Wilfrid Laurier University
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university
located in Waterloo, Ontario
, Canada
. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario
, Kitchener, Ontario
and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario
. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada
. Laurier offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of fields. Laurier is one of the fastest-growing universities in Canada (enrollment more than doubled from 1997 to 2006). The main campus is located in Waterloo. The City of Waterloo is home to both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo
.
dates from 1911, when the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
of Canada http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwsem/index.shtml opened its doors to students. Waterloo was selected as the location because of the land granted by the citizens and the town administration on the edge of the town, and the fact that that Waterloo and Berlin, Ontario (now known as Kitchener
) had very large Lutheran populations.
In 1914 the Seminary developed non-theological courses under the name of the Waterloo College School. Waterloo College of Arts became affiliated with Western in 1925.
In 1924 the Waterloo College of Arts was established, offering post-secondary three-year programs.
Laurier's school colours of purple and gold originated in 1927: maroon and gold were the colours of Waterloo College, but to honour the link with the University of Western Ontario, whose colours were purple and white, maroon was discarded in favour of purple.
The Waterloo College Chapel features several stained glass windows including `Light of the world` (1941) and `Christ in the garden` (1940) by Robert McCausland Limited.
The University of Waterloo
was originally conceived in 1955 as the Waterloo College Associate Faculties (WCAF), a semi-autonomous entity within Waterloo College (now Wilfrid Laurier University).
It became Waterloo Lutheran University in 1959 and Wilfrid Laurier University in 1973.
In 1960, Lutheran church relinquished its sponsorship of the Wilfrid Laurier University. The Lutheran church maintained control of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, which federated with Wilfrid Laurier University.
Waterloo College ended its affiliation with Western and became a university in its own right: Waterloo Lutheran University. Wilfrid Laurier University was established by Wilfrid Laurier University Act 1973, which was amended in 2001. 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.
Laurier opened a second campus, in Brantford, Ontario, in 1999, and in 2006 the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work moved from the Waterloo campus to a campus in downtown Kitchener. The Brantford campus is centred on a number of historic properties in the downtown area which have been restored for university use. They include a former Carnegie library
, Brantford's 1880 post office, and 1870 mansion, and a 1950 Odeon Theatre. The Kitchener campus is located in the historic and fully renovated former St. Jerome's high school building.
In October 2008, the University was named one of Waterloo Area's Top Employers
and featured in the Waterloo Region Record and Guelph Mercury
newspapers.
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
continues to operate in affiliation with the University and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
.
was a politician of "questionable reputation" who had no connection to the school or the region of Waterloo. There has been speculation over the years that the name Wilfrid Laurier University was chosen mainly to preserve the initials as WLU.
, which was founded in 1974, deals with archaeology, military history and sociology/anthropology.
magazine's annual rankings. The 2008 Macleans rankings placed Laurier fifth overall (first in Ontario) of the 21 Canadian universities in the category of "Primarily Undergraduate" universities. http://www.macleans.ca/education/rankings.jsp
In 2008, for undergrad programs, the minimum entering average was 80.3% for the arts, 80.8% for science, and 86.3% for business.
The internationally renowned Faculty of Music at Laurier is considered one of the best in the country, with programs in performance, music education, composition, music history, church music, theory and music therapy. In addition, Laurier is home to the Penderecki String Quartet - an internationally recognised group playing largely new compositions. The music faculty boasts two performance spaces - the Theatre Auditorium and the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall (named after the famous contralto and former chancellor of WLU). The faculty also attracts a greater percentage of students from outside Ontario than any other faculty at Laurier. Laurier Music program boasts the only Masters Degree in Music Therapy. Laurier's strength in "music and business education" is touted as one of the reasons that Waterloo Region is a "powerful educational hub" by UW president David Johnson.
The university is also home to the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy, the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, the Cold Regions Research Centre, and several other research centres.
Laurier is the current headquarters of the Academic Council of the United Nations System
(ACUNS) 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.
Laurier is also a prominent partner in the new Balsillie School of International Affairs, scheduled to open in Waterloo in 2008.
, University of Guelph
, Wilfrid Laurier University), through which access to a combined information collection in excess of seven million print items is available.
In October 2011, the Library, in conjunction with WLU Press, launched Scholars Commons @ Laurier, an institutional repository that aims to support open scholarly communication, collaboration, and lasting visibility and recognition for Laurier scholarship. It will house faculty scholarship, theses, dissertations, online journals, and an archival collection of The Cord Weekly
dating back to 1926.
, Science
, Education
, Music
, Social Work
, and Laurier School of Business & Economics
.
