(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. 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 .
Wilfrid Laurier University's history as an institution of higher learning dates back to 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 .
The university's Faculty of Social Work is set to move to downtown
Kitchener in
2006 ; renovation work has begun at the former
St. Jerome's High School on Duke Street East to house the faculty.
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.
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.
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 Academic Council on the United Nations System (
ACUNS ) and the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (
LISPOP ).
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 1.8 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.
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. They were originally the Waterloo Lutheran Mules and changed to the Golden Hawks in 1981.
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!
- 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
]]
- 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
