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University of Victoria

Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : University of Victoria

 

This page is about the Canadian university. For other universities with 'Victoria' in their name, see Victoria University (disambiguation).
The University of Victoria (usually known as UVic) is located in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (northeast of Victoria. It is a medium-sized university, with approximately 19,000 students, as of 2006. The campus is famous for its beautiful gardens, mild climate and rabbits. It attracts many students in part because of its size, its location in the picturesque city of Victoria and its cooperative education program - which is the third largest in Canada.

Contents

History

The University of Victoria came into being on July 1 1963, but it had enjoyed a prior tradition as Victoria College of sixty years distinguished teaching at the university level. This 60 years of history may be viewed conveniently in three distinct stages.

Between the years 1903 and 1915, Victoria College was affiliated with McGill University, offering first- and second-year McGill courses in Arts and Science. Administered locally by the Victoria School Board, the College was an adjunct to Victoria High School and shared its facilities. Both institutions were under the direction of a single Principal: E.B. Paul, 1903-1908; and S.J. Willis, 1908-1915. The opening in 1915 of the University of British Columbia, established by Act of Legislature in 1908, obliged the College to suspend operations in higher education in Victoria.

In 1920, as a result of local demands, Victoria College began the second stage of its development, reborn in affiliation with the University of British Columbia. Though still administered by the Victoria School Board, the College was now completely separated from Victoria High School, moving in 1921 into the magnificent Dunsmuir mansion known as Craigdarroch Castle. Here, under Principals E.B. Paul and P.H. Elliott, Victoria College built a reputation over the next two decades for thorough and scholarly instruction in first- and second-year Arts and Science.

The final stage, between the years 1945 and 1963, saw the transition from two year college to university, under Principals J.M. Ewing and W.H. Hickman. During this period, the College was governed by the Victoria College Council, representative of the parent University of British Columbia, the Greater Victoria School Board, and the provincial Department of Education. Physical changes were many. In 1946 the College was forced by postwar enrollment to move from Craigdarroch to the Lansdowne campus of the Provincial Normal School (This is the current location of the Camosun College Lansdown Campus). The Normal School, itself an institution with a long and honourable history, joined Victoria College in 1956 as its Faculty of Education. Late in this transitional period (through the co-operation of the Department of National Defence and the Hudson's Bay Company) the 284 acre (1,1 km²) now 385 acre (1.6 km²) campus at Gordon Head was acquired. Academic expansion was rapid after 1956, until in 1961 the College, still in affiliation with UBC awarded its first bachelor's degrees.

In granting autonomy to the University of Victoria, the University Act of 1963 vested administrative authority in a Chancellor elected by the Convocation of the University, a Board of Governors, and a President appointed by the Board; academic authority was given to a Senate which was representative both of the Faculties and of the Convocation.

The historical traditions of the University are reflected in the Arms of the University, its academic regalia and its house flag. The BA hood is of solid red, a colour that recalls the early affiliation with McGill. The BSc hood, of gold, and the BEd hood, of blue, show the colours of the University of British Columbia. Blue and gold have been retained as the official colours of the University of Victoria. The motto at the top of the Arms of the University, in Hebrew characters, is "Let there be Light"; the motto at the bottom, in Latin, is "A Multitude of the Wise is the Health of the World."

The current president of the university is David H. Turpin, and its chancellor is Ronald Lou-Poy.

Athletics

The university is represented in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association (CanWest) Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) by the team Victoria Vikes.

The University Currently has teams in the following sports: Basketball (M/W) Cross Country & Track (M/W) Field Hockey (M/W) Golf (M/W) Rowing (M/W) Rugby (M/W) Soccer (M/W) Swimming (M/W)

The university has a sports hall of fame. The Charter Inductees are as follows: Lorne Loomer: Rowing Coach - Builder/Administrator Wally Milligan: Men's Soccer Coach - Builder/Administrator Gareth Rees: Rugby - Athlete Category Ken Shields: Basketball - Coach Category Kathy Shields: Basketball - Coach Category

Faculties and Divisions

Campus

The main Campus is located in the Gordon Head area of Greater Victoria. With a total area of 403 acres (1.6 km²), the campus spans the border between the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich. The original campus plan was prepared by the San Francisco firm of Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons, Architects and Planners. The general concept of the original design is still being followed with the academic portions of the campus located inside Ring Road which forms a perfect circle 600 m in diameter. Outside of ring road are the parking, Student Union Building, residence buildings, the sports facilities as well as some of the academic facilities that are more self contained (Law and Theatre for example). Some of the more prominent buildings on campus are:

Construction has recently started on a Math and Social Science building as well on as a new Science building. An expansion to the McPherson Library will soon begin.

The university also offers on-campus housing for over 3200 students. A variety of housing is available, including single and double rooms, apartment-style housing with 4 people per unit (Cluster Housing) and family housing (Lam Family Housing).

Much of the university property has been dedicated to nature, notably Finnerty Gardens and Mystic Vale, a 44,000 m² forested ravine. The campus is home to deer, owls, squirrels, the occasional cougar and many other wild animals native to the area. The large population of domestic rabbits, which likely descended from abandoned house pets from the surrounding community, is a memorable feature of the campus. Well-fed by both students and staff, these adorable 'Campus Bunnies' provide an excellent distraction from class.

Presidents

Student affairs

See also

External links


 B.C. universities

Public universities
UBC | UNBC | Royal Roads | Simon Fraser | Thompson Rivers | Victoria
Private universities
Canada West | Fairleigh Dickinson | Quest | Trinity Western

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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