Ron O’Dor Auditorium. (photos by Jocelyn Adams Moss)
Posted: November 9, 2026
By: Kenneth Conrad for Giving Power
Arguably remembered as much for his creative use of technology as his expertise as a Dalhousie University marine biology researcher, Dr. Ron O’Dor (1944-2020) would surely have loved delivering a lecture in the state-of-the-art auditorium that now bears his name thanks to a generous gift from a donor wishing to remain anonymous.
On a Friday afternoon in late October, nearly 30 guests — many of them O’Dor’s former colleagues, graduate students, friends, and family — gathered to officially unveil the Ron O’Dor Auditorium. Construction was completed this fall, transforming an aging classroom in the Life Science Centre’s Biology Tower into a modern, accessible space ideal for hosting public lectures and engagement events from Dal and the Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity, which opened in December 2025 on campus in the nearby Steele Ocean Sciences Building.
Designing a modern classroom
Boasting the latest lighting controls and audio-visual equipment, the auditorium is equipped with modern accessibility features, including tactile flooring, power-operated door openers at both entrances, an induction loop that transmits sound directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants, bariatric chairs, and height-adjustable tables for wheelchair users.
“We designed it to the highest and most recent standards for classroom design,” says Dr. Dan Jackson (BSc’87, MSc’92, PhD’99), the Faculty of Science’s director, facilities & operations, who earned his PhD under the supervision of O’Dor. “It’s the most modern classroom on campus.”
The auditorium is just steps away from a few of O’Dor’s old haunts, namely the colourful mural of the Aquatron Laboratory (where he served as director from 1986-1993) and the offices of the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), the Dal-based global aquatic research, data management and partnership platform he established in 2006.
Remembering a beloved scientist
For me, Ron’s contribution and legacy is ongoing, and it’s still contributing to Dalhousie. — Charles Macdonald
A space to inspire the next generation
“We know more about the dark side of the moon than we do about the ocean,” O’Dor was quoted as saying during OTN’s inaugural conference in 2008. “And we know even less about our marine life — how they live, where they go.”
O’Dor’s curiosity to better understand what’s in our ocean was evident throughout his academic life and career. Now, thanks to a generous donor, Dal students representing the next generation of marine scientists and innovators will enjoy a state-of-the-art learning space inspiring them to explore the wonders of our ocean.