The History of Saint Mary's University

Saint Mary's already boasted more than a century of achievement in higher education when it offered its facilities as an emergency hospital in the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion in 1917. One of Canada's oldest universities, Saint Mary's traces its earliest beginnings to 1802 when the Reverend Edmund Burke, later Bishop Burke, initiated instruction for young men at the Glebe House, located on the corner of Halifax's Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street.

The next 75 years saw a number of changes in location as the boys school grew first into a college and then into a university, but Saint Mary's never wavered in its commitment to education and community service. Landmark dates in the first century include 1841, with degree-granting status conferred by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly; 1868, when the Christian Brothers of Saint John the Baptiste de la Salle took over teaching duties and moved Saint Mary's to the Belle Aire Terrace off Agricola; and 1876, when the Archdiocese took over from the Christian Brothers and moved the school to Barrington Street.

The year 1876 also marked the passing of the University Act, which created the University of Halifax by amalgamating the colleges of Acadia, Dalhousie, King's, Mount Allison, St. Francis Xavier and Saint Mary's. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and when the University of Halifax closed in 1881, the individual colleges lost their government grants and Saint Mary's had to close.

The only hope at that time was a bequest in the will of prominent Halifax businessman, Patrick Power for a Jesuit-run boys' college, but Saint Mary's was ineligible because the Archdiocese couldn't find a Catholic order to run the school. More than three decades later, the executors of Patrick Powers' estate agreed to release the bequest in 1913 when the Irish Christian Brothers became the teaching order at Saint Mary's.

Under the leadership of the Irish Christian Brothers, the college shared its Windsor Street campus with a high school. By the time that John McNally became Archbishop in 1937, Saint Mary's had a solid reputation for its undergraduate programs and had pioneered a number of new instructional programs including one of the first Faculties of Commerce in Canada.

A new era began in 1940 when the Upper Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) succeeded the Christian Brothers as Saint Mary's administrators and teachers. Until the 1970 Act of Incorporation gave legal status to a Board of Governors and Senate, the college remained under Jesuit supervision, establishing itself in teacher education, initiating the first courses in continuing education in Halifax/Dartmouth, purchasing the first computer in Atlantic Canada, and becoming coeducational.

In 1951 the high school moved with Saint Mary's to the Robie Street campus where it occupied three rooms on the second floor of the new McNally building. The high school closed in 1963 and in 1970 the University became a public institution. A long period of growth and stability accompanied the tenure of Dr. Kenneth Ozmon, University President from 1979 to 2000.

It was during the "Ozmon Era" that Saint Mary's became known for programs and supports for students with disabilities. The stage had been set in 1968 when the Edmund Rice residence opened with 21 units specifically designed for accessibility, and in 1975 when the university initiated a library of taped books recorded by volunteer readers. When the Atlantic Centre of Research, Access and Support for Students with Disabilities opened in 1985, it was one of a handful of such facilities in the entire country.

Now a modern, urban university with more than 7,500 full and part-time students, Saint Mary's continues to make educational inroads into supports for students with disabilities. Under the leadership of Dr. J. Colin Dodds, the University has also taken a leading role in the global community and boasts 40,000 alumni in more than 100 countries. A slew of international partnerships speak to our commitment to educating citizens of the world and our reputation for diversity is evidenced in the approximately 25 percent of our students who come from countries other than Canada.

Saint Mary's has inherited a strong tradition of excellence in teaching and research and today offers a full range of undergraduate programs in arts, commerce, education, and science as well as select graduate studies and pre-professional programs in law, medicine, engineering, theology, dentistry and architecture. With the completion of the state-of-the-art Atrium and Global Learning Commons and the Homburg Centre for Health and Wellness, the University enters the final phase of a 10-year, $100 million dollar renewal program that has added important new venues for teaching and learning and touched every existing building on campus.

 

This page last modified Tuesday, 10-Jan-2012 15:03:30 AST