Brother Martin High played a role in the UNO Spring Commencement in 1977.
UNO Spring Commencement in the old gym
Photo from the University of New Orleans in 1977. Caption on the rear:
“Chancellor Homer L. Hitt, left, and Brother Donnan Berry, S.C., Principal of Brother Martin High School at the UNO Afternoon Spring Commencement program, May 20, 1977, with honor graduates Mrs. Sharon Ann Brown, second from left, who received her degree with magna cum laude honors; and Miss Janice A. Goodspeed, who graduated cum laude.”
Brother Martin High School had such a tight connection with the University of New Orleans in the 1970s. It’s no surprise that the university invited Brother Donnan to deliver a commencement address. UNO had only been “UNO” for three years at this time, having changed over from LSUNO in 1974.
Dr. Homer L. Hitt was the first Chancellor of the university. At the time, UNO was part of the Louisiana State University system of schools. The system had a President, and each individual university was administered by a Chancellor and their respective Vice-Chancellors. That changed when the university moved to the University of Louisiana system of schools, and the CEO assumed the title of President. The campus Alumni Center bears Chancellor Hitt’s name. Affectionally referred to as “The Smoke Stack,” the Alumni Center is the last remaining structure from the original NAS New Orleans that stood on the site during World War II. My dad’s first Electronics Shop for the College of Science was in a building just down from the incinerator building (the smokestack).
At this time, commencement ceremonies took place in the Health and Physical Education Center. The gym wasn’t large enough to accommodate a combined commencement, so there were two, morning and afternoon. The UNO Lakefront Arena resolved that issue in the 1980s. The “Old Gym” is still there more. UNO re-named the building the “Human Performance Center/The Athletic Center.”
Brother Donnan was the third principal of BMHS, after Brothers Mark Thornton and Brice Hendrick. He was succeeded by Brother Ivy Leblanc.
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