NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Saint Mary's University, Halifax

Saint Mary's University is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A motto is a phrase or a short list of words meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. ... --69. ... A native of Montreal, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1972. ... Dr. J. Colin Dodds is the President of Saint Marys University, Halifax. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = E Mari Merces (Wealth from the Sea) Logo: City Symbol: Kingfisher Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canadas Location. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Official languages English Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant-Governor Myra Freeman Premier John Hamm (PC) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 11 10 Area - Total - % water Ranked 12th 55,283 kmÂ² 3. ... Urban area is a term used to define an area where there is an increased density of man-made structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... The Saint Marys Huskies are the mens athletic teams that represent Saint Marys University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = E Mari Merces (Wealth from the Sea) Logo: City Symbol: Kingfisher Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canadas Location. ...

Since its founding in 1802, Saint Mary's University has developed into a modern, urban university with more than 8,000 full and part-time students. It is the oldest English-speaking, Roman-Catholic university in Canada. With meager resources, the Reverend Edmund Burke founded the institution and, on being named Bishop of Nova Scotia, insisted that the support for the college be continued as essential in fostering the Catholic community.

History

In 1841 the Nova Scotian House of Assembly gave formal recognition of the college's academic role and, eleven years later, granted it legal status. The next few years saw a great deal of uncertainty about the survival of the college. However, in 1913 the Christian Brothers of Ireland were asked by the Archdiocese of Halifax to direct the college and its academic programs. Its reputation as a liberal arts institution thrived in these years. Undergraduate programs were widely respected and new instructional programs were initiated, the most notable being the Faculty of Commerce which, when established in 1934, was among the first of its kind in Canada. In 1940 the Upper Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) was invited to succeed the Christian Brothers as administrators and teachers. For more than Thirty years, until the new Act of Incorporation in 1970, the college remained under Jesuit supervision. It established itself in teacher education; initiated the first courses in continuing education in Halifax/Dartmouth; purchased the first computer in Atlantic Canada; and became coeducational. Also, the long-standing emphasis on liberal arts and commerce was complemented by new programs in engineering and science. The Act of 1970 gave legal status to the Board of Governors and Senate. Subject to the powers of the Board, the Senate is responsible for the educational policy of the University. In 1974, faculty members (full-time) formed the Faculty Union which has become an influential voice in the affairs of the University. Part-time faculty members became a separate bargaining unit in 1996.

From the Jesuits and their predecessors, Saint Mary's has inherited a strong commitment to meeting community needs and equally strong tradition of emphasizing excellence in teaching and research. During the past two decades Saint Mary's has evolved into a more complex urban University, with a full range of undergraduate programs in arts, commerce, education, and science. Now a publicly accessible, coeducational institution, functioning with the sense of it's tradition, the University also offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine, engineering, theology, dentistry, architecture, as well as selected graduate studies. Though the co-operative efforts of the Division of Continuing Education, part-time students study in these programs and the non-credit programs all of which have been rapidly expanding in both numbers and geographical locations.

Over the last twenty years the commitment to academic and research excellence has seen the number of full-time faculty with doctoral degrees rise to 85 percent. Part-time faculty members are recruited on the strength of academic qualifications in addition to the expertise and experience they can bring to the classroom.

More dramatic evidence of the faculty enrichment is demonstrated by their research activities. In the last ten years, sponsored contract and academic research has increased from $250,000 to more than $4,200,000. This 1580% increase reflects the University's firm belief that excellence in both teaching and research are essential for professors and that the research is an integral part of the contribution that universities must make to society.

The quality of instruction to students has been a focal point of Saint Mary's University since its founding. This long standing tradition of commitment to excellence in teaching has seen the introduction of new initiatives. The Quality of Teaching Committee has assisted faculty members by offering workshops on instructional techniques and innovations in teaching methodology including the use of computers. Awards for Teaching and Research Excellence are presented annually to members of faculty.

More than eleven thousand students are enrolled during the Academic year and in two summer sessions at Saint Mary's University. They attend day and evening classes both on the 30 acre campus in the south end of Halifax and at off campus locations including the World Trade and Convention Centre in downtown Halifax, and in Dartmouth, Truro, and several other communities. Saint Mary's boasts residence facilities for single and married students, a Student Centre, Science Building, the Patrick Power Library, which is linked via computer to several other Halifax-Dartmouth universities, a multi-million dollar Computer Centre, and "The Tower" which is Atlantic Canada's most modern recreation and fitness complex. Over the last number of years, Saint Mary's University has become a teaching and research institution where tradition meets the future.

