The Life and Legacy of Ronald E. McNair (1986)

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SPEAKER 1: The Ronald E. McNair Building will stand as a lasting tribute to this distinguished alumnus. His courage in extraordinary achievements will provide inspiration for generations of MIT students to come.

SPEAKER 2: Ron would never have predicted that he would make his mark on the world in this particular way. His optimism about the space program would not let him worry that such an event as the challenger accident would occur.

SPEAKER 3: I can see that young men and women will come from all over the country, perhaps all over the world, to the Ron McNair Building, to the center for space research, to do things for humanity, because Ron McNair came here.

SPEAKER 4: By naming an MIT Building in honor of our late colleague and astronaut, Ron McNair, we establish on this campus for this campus a memorial to that life. So that in years to come MIT students, members of the MIT family, broadly defined, will have before them a tangible reminder of a life worthy of emulation.

SPEAKER 5: I'd like to commend the MIT community for having such respect and such consideration to name a building in his honor. I commend you. And I thank you for that love and for that support. Ron would be extremely honored.

[APPLAUSE]