Wilfrid Laurier University
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Wilfrid Laurier University |
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| Motto | Veritas Omnia Vincit (Truth conquers all) |
| Established | 1911 |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | $20.9 million |
| President | Robert Rosehart |
| Staff | 357 |
| Undergraduates | 11,716 |
| Postgraduates | 997 |
| Location | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |
| Campus | Urban |
| Sports team | Golden Hawks |
| Mascot | The Hawk |
| Website | www.wlu.ca |
Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) is a public university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada.
Wilfrid Laurier University offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate up to the Doctorate level programs in a variety of fields. The university is well-known for its School of Business and Economics. [1] WLU has a compact campus and small enrollment relative to most other universities in Ontario. The city of Waterloo is home to WLU and the University of Waterloo.
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[edit] History
Wilfrid Laurier University's history as an institution of higher learning dates back to 1911 when the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada [1] opened its doors to students. This was a result of the agreement made between the Canada Synod and the Synod of Central Canada of the Lutheran Church who decided they wanted to open a Lutheran Seminary. Waterloo was selected as the location of the seminary for two main reasons, the first being that land was offered by the citizens of Waterloo on the boundary of town for the seminary and the second being that most of the Lutherans in Canada at the time resided in Waterloo and Berlin (now known as Kitchener).
In 1914 the Seminary developed facilities for pre-theological education. These courses could lead to senior matriculation, which was offered by Waterloo College. In 1924 the Waterloo College of Arts was established, offering post-secondary four-year programs. In 1925 the Faculty of Arts, under the name of Waterloo College, affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. Laurier's school colours of purple and gold originated in this period. Maroon and gold were the colours of Waterloo College, but to honour the link with Western, whose colours were purple and white, maroon was discarded in favour of purple.
In 1960 the Seminary revised its charter, changing its name to Waterloo Lutheran University and ended its affiliation with University of Western Ontario. Waterloo Lutheran University became a public institution, Wilfrid Laurier University, on November 1, 1973, named after The Right Honourable Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's seventh prime minister. Bill 178 was given Royal Assent to make it official.
Wilfrid Laurier opened a second campus in Brantford, Ontario in September of 1999. In Waterloo, construction of two new residence apartment buildings, a new academic building, and a large addition to the science building were completed in 2004. In Brantford, a series of buildings have been acquired in downtown Brantford, many of them heritage properties that have been restored for university use. They include a former Carnegie library, Brantford's 1880 post office, and 1870 mansion, and a 1950 Odeon Theatre.
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The university's third campus opened in September of 2006 with the move of the Faculty of Social Work to downtown Kitchener in to the renovated former St. Jerome's high school on Duke Street East.
The Waterloo Lutheran Seminary continues to operate in affiliation with the University and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. In addition to an Master of Divinity programme, it offers Master of Theology programmes in Homiletics, Christian Ethics, and Pastoral Care and Counselling, a well as a joint Master of Theological Studies/Master of Social Work and diploma/certificate programmes.
[edit] What's in a name?
Originally named Waterloo Lutheran University, it is commonly assumed that the university was renamed to honour Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Some speculate that the choice had more to do with Laurier's initials matching those of the Waterloo Lutheran University, being WLU — most students and members of the surrounding community generally referred to it by these initials. This was important because school jerseys, notebooks, memorabilia, etc. were branded with those initials and by maintaining them the university has been able to hold a connection to its past and circumvent the financially painful need to replace uniforms and merchandise. Another reason cited for the choice of the name is that Laurier was Prime Minister when the Seminary that grew into the University was founded in 1911. More commonly now, Wilfrid Laurier University is referred to simply as Laurier, something that is also reflected in the branded merchandise such as clothing, supplies, etc.
[edit] Administration
Wilfrid Laurier University is headed by a Chancellor. The chancellor is largely a ceremonial role, and has little participation in the day-to-day operations of the university. The current chancellor is Bob Rae, who has held the post since 2003.
University administration is the responsibility of the Board of Governors, headed by the President and Vice-Chancellor. This post is current held by Dr. Robert Roseheart.
