By Leighah Beausoleil
Editor-in-Chief
Emotions ran high on April 8 as community members looked up at the sign hanging above the new gym with tears in their eyes.
A ceremony was held to name the new gym “The Richard C. Logan Gymnasium” in memory of the late Richard “Dick” Logan, ’70, a dedicated member of the FSU community, according to President F. Javier Cevallos.
As a member of Framingham State’s first varsity men’s basketball team formed in 1967, the University saw it was fitting for the gym to be named in his memory, according to Cevallos.
Logan served as chair of the Board of Trustees in 2017 and then Alumni Trustee until his death December 10, 2021 after eight years with pulmonary fibrosis, according to his obituary in The MetroWest Daily News.
Along with his role on the Board of Trustees, Cevallos said Logan also served on the University’s Foundation Board, attended Alumni Association Board meetings, and could often be seen at community events with his wife Mary Logan, ’71.
He and his wife often donated to Framingham State, supporting funds and scholarships for students, Cevallos said.
He added Logan was also the chair of the presidential search committee that hired him.
“He was one of the most involved people with the institution that you can imagine,” Cevallos said. “He was a pleasure to know.”
Cevallos said approximately 100 people were in attendance at the naming ceremony, including Logan’s family, friends, fellow trustees, and members of his basketball team.
“He was certainly an extremely devoted person to the institution,” he said. “His wife, Mary, always said that his blood was black and gold – [the colors] run through him.”
Eric Gustafson, vice president of Development and Alumni Relations, said in an email, “He took those roles seriously and was a strong advocate for students and controlling tuition and fees to keep an FSU education affordable and accessible.”
Gustafson added, “He was thoughtful, kind, and caring, but also had a wonderful sense of humor. His passion for FSU was genuine and infectious. Everybody who knew Dick and worked with him loved him.”
In a Dec. 13 community-wide email, Cevallos said, “As one of Dick’s fellow trustees wrote in an email last week upon receiving the news of Dick’s passing, ‘the lights in the Dwight gym dimmed a bit last week,’ but Dick’s impact on Framingham State University will forever burn bright for everyone in the University community whose lives his work touched in a permanent and positive way.”