. Since the inception of the Distinguished Lasallian Staff Member Award in 2003 and the Distinguished Lasallian Administrator Award in 2007, both recipients also have been invited to become a member of the committee.
