Wilfrid Laurier University
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Template:Infobox University2 Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and is known for its business program, graduate school of social work, and innovative faculty of music. It has a compact campus and relatively small enrollment compared with other Ontario universities.
In addition to offering a full range of undergraduate programs, Wilfrid Laurier University has graduate programs in a variety of fields up to the Doctorate level.
It is one of two universities in Waterloo, along with the University of Waterloo.
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History
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Wilfrid Laurier University's history as an institution of higher learning dates back to 1911 when the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada [1] (http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwsem/index.shtml) 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. Construction of two new residence apartment buildings, a new academic building, and a large addition to the science building were completed in 2004.
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.
Laurier began offering a part-time MBA program in 1976, and Laurier School of Business & Economics 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. As well, Laurier students regularly have the highest success rate at CA and CMA exams.
The university is the current headquarters of the United Nations (ACUNS) Academic Council on the United Nations System 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 1.7 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.
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.
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.
Presidents and Chancellors
Chancellors
- Chancellor William Daum Euler, 1961
- Chancellor William Ross Macdonald, 1964-1972
- Chancellor Paul Martin Sr., 1972-1977
- Chancellor John Black Aird, 1977-1985
- Chancellor Maureen Forrester, 1986-1990
- Chancellor Willard Estey, 1990-1995
- Chancellor John Cleghorn, 1996-2003
- Chancellor Bob Rae, 2003-present
Presidents
- President William Villaume, 1960-1966
- President Frank C. Peters, 1967-1978
- President Neale Tayler, 1978-1982
- President John Weir, 1982-1992
- President Lorna Marsden, 1992-1997
- President Robert Rosehart, 1997 to present
See also
External links
- Wilfrid Laurier University (http://www.wlu.ca)
- Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford Campus (http://www.wlu.ca/homepage.php?grp_id=37)
