Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University is the other university in the city of Waterloo. It is located just down the road from UW, at 75 University Avenue West. The University of Waterloo began as part Laurier, as the Waterloo College Associate Faculties. =History=

Foundation
The Lutheran Synod of Canada founded the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary of Canada in 1911.

Waterloo College School
In 1914 the Seminary developed non-theological courses under the name of the Waterloo College School.

Waterloo College of Arts
In 1924 the Waterloo College of Arts was established, offering post-secondary three-year programs.

Waterloo College
In 1925 the Faculty of Arts, under the name of Waterloo College, became affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. This lent the institution some all-important credibility.

With the appointment of Gerry Hagey as dean of Waterloo College in 1954, an effort to secure new funding for the college began. The creation of science and engineering programs would allow Waterloo College to apply for important provincial funding that was then focused on such programs. In 1955, Waterloo College created the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, which would eventually become the University of Waterloo. It operated as a semi-autonomous entity within Waterloo College and was to teach science and engineering to students.

Charter and split from WCAF
After the University of Waterloo Act (1959), the University of Waterloo was founded from the Waterloo College Associate Faculties. There was an expectation that both St. Jerome's College and Waterloo College would become federated with it, each representing one of the two major religions of Waterloo.

However, the idea of merging the old Waterloo College with the upstart (and lacking in prestige) University of Waterloo didn't sit well with some faculty members. And while "the board of Waterloo College accepted the federation arrangement,... they didn't have the last word; that lay with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Canada, which owned the place. And when the synod's annual meeting was held that spring [1960], the Lutheran leaders voted no." After that, the University of Waterloo and Waterloo College parted ways, and by the Fall of 1960, UW had created its own Faculty of Arts to compensate for the loss of Waterloo College's expertise.

Waterloo Lutheran University
The college's affiliation with the University of Western Ontario ended in 1960, when the seminary obtained a revised charter, changing the name of the institution to Waterloo Lutheran University.

Wilfrid Laurier University
However, as a church-affiliated institution, Waterloo Lutheran was ineligible for capital funding from the province, and the Lutheran church was in no position to invest heavily in the university. On November 1, 1973, Waterloo Lutheran University dropped its church affiliation and became a public institution, Wilfrid Laurier University.

=Current Day=

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