The traditions formed by its founder and early teachers, built upon by the sound educational values of the Christian Brothers, and strengthened by the imaginative leadership of the Jesuits, provide a stable base for future development. Saint Mary's has been innovative in seeking co-operative ventures with other Maritime universities. The results have included the Regional Geochemical Centre as well as the Gorsebrook Research Institute which contributes to the understanding of our regional culture within a national context. Our 'internationalization' has seen formal teaching and research agreements signed with universities around the world China and Japan as well as Mexico and the Gambia. The Atlantic Centre of Support for the Disabled has grown remarkably over the last several years and provides a variety of support to an increasingly important sector of our student population. It also provides assistance to disabled students studying at other Maritime post secondary institutions.

Saint Mary's University concentrates on its mission of providing excellence in its service to the students and the larger community around the campus. Its reputation is one of quality education on a campus environment where individual development is paramount. Saint Mary's student population is drawn largely from Halifax and Dartmouth with fifty-seven percent of its students from this area. Nova Scotia is the home province of 87 percent of Saint Mary's students. There is also a distinct international aspect to the University with students from many countries including China, Japan, Bermuda, the United States, and Mexico. Indeed, Saint Mary's is Canada's most internationalized student body.

Art Gallery

Although intimate, the Saint Mary's Art Gallery is recognized as one of the leading galleries in Atlantic Canada.

Constructed to National Gallery of Canada standards and opened in October, 1971, Saint Mary's University Art Gallery was the first purpose-built university art gallery in Halifax. It is located on the ground floor of the Loyola building at 5865 Gorsebrook Avenue. It is also accessible from Robie or Inglis Streets through the Loyola building.

The gallery focuses on contemporary art, featuring emerging and established artists active on the regional, national and international levels. Occasional historical exhibitions provide depth and context. New exhibitions open every 6-8 weeks, with a total of 10-12 exhibitions a year. The gallery produces publications for all the exhibitions it originates and hosts frequent panels, lectures and artists’ presentations. Recent exhibitions include Ed Pien: Tracing Night (see image, above right), Étoiles : art de la Baie Ste-Marie / art of St Mary’s Bay and Exhibit A: Photography from Atlantic Canada (touring nationally). Boasting one of the finest pianos in the region, the gallery also serves as a venue for performances, concerts and readings.

The gallery’s permanent collection currently comprises over 1,500 individual works, primarily by contemporary Canadian artists. The collection houses many works by Nelly Beveridge Gray, including watercolours and rubbings of historic reliefs in Mesoamerica, Europe and Asia. Gray’s collection of pre-Columbian ceramics is complemented by works of Nova Scotia ceramists such as Alma and Ernst Lorenzen. Many works from the collection are on display on campus, including commissioned pieces by John Greer and Mathew Reichertz. Recent acquisitions represent contemporary artists associated with the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, such as Gerald Ferguson, Kelly Mark, Mitchell Wiebe, Lucy Pullen and Arthur Handy.

Athletics

Saint Mary's is widely recognized as having one of Canada's leading athletic programs. The Football team is a pereniall national contender, as is the soccer team, and the men's basketball and hockey teams are consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally. The School pays tribute to its leading athletes in the Sports Hall of Fame located on campus, at the Tower.

A chronology of significant events

1802 - Saint Mary's College, a school for Boys, is founded by Father Edmund Burke, and is located at the corner of Grafton Street and Spring Garden Road. The school is not permitted to open, however, because of government regulations restricting denominational schools. The building intended for the College is used as the Saint Mary's Basilica Glebe House. The year 1802, however, is the recognized founding date of Saint Mary's University.

1802-1818 - Father Burke provides an informal Catholic education for a few young men in his house.

1839 - The government recognizes denominational schools. St. Mary's College moves to Grafton Street, occupying the building that currently houses the Catholic pastoral Centre of the Archdiocese of Halifax. Its intended purpose is to serve as a seminary for the education of young Catholic men for the priesthood.

