University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in Saanich and Oak Bay within Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The university was founded as Victoria College in 1903, as an affiliate branch of McGill University. A non-denominational institution, it was officially chartered as the University of Victoria in 1963. The university's annual enrollment is around 20,000 students. UVic's campus is known for its innovative architecture, beautiful gardens, and mild climate.
Academically, the University of Victoria is noted for its programs in the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, Faculty of Law, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Fine and Performing Arts, and Engineering along with a strong focus on mandatory co-operative education. It It is the nation's lead institution in the VENUS and NEPTUNE deep-water seafloor observatory projects. UVic also participates in several multi-institutional research consortia, such as the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Studies, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, TRIUMF, the Canadian Consortium of Oceans Research Universities, WestGrid, and Compute Canada making it British Columbia's third largest research university.
The Victoria Vikes (more commonly known as the UVic Vikes or simply the Vikes) represent the university in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) community in a number of competitive sports, as well as through a variety of intercollegiate leagues. The Vikes have especially long and eminent ties to competitive rowing, basketball and rugby.
UVic ranks well in global rankings. It has been the top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada since 2010. In this category, Maclean's magazine ranks UVic either first or second for eight consecutive years. It also ranked first nationwide and 20th internationally in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of schools under 50 years old. In global rankings, UVic is within the Top 200 list, thus, being amongst the top one per cent of universities around the world. It clocked in its highest ranking at 173 globally in 2010 and has since maintained a strong presence in global ranking charts. The university has also been home to more than 40 faculty members who are Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada since it was founded.
The University of Victoria was established on 1 July 1963 in Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria College, which had been established in 1903 as an affiliated college of McGill University, gained autonomy and full degree granting status on March 1, 1963. The non-denominational university had enjoyed 60 years of prior teaching tradition at the university level as Victoria College. 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. University of British Columbia was created in 1908. A single, public provincial university, it was modeled on the American state university, with an emphasis on extension work and applied research. The governance was modeled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to perform institutional leadership.
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. Over the next two decades, under Principals E.B. Paul and P.H. Elliott, Victoria College built a reputation for thorough and scholarly instruction in first- and second-year arts and science. It was also during this period that future author Pierre Berton edited and served as principal cartoonist for the student newsletter, The Microscope.
Between the years 1921-1944, the enrollment at Victoria College did not very often reach above 250. However, in 1945, 128 servicemen returned from Wold War II. This pushed enrollment up to 400, and in 1946; 600.
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, the current location of Camosun College's Lansdowne 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 the early part of this century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.
The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s responded to population pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society.
The university gained its autonomy in 1963 as 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 the senate which was representative both of the faculties and of the convocation.
University of Victoria's Arms were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on April 3, 2001. The historical traditions of the university are reflected in the coat of arms, its academic regalia and its house flag. The BA hood is of solid red, a colour that recalls the early affiliation with McGill, as do the martlets in the coat of arms. 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 main campus is located in the Gordon Head area of Greater Victoria. With a total area of 403 acres (163 ha), the campus spans the border between the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich. The original campus plan was prepared by the San Francisco architecture and planning firm of Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons. 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 (1,969 ft) in diameter. Outside of Ring Road are the parking lots, the Student Union Building, residence buildings, sports facilities, as well as some of the academic facilities that are more self-contained (Law and Theatre for example).
