University of St. Thomas marks the passing of Rev. Victor Brezik: scholar, early advocate of university expansion

University of St. Thomas icon and scholar, Rev. Victor B. Brezik, died June 16, 2009, at the age of 96. Rev. Brezik had been a Catholic priest of the Basilian order for 69 years, having spent 55 of those years serving in various capacities at the University. A professor of philosophy for 32 years, he became Chairman of the Philosophy Department and cofounder of the Center for Thomistic Studies. He also served on the Board of Directors for a total of 24 years and was instrumental in contributing to the growth and academic development of the University.

Victor Brezik was born in Halletsville, Texas. His parents had immigrated from Czechoslovakia and eventually settled in the Houston Heights to raise their family of nine children. He attended All Saints School and Hamilton School in the Heights, and graduated from St. Thomas High School.

In 1931, Victor decided to enter the seminary of the Basilian order in Toronto to study for the priesthood. After his graduation from St. Michael's College there and his ordination to the priesthood, he continued his graduate studies at the University of Toronto, earning his doctorate degree in 1944. For the next ten years he taught philosophy courses at St. Michael's College and often wrote a column in a Toronto daily newspaper.

In the fall of 1954, Rev. Brezik came back to his hometown to teach at the University of St. Thomas. He later wrote in his memoirs that the University seemed "quite small both as to student body and as to geographical space." Located at Montrose and West Alabama, St. Thomas was surrounded by neighborhood houses and was faced with being walled, in according to Rev. Brezik. As a board member, he urged the University to buy more of these houses so that more classroom buildings could be added. In writing about this time Rev. Brezik said "I then thought of the possibility of a few wealthy donors buying some of the neighboring houses and holding them until the University could absorb the debt."

The expansion plan aroused the interest of John and Dominique De Menil, renown art collectors and philanthropists. They decided to help the University buy neighboring properties, and hired architect Philip Johnson to design a plan of buildings for the expansion of the University. His architecture is evident everywhere on campus in the form of classroom buildings, a chapel, and the large cross in front of the University.

Today the University of St. Thomas has expanded its campus to a 19 block area in the heart of Montrose. Rev. Brezik was proud of the University and often mentioned its position as the gateway to the museum district. He considered his outstanding achievement, however, to be the founding of the graduate program in philosophy called Thomistic Studies. He wrote extensively, compiling a list of publications totaling over 100. Rev. Brezik often quoted his favorite motto from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, "Dare to do whatever you can."

Edward P. White Memorial Place

(The Banner, August 7, 2009)