Brescia University College - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the women's college
Women's college
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women...

in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

. For the university in Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...

, see Brescia University
Brescia University
Brescia University is a coeducational Catholic university located in Owensboro, Kentucky, in the United States. It was founded in 1950 by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph as Brescia College. It attained university status in 1998 with the addition of Master's degree programs in...

Brescia University College is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

liberal arts

Liberal arts college

A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...

college for women

Women's college

Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women...

located in London

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Affiliated with the University of Western Ontario

University of Western Ontario

The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

, Brescia is the only university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

-level women's college in Canada. It has approximately 1,100 undergraduate students.

Mission statement

Brescia University College:

is a Catholic college in the Ursuline tradition,
educates women to think critically and to participate actively in society.
is a student-centred community,
prepares graduates to respond with wisdom, justice and compassion to a changing world.

Priorities

The theme of Brescia's Strategic Plan for May 2006 - April 2009 was Learn, Live, Lead.

To advance learning and scholarship in a student-centered environment.
To be a vibrant organization that touches the mind, body and spirit.
To be a strong voice for increasing the scope and visibility of women's leadership.

Programs

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Management & Organizational Studies
Bachelor of Science (Foods & Nutrition)
Bachelor of Arts (Human Ecology)
Bachelor of Science (Human Ecology)
Master of Foods and Nutritional Sciences
Certificate in Community Development
Certificate in Religious Education

The Honors Bachelors of Science in Foods and Nutrition at Brescia is accredited by Dietitians of Canada

Dietitians of Canada

Dietitians of Canada is the professional organization and "nation-wide voice of dietitians in Canada". They claim to be the most trusted source of information on food and nutrition for Canadians. DC brings brings the knowledge and skills of its members together to informdecisions that affect...

. This means people who graduate with this degree are eligible to apply for dietetic internship placements.
The Master of Foods and Nutritional Sciences program is divided into two streams. The internship stream is for people who have graduated from a program accredited by Dietitians of Canada. It combines a masters degree and an internship together and upon graduating, the person has a MSc and can write the exam needed to become a registered dietitian. The second stream is for people who are already a Registered Dietitian in Canada.

Brescia also offers a Pre-University Year programme. According to the Brescia website, the Preliminary Year is a one-year university preparatory programme taught by university professors on the College campus. The programme is a bridge; students are able to acquire the academic courses required for successful entry into university. This programme is co-educational.

The College also offers and English as a Second Language programme called CultureWorks.

Admission Requirements

The Preliminary Year program which is co-educational
Brescia only admits women into its undergraduate programs of study.
The Masters of Science (Foods and Nutrition) is co-educational.

All classes at Brescia are open to both male and female students.

Research and Partnerships

Just steps away from the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

's main campus of over 30,000 students, Brescia has a vibrant university community of 1,000 students. This partnership means students benefit from small classes and personal attention while enjoying the amenities of a large university.

Student life

While residence and registration at Brescia are restricted to females, all courses are accessible to UWO students, male or female, including students from Western's two other affiliated university colleges. As such, it is not uncommon for male students from Main Campus, Huron University College or King's University College to take courses at Brescia.

Buildings

James Carlisle Pennington designed Brescia Hall (1924-25) for the Ursuline Sisters, near Western Road at Sarnia Road, on the campus of the University of Western Ontario. The Mother St. James memorial building is the main building on campus. It houses classrooms, offices, student-services, the business office, the Beryl Ivey Library and computer lab, the Mother St. James Memorial Auditorium, a coffee shop and the Circle Women’s Centre resource centre. The Ursuline hall is the residence for 170 female students. Ursuline Hall also has the cafeteria (Castle Cafe), some professor's offices, the food labs and a few classrooms.

History

Brescia University College is the only university-level women's college in Canada.
Brescia was founded in 1919 as Ursuline College by the Ursulines

Ursulines

The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...

. It was originally located at 556 Wellington Street London, Ontario

London, Ontario

. It was founded as a Roman Catholic affiliate of the University of Western Ontario

University of Western Ontario

in London, Ontario. From the beginning, the graduates have always received University of Western Ontario degrees. The Ursuline Sisters named the Roman Catholic college after the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

city of Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

where their religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

was founded. The first class was of seven young women. Construction at the present location (1285 Western Road London, Ontario) began in 1923. Brescia Hall was the first building and was built by contractor Joseph Michael Piggot. Brescia Hall was renamed "Ursuline Hall". Ursuline College was renamed "Brescia College" in 1963, and in 2001 re-named "Brescia University College".

Advertising Controversy

Early into the 2010/2011 academic year, a new advertising campaign sparked controversy for the University College. The campaign, known as Bresia Bold, was meant to call attention to Bresia's unique position as the only university-level women's college in Canada through edgy, (quasi-)feminist marketing.
A sign, displaying a former Brescia student and the message: "Her mind is as sharp as her heels", was the source of said controversy. Amidst claims that it "enforced gender stereotypes", "heteronormativity", and "focus[ed] on appearances rather than substance", the advertisement was removed from Brescia's campus.

Notable alumnae

Margaret Chan
Margaret Chan
Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, OBE JP is the Director-General of the World Health Organization . Chan was elected by the Executive Board of the WHO on 8 November 2006, and was endorsed in a special meeting of the World Health Assembly on the following day...

- Director General of the World Health Organization (BA 1973)
Beryl Ivey
Richard Ivey School of Business
The Richard Ivey School of Business is located on the University of Western Ontario campus in London, Ontario, Canada, and is consistently rated as the top business school in Canada. It is offered, along with a range of other programs, by the University of Western Ontario, but is managed separately...

, CM
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

- Philanthropist (BA 1947)

Books

Murray Llewellyn Barr A century of medicine at Western: a centennial history of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Ontario (London: University of Western Ontario, 1977), ISBN 0919534007
John R. W. Gwynne-Timothy Western's first century (London: University of Western Ontario, 1978)
Ruth Davis Talman 'The beginnings and development of the University of Western Ontario, 1878-1924.' (MA Thesis, University of Western Ontario, 1925)
Available from the Beryl Ivey Library are Emeritus Professor of History Dr. Patricia Skidmore's books Brescia College 1919-1979 and The History of Brescia

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.