Fairfield University RecPlex named to honor Leslie C. Quick, Jr. | Press Releases

Fairfield University will name its recreation complex the Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreation Complex at a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 5 at noon.

The naming of the building honors the late Leslie C. Quick, Jr., who served as chairman of Fairfield's board of trustees from 1993-1995 and as chairman of The Campaign for Fairfield University, conducted from 1987-1992. Mr. Quick, who died earlier this year, had also generously supported the University's present Our Promise campaign, along with his wife, Regina, and their son, Thomas C. Quick, a 1977 Fairfield University graduate, trustee and chairman of Our Promise campaign.

Mr. Quick, a founder of the Quick & Reilly Group, Inc. in New York in 1974, was a visionary who led the way on Wall Street in offering discounted trading to customers. In 1982 the firm began expanding into other financial services, acquiring specialist firms and the U.S. Clearing Corporation. In 1997, Quick & Reilly was sold to Fleet Financial Services.

Mr. Quick used his good fortune to help others, becoming one of the initial corporate backers and trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund which helped struggling parochial schools in New York. He also played a major role in building St. Francis Hospital in Garden City, N.Y., into a leading coronary center.

Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Quick and their family contributed their time and talents to Fairfield, while generously supporting many university initiatives. Those family members include three of their children, Thomas C. Quick '77, Christopher C. Quick '79 and Mary Quick Pedersen '82; and their daughter-in-law, Eileen Manning Quick '77, wife of Leslie C. Quick III. With their leadership and generosity the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts was constructed in 1989 and has become a cultural center for Fairfield County and beyond.

The Recreation Complex, opened in 1979, includes the Birkenstock Field House with four multipurpose and interchangeable courts and jogging track; racquetball courts; an eight-lane 25-meter swimming pool with gallery; exercise and weight-lifting areas and saunas and a whirlpool. Major renovations in 1998 converted offices into an extensively equipped fitness area and expanded the weight room. The Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreation Complex will continue to fill an important role in Fairfield University's educational philosophy which encourages students to develop their intellectual, spiritual and physical potential.