Over the course of the dinner, guests — including alumni, faculty, staff, and members of the Senior Class — took turns saluting the McLeans’ generous service of the College. A slideshow, featuring photos of the couple throughout the decades, played in one corner, and the student choral group Chrysostomos blessed those gathered by performing several songs and hymns.
Among those to offer their public thanks were representatives of the College’s alumni and parents’ associations. “You led the College through several significant crises, from the raging inferno of the Thomas Fire, which scorched these very walls, to the Covid lockdowns,” said Pete LaFave (’13), vice president of the Thomas Aquinas College Alumni Association. “All of us alumni are so grateful for everything that you did to lead this institution that’s so special to us.” Added Paula Cummings, president of the TAC Parents’ Association, “Your adherence to the mission of Catholic liberal education, which leads the students closer to God, was beyond our highest expectation.”
Dr. John J. Goyette, dean of the California campus and Dr. McLean’s onetime student, praised the former president for his willingness to listen and innovate, as well as his and Mrs. McLean’s “true partnership” — as evidenced by their decision to stay on campus together during the 2017 Thomas Fire. He also noted that the former president is, first and foremost, an educator. “Dr. McLean is one of the most gifted tutors at leading the class discussion with a light touch,” said Dr. Goyette. “It really gives me great pleasure to see him return to the classroom to teach, which was his first love.”
“This life at this college has been unexpected and a great pleasure — and a great honor — and it’s all due to God’s providence, God’s love, and God’s goodwill.”
In gratitude, Chairman Turicchi and President O’Reilly presented the McLeans with an icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, patroness of the New England Chapel. After receiving this gift, Dr. McLean took to the podium to offer his own reflections from his 44 years at Thomas Aquinas College.
“This campus was an open field when I first saw it and showed it to my mother in 1978,” Dr. McLean recalled. “Looking at four or five cows that happened to be looking around on the open plateau, I told her, ‘This is where I hope to work.’ She then politely questioned the prudence of my decision to major in philosophy, to study the Great Books, and to join a college with so uncertain a future,” he laughed. “But who could have predicted that I would one day be asked to serve as that college’s president and help to open a second campus in Northfield, Massachusetts?”
Looking back, Dr. McLean continued, it is impossible to miss God’s hand at work. “The moral of this story, especially for you young people, is to open your heart and mind to God’s providence. You never know what you will be called to do. This life at this college has been unexpected and a great pleasure — and a great honor — and it’s all due to God’s providence, God’s love, and God’s goodwill.”