Campanile Lighting in Blue & Gold Thursday Evening
The UMass Dartmouth community is in for quite the holiday surprise. Tomorrow evening, Thursday, December 19, at 6 p.m., all are invited for the opportunity to gaze at the over 200 ft. tall Robert Karam Campanile Tower lighting up in blue and gold colors. The Campanile was dedicated in August 2000 to UMass Dartmouth Alumnus Robert S. Karam, who will be in attendance for the lighting.
Robert Karam, a Principal of Karam Financial Group located in his hometown of Fall River, graduated from UMass Dartmouth in 1967 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration, and received an honorary Doctor of Business in 1991. He also owns and operates, with his brother, James, two radio stations, WSAR 1480 AM and WHTB 1400 AM.
Karam served for many years as a member and past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth), the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, and UMass Memorial Health Care. Most recently, he was awarded the Chancellor's Distinguished Service Medal at the 2013 UMass Dartmouth Commencement ceremony.
The Robert Karam Campanile stands between the Claire T. Carney Library and the Foster Administration building. Modernist architect Paul Rudolph, who designed the UMass Dartmouth campus in the early 1960s, included the campanile in his earliest sketches, as it was very important to his vision.
It was once written that the University Campanile represents "the right of all men and women an opportunity to let their reach exceed their grasp".