In the Fall of 2006 the Faculty of Social Work (previously on the Waterloo campus) moved to downtown Kitchener. Located on Duke St. it moved into the old St. Jerome's High School which was designated a heritage site by the City of Kitchener. This move allowed the students to be closer to the community and social service agencies they partnered with. Also in an effort to partner better with the community and make the building more welcoming, faculty and staff held such events as the Political Coffee House Series, several all-candidates debates and the Expressions of Social Justice Festival
Men’s Residences:
Co-ed Residences:
Campus") is located in the Single-tier Municipality of Brantford.
The campus opened its doors in 1999 with a total of 39 students in its inaugural year. As of 2009, over 2,600 students were enrolled at the school.
by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
.
The history of the team name (Golden Hawks) dates back to the 1961. For many years, the Waterloo College teams were called simply the Waterloo College teams, although sometimes they were called the Purple and Gold and other times the Waterloons.
In 1950, the college's newspaper mused that a name was needed, and in December 1951 a new name was tested: the Mules.
Subsequently, the hockey team became the Ice Mules and the women's basketball and volleyball teams were known as the Mulettes.
In 1960, with the shift from college to university status, the university student newspaper again lobbied for change.
At a meeting that year, somebody suggested Golden Hawks and that was the name adopted. A headline in the January 16, 1961 issue of the newspaper read "From 'Jackass' to 'Bird of Prey'".
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 its 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
. The Hawks then defeated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 24-23 to win the 2005 Vanier Cup
, their first since 1991.
Laurier's first female national championship was won in 1992 by the women's soccer team, which followed that up with their second CIS title in 1995. The men's soccer team claimed back-to-back national championships in 2000 & 2001.
In 2007 the women's lacrosse team achieved a dynasty status by winning their fifth OUA Ontario University Athletics
gold medal in a row. In February 2008, the women's hockey team claimed its fifth gold medal in as many years and seventh since 1998. The women's hockey team won its first CIS national championship in 2005. Both teams have since won sixth consecutive championships in their respective sports, furthering their dynasties.
In 2008 both the men's and women's curling teams won the inaugural CIS Championships and represented Canada in China at the 2009 World University Games. The women's team repeated as CIS Champion's in 2009 in Montreal and went on to represent Canada in the Karuizawa International Curling championships where they claimed first place.
field. The Athletic Complex houses 3 Gyms, 2 Squash Courts, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a Rock Climbing Wall, and Aerobics/Weight Rooms. University Stadium includes a fieldturf
football field and a large indoor gymnasium. The swimming pool underwent a $2 million renovation in 2009/2010. In 2007, University Stadium underwent a $5 Million renovation.
was composed by M.A. Magee (BA 1938), with words by W.H. Johns, as "Waterloo We'll Praise Thee Ever" - in reference to Laurier's origins as Waterloo College. It was re-released in 2005 with "Laurier" replacing "Waterloo" in the lyrics to avoid confusion with neighbouring University of Waterloo
. The modern lyrics are as follows:
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...
located in Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, 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...
. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
, Kitchener, Ontario
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, 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....
. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
. Laurier offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of fields. Laurier is one of the fastest-growing universities in Canada (enrollment more than doubled from 1997 to 2006). The main campus is located in Waterloo. The City of Waterloo is home to both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
.
History
The history of Wilfrid Laurier University, a non-denominational university at Waterloo, OntarioWaterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
dates from 1911, when the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada affiliated with the nondenominational Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario.-History:...
of Canada http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwsem/index.shtml opened its doors to students. Waterloo was selected as the location because of the land granted by the citizens and the town administration on the edge of the town, and the fact that that Waterloo and Berlin, Ontario (now known as Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
) had very large Lutheran populations.
In 1914 the Seminary developed non-theological courses under the name of the Waterloo College School. Waterloo College of Arts became affiliated with Western in 1925.
In 1924 the Waterloo College of Arts was established, offering post-secondary three-year programs.
Laurier's school colours of purple and gold originated in 1927: maroon and gold were the colours of Waterloo College, but to honour the link with the University of Western Ontario, whose colours were purple and white, maroon was discarded in favour of purple.
The University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
was originally conceived in 1955 as the Waterloo College Associate Faculties (WCAF), a semi-autonomous entity within Waterloo College (now Wilfrid Laurier University).
It became Waterloo Lutheran University in 1959 and Wilfrid Laurier University in 1973.
In 1960, Lutheran church relinquished its sponsorship of the Wilfrid Laurier University. The Lutheran church maintained control of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, which federated with Wilfrid Laurier University.
Waterloo College ended its affiliation with Western and became a university in its own right: Waterloo Lutheran University. Wilfrid Laurier University was established by Wilfrid Laurier University Act 1973, which was amended in 2001. 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.
Laurier opened a second campus, in Brantford, Ontario, in 1999, and in 2006 the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work moved from the Waterloo campus to a campus in downtown Kitchener. The Brantford campus is centred on a number of historic properties in the downtown area which have been restored for university use. They include a former Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
, Brantford's 1880 post office, and 1870 mansion, and a 1950 Odeon Theatre. The Kitchener campus is located in the historic and fully renovated former St. Jerome's high school building.