Presidents and Chancellors
Chancellors
- William Daum Euler, 1961
- William Ross Macdonald, 1964-1972
- Paul Joseph James Martin, 1972-1977
- John Black Aird, 1977-1985
- Maureen Forrester, 1986-1990
- Willard Estey, 1990-1995
- John Cleghorn, 1996-2003
- Bob Rae, 2003-present
Presidents
- William Villaume, 1960-1966
- Frank C. Peters, 1967-1978
- Neale Tayler, 1978-1982
- John Weir, 1982-1992
- Lorna Marsden, 1992-1997
- Dr. Robert Rosehart, 1997-present
[edit] Academics
Laurier has faculties of the Arts, Science, Music, and Social Work, and a School of Business & Economics. Although comparatively small, the university has consistently ranked among Canada's top schools, an honour which is regularly confirmed by Maclean's magazine's annual publication.[citation needed]
Laurier is best known for its Business and Economics (SBE) programs, particularly the Honours Bachelor of Business Administration program with its co-op option. They began offering a part-time MBA program in 1976, and SBE offered Canada's first full-time one-year MBA program in 1986 and recently launched Canada's first fully integrated MBA to give both the MBA degree at the same time as earning an accounting designation. 2006 saw the launch of an MBA stream with a co-op option. The Dean of the School of Business and Economics is Ginny Dybenko.
Laurier maintains a significant tuition bursary program, with upwards of 30% of tuition collected being returned to students who demonstrate sufficient financial need. The school's enrollment growth and ensuing building boom have, however, limited the institution's ability to offer an ideal level of assistance to its current students.
The school has a unique program in photonics, the only undergraduate program of its kind in Canada. It is also home to the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP).
The university is the current headquarters of the Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) which was previously hosted by Yale, Brown and Dartmouth. The ACUNS goal is to strengthen the study of international organizations and to create strong ties between the academic community and diplomats within international organizations.
The Laurier Library holds nearly 1.8 million books and journals in hard copy or microform, and provides access to over 6,000 electronic reference tools and full text electronic journals. In addition, the library is a member of the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University), through which access to a combined information collection in excess of 6 million print items is available.
[edit] Athletics
The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. On November 13, 2004, the Golden Hawks football team won the Yates Cup against the McMaster Marauders at University Stadium in front of a record crowd of 8,175. It was the sixth Yates Cup victory for Laurier in their history. The game also ended McMaster's four-year Ontario championship winning streak. The men's football team scored a second successive Yates Cup victory in November, 2005, followed by a victory in the Uteck Bowl against Acadia. They then defeated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 24-23 in 2005 Vanier Cup, their first since 1991.
In October 2006 the women's lacrosse team achieved a dynasty status by winning their fourth OUA Ontario University Athletics gold medal in a row. In the semi-final game they beat McGill 11-8, and then the next day in the finals they beat the Queen's Golden Gaels 7-5. Their total record for the season was [11-1-0], while their total four year record was [46-2-1].
The history of the team name (Golden Hawks) dates back to the 1950s. There has been some suggestion that the teams were named the Mules. Waterloo College was originally a college of University of Western Ontario, whose teams used the name Mustangs, so it is plausible that the name Mules was used while affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. However, an extensive search has only found this name used with respect to the University of Waterloo teams, shortly after the split between Waterloo Lutheran and University of Waterloo in 1959. (The University of Waterloo switched from the Mules name to Warriors shortly after it was created.) Since the creation of Waterloo Lutheran University in 1959, the team name has been the Golden Hawks.
[edit] Fight Song
The Wilfrid Laurier University fight song was originally composed by M.A. Magee with words by W.H. Johns in 1938 as "Waterloo We'll Praise Thee Ever" - in reference to Laurier's founding as Waterloo College. It was re-released in 2005 with "Laurier" replacing "Waterloo" in the lyics to avoid confusion with neighbouring University of Waterloo. The modern lyics are as follows:
- Laurier we'll praise thee ever
- as in the days of old,
- We will always keep on high,
- The purple and the gold, the gold
- Ever will thy sons and daughters
- praise thee day by day
- We will always hold thy name in rev'rence
- Lau-ri-er!
- We will battle on to victory
- As the years roll by,
- Carrying thy standard bravely
- Holding it on high,
- Ever will we sing thy praises
- Praise thee every day
- No one e'er shall bring thy name dishonour
- Lau-ri-er!
[edit] Famous alumni and faculty
- Hon. Sean Conway, former MPP for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and longest serving MPP in Ontario history.
- Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian ambassador to United Nations.
- Cheryl Pounder, Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion, currently part of the Athletic Department.
- Matte Babel, MuchMusic VJ
- Chris Van Vliet, host of 969 on Citytv and Razer
- Dave Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber
- Kim Barber, opera singer
- Dan Lichti, opera singer
- Glenn Buhr, composer (winner of a Genie Award in 2006)
- Peter Hatch, composer
- Noel Edison, conductor of the Elora Festival Singers
- Lance Storm, real name Lance Evers, former professional wrestler
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union
- Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford Campus
- Academic Council on the United Nations System
- Wilfrid Laurier School of Business & Economics Students' Council
- Laurier Business Conference
- The Wilfrid Laurier University Society of Computer Science, Physics, and Mathematics
[edit] References
- ^ Maclean's; 5/2/2005 Supplement, Vol. 118, p154-155.