1841 - St. Mary's College is incorporated and given temporary degree granting powers, and moves to Belle Aire Terrace (off Argricola Street).

1852 - St. Mary's College is given permanent degree-granting power, and the College and High School Begin separate existence.

1868 - Teaching duties at St. Mary's are taken over by the Christian Brothers of Saint John the Baptist de la Salle.

1876 - "The University Act" is passed, which states that Dalhousie, King's, Mount Allison, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Mary's will be regarded as Colleges of the non-sectarian University of Halifax, and that each will confer their degrees in the name University of Halifax. Each College will receive a yearly government grant. As a result of this Act, the Christian Brothers of Saint John the Baptist de la Salle leave Halifax. The College is taken over by the Archdiocese and is moved from Belle Aire Terrace to Barrington Street (near Tobin Street).

1881 - The "University of Halifax" ceases to exist, and government grants to each of the Colleges are stopped. St. Mary's College closes due both to lack of funding and lack of teaching faculty.

1881 - Patrick Power, a prominent business man, dies and leaves a bequest in his will for a boys' college, but stipulates that in order to be eligible for the bequest, the school must be run by the Jesuits. The Archdiocese is unable to comply with the terms of the will.

1903 - The Archdiocese is unable to find a Catholic order to run St. Mary's and is thus ineligible to use the Patrick Power bequest funds. The Archdiocese undertakes a successful drive for funds, and Saint Mary's College re-opens at Windsor Street and Quinpool Road (currently the site of the St. Vincent Guest House). Local priests fulfil teaching duties.

1913 - The Irish Christian Brothers "...were contracted as the teaching order for St. Mary's." The executors of the Patrick Power's bequest for the opening of the College under the Brothers' administration.

1916 - St. Mary's becomes affiliated with Nova Scotia Technical College; a three year course in Engineering is set up at St. Mary's.

1917-1918 - The Halifax Explosion occurs on December 6, 1917. There are no serious injuries at the College, but the students are sent home and the facility is used as an emergency hospital for two months. The school is then repaired and re-opened in February 1918.

1921 - One million dollars is offered by Carnegie Foundation for the Improvement of Higher Education to "...promote a Federation of all Colleges in the Maritimes and Newfoundland with Dalhousie University."

1922 - The Universities Conference Report recommends that all "institutions of higher learning" in the Maritime provinces move to Halifax and "...become constituent colleges of a new university."

1923 - Pope Pius XI declares, via the local Archbishop, that no Catholic Colleges shall enter the proposed federation of universities. With the withdrawal of the Catholic institutions, the idea of a federation is abandoned.

1936 - The student newspaper, St. Mary's Journal, is published for the first time.

1940 - As a result of disagreements between the Archdiocese and the Irish Christian Brothers over the running of St. Mary's, the Upper Canada Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) take over the institution.

1943 - The land of the Gorsebrook Golf Club is acquired by the Archdiocese on which a new St. Mary's College is to be built. The land "originally" belonged to a wealthy and prominent Halifax citizen, Enos Collins.

1945 - The Halifax School of Journalism is established as a joint venture of St. Mary's, Mount Saint Vincent, and King's College.

1949 - The sod is turned on the Gorsebrook Golf Club land and construction of the McNally building commences.

1951 - St. Mary's High School and St. Mary's College move to the McNally building. The building contains classrooms, student rooms, and living quarters for the Jesuits. The high school occupies three rooms on the second floor.

1952 - The Canadian Martyrs' Parish is established to serve the needs of South End Halifax residents; the foyer of the McNally building is used as its chapel. The first mass is said on September 14. This marks the beginning of what will become a long association between the Canadian Martyrs' Parish and St. Mary's.

1953 - The College Chapel is officially opened on November 28, and will serve as the home of the Canadian Martyrs' Parish. The Chapel is attached to the McNally building.

1953 - Credit and non-credit evening courses are offered for the first time to part-time students, both women and men.

1957 - St. Mary's becomes affiliated with Ignatius College in Guelph and Regis College in Willowdale.

1959 - The St. Mary's football team is given the name "Huskies"; they had previously been known as the "Saints".

