Father Maher, NU Faculty Members Visit Haitian School Founded By Alumnus
A Niagara University alumnus who spearheaded the development of a world-class school in Haiti is receiving reinforcements from his alma mater this week.
In 2010, Ed Brennan sought to build a sustainable school complex for the children of Saint Marc, Haiti, an area that was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in January of that year. The 1978 Niagara graduate and retired CEO and chairman of DFS Group generated extraordinary monetary support for the endeavor from the travel retail industry.
As a result, the world-class educational facility, Lycée Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, opened its doors Oct. 3, 2011.
This week, administrators from Niagara University – including Father James J. Maher, C.M., president, and Dr. Debra Colley, dean of the College of Education – are in St. Marc to determine ways that the university can advance its relationship with the institution.
Father Maher noted that forming a partnership with the Haitian school is Vincentian in its truest sense, amalgamating service to the poor, a commitment to excellence and making impactful and sustainable change in the lives of people living in poverty.
“The humanitarian work that Ed Brennan is doing in Haiti is exemplary of the values that Niagara University seeks to instill within its graduates,” commented Father Maher. “St. Vincent de Paul instructed us to assure our eternal happiness by living and dying in the service of the poor, and that is exactly what Ed is doing in Haiti, where about 80 percent of residents live in poverty. As a Vincentian, educational institution with a global identity, we are willing to do whatever we can to help him.”