Former President of the United States George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush participated in the dedication of O’Neill Hall on Friday night, the University announced in a press release Saturday.
According to the release, Bush’s participation in the event marked his sixth visit to Notre Dame’s campus, including when he served as the 2001 Commencement speaker and received an honorary degree.
The press release said Bush participated in the dedication due to his friendship with Joseph I. O’Neill III — after whom the building is named — and his wife, Jan. A graduate of the class of 1967, O’Neill has been a member of the University Board of Trustees since 2001, according to the release.
The 100,000-squre-foot, seven-story O’Neill Hall is the building on the South side of Notre Dame Stadium and will be the new home of music and sacred music at the University. To accomplish this mission, the building houses the LaBar Family Recital Hall, LaBar Family Performance Hall, a music library, a production lab, a lecture hall, classrooms, rehearsal spaces, practice rooms and faculty offices for both the department of music and for department of sacred music at Notre Dame.
