GCU library renamed in tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson
Glasgow Caledonian University’s library has been renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Library as the retired football manager donated a number of items from his past to its archives.
Ferguson (77) came to the university library, cutting a ribbon to formally start the new era for it as crowds flocked both inside and outside the building to see him.
A collection of items from 1940s to the present day are included, featuring coaching notes from Aberdeen and Manchester United, a shirt and documents from his playing days and his youth, as part of an “indefinite loan”.
This is named Sir Alex – My Story in Objects and details his life from playing for Queens Park, Scotland and Rangers, through to his managerial career that includes items from roles at St Mirren and the national team.
The Govan-born former forward played for 17 years before moving into management, where he spent 39 years until his retirement from United in May 2013.
He remains a director and club ambassador at the Old Trafford outfit, and continues to influence the game through relationships with people he managed who have followed his footsteps into coaching, namely current United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Newcastle boss Steve Bruce.
He has a long history with supporting the institution, from being an honorary graduate, donating £700,000 to the present day through the GCU Foundation, and wanting to know how the people receiving his grant are moving forward.
In a statement, Ferguson said: “I’ve had a brilliant relationship with GCU over many years now, and it is an absolute honour that the University has chosen to name its library after me.
“The University was keen to give an insight into the person the Library has been named after and I hope that donating personal items from my life will help to do that.
“I thoroughly enjoy returning to the University and listening to students speak passionately about their experiences. I see great ambition and potential in many of our young people.”
Carole McCallum (pictured above), university archivist, told Glasgow Standard how they plan to show off the pieces.
“As part of the renaming very kindly Sir Alex Ferguson offered to give us some items from his personal archive,” she said.
“It’s not an exhibition and it’s not an archive, but a display of items that he has kindly given us to put into the building. It’s in the Archive Centre, we will manage and be in charge of the display and it will be up permanently, so it means when people visit the library, normally people go into a building and you’ll think ‘do I know that person, do I not’, most people will know this person but [it’s] more than a plaque on the wall with a bunch of information.
The archivist also believes that displaying the long career of Ferguson can be used as an incentive for everyone who is affiliated with the university.
“I know having been a student at three universities myself, having something like the Sir Alex Ferguson Library is something you can be proud of as a student,” she continued.
“He’s also got incredible leadership skills, and that’s something we all aspire to in our working life, so that’s something we can look up to.
“He supports the students, he’s a benefactor for the university, I feel as though it’s a win-win situation all round. We’re naming the building after somebody who has lots of attributes that students, researchers, even staff members, we can look up to.”
Having handled some items, she was able to draw parallels between some of his experiences with those of herself and people she knows.
“I’m not a big football person,” she added.
“There’s his Boys’ Brigade certificate where he did signalling, straight away I had a connection with. And this is my idea that when people look at things they have a personal connection.
“It’s the same with art, and that’s why you like them. It’s a signalling certificate and my father was in the Royal Signals Corp during the Second World War and straight away I had a connection with that.
“His apprenticeship book, it’s the same apprenticeship that my husband did in Hillington, in the same place. Sir Alex was a Remington man, my husband was Rolls Royce, but again there’s a connection. I just love his school certificate, because it lets us know the different subjects he excelled in in school.
“Then there’s photographs, and photographs are always great because there’s a visual. There’s a beautiful 1968 magazine, and the colours in it, visually, are just fantastic.
“There is nothing missing from the collection because it’s not a definitive history of Sir Alex, it is items he’s chosen to give us. It’s a walk through decades of his life. It’s not claiming to be the end-all. Looking at the material you can see certain attributes to the items that are in his personality and the way he lead his life, it’s just a fantastic cameo into his life.”
Caledonian has been building its collection since 1993, with the new archive centre being in use for three years.
Some of the items included can be viewed in our slideshow below.
