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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
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Date: May 29, 1998
$4 Million Gift Will Expand and Renovate Rowing Center
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton University will use a gift of $4 million from Irene C. Shea of Pittsburgh, Pa., to expand and renovate the its landmark boathouse and crew facilities on the banks of Carnegie Lake. The gift will be used to create the C. Bernard Shea Rowing Center, honoring Mrs. Shea's late husband, a member of the Class of 1916 and a rower during his college career.
Princeton's crew teams have participated in intercollegiate rowing competitions since 1872, and the crew program has been housed in the picturesque Class of 1887 Boathouse since 1913. Today, the University has one of the premier rowing programs in the country and is the largest varsity sports program at Princeton. But with over 200 student participants, the program has outgrown the somewhat antiquated space and facilities of the Boathouse. The new Shea Rowing Center will include state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, such as a new rowing tank, larger locker and shower rooms, better heat and ventilation systems and improved handicap access, as well as offices and weight training areas. Additional launches, dockage and boat racks also will be installed.
"We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Shea for this generous gift," said Princeton President Harold T. Shapiro. "Bernard Shea was himself an enthusiastic oarsman at Princeton, and generations of Princeton rowers will remember him and benefit from this tribute to his memory."
When boating sports began at Princeton, the team practiced on the nearby Delaware and Raritan Canal -- a difficult process since the canal still had a steady stream of commercial traffic. It was not until 1906 that Andrew Carnegie from the Sheas' hometown of Pittsburgh, funded the construction of a dam, creating what is now called Carnegie Lake. Having the lake for both practices and competitions greatly strengthened the University's rowing program, which grew continuously in strength and variety. Lightweight crew was introduced in 1922, women came on board in 1972 and women's lightweight crew was just added in the fall of 1997.
Through the years, Princeton's crew teams have been highly successful, with each team winning at least one national championship in the past three years. The men's heavyweight crew is rated Eastern Sprints overall champions for this year and won the Eastern Sprints in 1995 and 1997, as well as the National Championship in 1996. The men's lightweight team is undefeated this year and took first place in the Ivy and Eastern Sprints championships. In women's crew, the lightweight team is the reigning Eastern Sprints and overall champions, while the open team is ranked first in the region.
"I have wonderful memories of returning to campus with my husband in the 1950s to watch the crew races," said Mrs. Shea, "and it is especially meaningful to me to help the many students who love rowing and Princeton, just as my husband did."
Mr. Shea, who died in 1961, served with the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps during World War I and was vice president and director of the Joseph Horne Co. of Pittsburgh. A member of the Graduate Council of Princeton University, he was a director and trustee of many charitable institutions, including Shadyside Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Fairview Hospital of Great Barrington, Mass.
The Shea Rowing Center is an important part of the Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, launched in 1995 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the granting of the University's charter and to strengthen the University's programs of teaching, scholarship and research. The University will continue to seek new resources to augment the funding for the Rowing Center and for the rowing program.