“… He did a lot of work.”

That is how pro-choice billionaire Tom Golisano described Tom Monaghan’s effort in securing a $4 million donation to Ave Maria University, as announced late last week.

Who is Tom Golisano?  From the New York Times, August 18, 2008
“Democrats Get Big Gift for Denver” (excerpts)

ALBANY — Tom Golisano, the Rochester billionaire and registered Republican, donated $1 million on Friday to the host committee of the Democratic Party’s convention in Denver, making him one of the largest donors to the planning efforts surrounding the expected coronation of Barack Obama as the party’s nominee next week.

For his $1 million, Mr. Golisano gets a skybox at Invesco Field, where Mr. Obama will deliver his acceptance speech, and 50 additional tickets.

“We think one of the things New York needs to come back is a strong relationship with the federal government,” Mr. Pigeon said. Mr. Golisano, he added, “is looking at Obama’s message of change and hope and is very down on the last eight years of what the Bush administration has done…”

Mr. Golisano’s $1 million donation is far above the $2,300 limit for donors to the Obama campaign itself and is one of the largest “soft money” donations made to the convention committee.

At the AMU press conference on Thursday, Golisano noted that Monaghan visited New York “two or three times” to secure what he called an “investment” in Ave Maria .

Ave Maria will honor Tom Golisano by naming its new student recreation center after him, despite Golisano’s three runs for governor of New York on the pro-choice platform of the party he co-founded.

Last month, possibly while the drawings for the Golisano Field House were being made, AMU President Nick Healy went on camera and had the following exchange (excerpts; full text/video)

Naples Daily News: The university of Notre Dame invited President Barack Obama to be a commencement speaker. There was considerable religious and public debate over that. I would imagine that we would never see Ave Maria do something like that.

Healy: It would not. [..] The United States Catholic bishops have made a very clear rule that no Catholic college university is to honor a pro-abortion politician. Period. [..] But to have him preside over commencement, and to then award him a Doctor of Laws was a way of honoring him, and it sends a very mixed message to the whole community.

Maybe the naming of a building after a pro-choice politico isn’t Ave Maria’s idea of “honoring”.

Related AveWatch Articles:
- Who is Tom Golisano?
- Ave Maria University Donor: “…I’m pro choice.”
- Ave Maria Priest Gives Pro-Choice Donor Standing Ovation

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