1959 - St. Mary's acquires the "Royal Mc-Bee LGP-30" electronic digital computer, the first electronic digital computer in the region. The computer is available for both educational and industrial usage.

1960 - A Faculty Manual is drawn up for the first time, "... which codified the regulations governing appointments, rank, and tenure."

1962 - Saint Mary's launches an "Expansion Program". Collins House, part of the original estate on whose land the current campus now stands, is torn down to make way for the construction of the new Student Centre. This results in the beginning of an historical landmarks preservation movement in Halifax.

1963 - The Board of Studies is renamed the University Senate; the old "Senate" is given the more appropriate title "Board of Governors".

1963 - Saint Mary's High School closes; there are approximately 25 students in the last graduating class.

1966 - Saint Mary's establishes its first purely academic post graduate program, an MA in History of Science.

1968 - A seventeen-floor high-rise opens for use as a student residence; four floors are specially designed for the physically challenged students.

1969 - "Huskies Stadium" is constructed in preparation for the Canada Summer Games.

1970 - Administration of Saint Mary's transfers to a "lay" board of governors, and the Jesuits are replaced by secular staff. The University continues to recognize its Catholic tradition.

1971 - The sod for the new Canadian Martyrs' Church is turned on Easter Sunday; the Church is officially opened on December 12.

1974 - The Saint Mary's University Faculty Union is certified as a bargaining unit.

1981 - Co-operative education programs are established by the departments of Geography and Sociology.

1982 - The Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies is established.

1985 - The Atlantic Centre of Research, Access, and Support for Disabled Students is opened.

1988 - Saint Mary's High School class of 1963 (the last graduating class) hold a 25th reunion.

1989 - The Co-operative Education program expands to include the facilities of Science and Commerce.

1994 - Announcement of the phasing out of the Education Faculty due to Rationalization.

1995 - Saint Mary's University confers close to 1600 degree, diplomas and certificates on the largest graduating class in its history at spring and fall Convocations.

1996 - The Provincial Government endorse Saint Mary's participation, along with six other universities, in the Metro Consortium, developed to encourage the sharing of resources in the Halifax university system.

September 1998 - The opening of the Sobey Building which will house the Frank H. Sobey Faculty of Commerce, which is Atlantic Canada's leading business school.

Trivia

Logo used on Sobeys grocery stores. ... Empire Theatres is Canadas second largest movie theatre circuit, and the only major circuit operating in Atlantic Canada. ... Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. ... The Saint Marys Huskies are the mens athletic teams that represent Saint Marys University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Canadian football is a sport in which two teams of twelve players each compete for territorial control of a field of play 110 yards (100. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (abbreviated as ACM/ICPC or just ICPC) is an annual activity of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) that provides college students with an opportunity to demonstrate and sharpen their problem-solving and computing skills. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The UniversitÃ¤tscampus Wien, Austria ( details) Campus (plural: campi) is Latin for field or open space. English gets the words camp and campus from this origin. ... Astrology: the study of the positions of the celestial objects relative to the Earth and how these positions affect happenings on the lives of cultures, nations and the natural environment. ... ARAMARK Corporation NYSE: RMK is a multinational corporation involved in the business of providing institutional services, including food and uniform service, to clients including hospitals, schools, businesses, and sports facilities. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Categories: Universities and colleges in Nova Scotia | Halifax Regional Municipality | Jesuit education | Business schools in Canada | Roman Catholic universities and colleges in North America Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... List of universities in Nova Scotia, Canada: Acadia University Dalhousie University Mount Saint Vincent University Nova Scotia Agricultural College Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University Saint Francis Xavier University Saint Marys University University College of Cape Breton University of Kings College Université Sainte-Anne List of... Flag of Nova Scotia - thumbnail (version of ca-ns. ... Acadia University is a university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Dalhousie University is a university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Mount Saint Vincent University, commonly referred to as The Mount, is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... The Nova Scotia Agricultural College is a university college located in the village of Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada - a suburb of the town of Truro. ... The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD University) is a post-secondary art school located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. ... St. ... Cape Breton University (CBU), formerly the University of Crayons and Colouring Books (UCCB), is a university in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, near Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the island of Cape Breton. ... UniversitÃ© Sainte-Anne is a university in Church Point, Nova Scotia, and the only French language university in Nova Scotia. ...

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