In October 2008, the University was named one of Waterloo Area's Top Employers
Waterloo Area's Top Employers
Waterloo Area's Top Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places to work in Canada's Technology Triangle, which is generally described as the Kitchener-Waterloo Area together with the cities of Guelph and Cambridge, Ontario...
and featured in the Waterloo Region Record and Guelph Mercury
Guelph Mercury
The Guelph Mercury is an English language newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, has been a part of the community since 1854...
newspapers.
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada affiliated with the nondenominational Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario.-History:...
continues to operate in affiliation with the University and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
.
Name
When Waterloo Lutheran University became a public university, a new name was needed. There were 94 proposed names, among them were Beaver University, Louis Riel University and the Iroquois University of Waterloo. Eventually Wilfrid Laurier University was selected in 1973, but not without controversy, as some students at the time charged that Wilfrid LaurierWilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
was a politician of "questionable reputation" who had no connection to the school or the region of Waterloo. There has been speculation over the years that the name Wilfrid Laurier University was chosen mainly to preserve the initials as WLU.
Book publishing
The Wilfrid Laurier University PressWilfrid Laurier University Press
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences — literary criticism,...
, which was founded in 1974, deals with archaeology, military history and sociology/anthropology.
Academics
The University is home to 11,689 full-time and part-time undergraduate students, 729 full-time and part-time graduate students and almost 500 in faculty and staff, although comparatively small, the university has consistently ranked among Canada's top schools in its category, an honour which is regularly confirmed by Maclean'sMaclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine's annual rankings. The 2008 Macleans rankings placed Laurier fifth overall (first in Ontario) of the 21 Canadian universities in the category of "Primarily Undergraduate" universities. http://www.macleans.ca/education/rankings.jsp
In 2008, for undergrad programs, the minimum entering average was 80.3% for the arts, 80.8% for science, and 86.3% for business.
The internationally renowned Faculty of Music at Laurier is considered one of the best in the country, with programs in performance, music education, composition, music history, church music, theory and music therapy. In addition, Laurier is home to the Penderecki String Quartet - an internationally recognised group playing largely new compositions. The music faculty boasts two performance spaces - the Theatre Auditorium and the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall (named after the famous contralto and former chancellor of WLU). The faculty also attracts a greater percentage of students from outside Ontario than any other faculty at Laurier. Laurier Music program boasts the only Masters Degree in Music Therapy. Laurier's strength in "music and business education" is touted as one of the reasons that Waterloo Region is a "powerful educational hub" by UW president David Johnson.
The university is also home to the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy, the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, the Cold Regions Research Centre, and several other research centres.
Laurier is the current headquarters of the Academic Council of the United Nations System
Academic Council of the United Nations System
The Academic Council of the United Nations System was founded in June 1987 at a conference held at the American Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, with the purpose to create a new organization to stimulate and support research and teaching on the role of the United Nations.-UN...
(ACUNS) 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.
Laurier is also a prominent partner in the new Balsillie School of International Affairs, scheduled to open in Waterloo in 2008.
Laurier Library
The Laurier Library holds more than 960,000 print items, more than 200,000 electronic books, more than 25,000 full text electronic journals and databases, thousands of media titles (about 5000 including streaming and DVDs). In addition, the library is a member of the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (University of WaterlooUniversity of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
, Wilfrid Laurier University), through which access to a combined information collection in excess of seven million print items is available.
In October 2011, the Library, in conjunction with WLU Press, launched Scholars Commons @ Laurier, an institutional repository that aims to support open scholarly communication, collaboration, and lasting visibility and recognition for Laurier scholarship. It will house faculty scholarship, theses, dissertations, online journals, and an archival collection of The Cord Weekly
The Cord Weekly
The Cord is a student newspaper at Wilfrid Laurier University. Founded in 1926, it features stories about current events on and student life, sports, arts and entertainment, including wide-ranging opinion columns and an international section....
dating back to 1926.
Faculties
Laurier offers a variety of different programs through its 6 faculties: ArtsARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
, and Laurier School of Business & Economics
Laurier School of Business & Economics
The Laurier School of Business & Economics is one of the largest business schools in Canada. With more than 4,500 students overall, it is the largest faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University...
.
Campuses
Kitchener CampusIn the Fall of 2006 the Faculty of Social Work (previously on the Waterloo campus) moved to downtown Kitchener. Located on Duke St. it moved into the old St. Jerome's High School which was designated a heritage site by the City of Kitchener. This move allowed the students to be closer to the community and social service agencies they partnered with. Also in an effort to partner better with the community and make the building more welcoming, faculty and staff held such events as the Political Coffee House Series, several all-candidates debates and the Expressions of Social Justice Festival
Expressions of Social Justice Festival
The Expressions of Social Justice Festival began in March 2007 with film screenings occurring in Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, and was originally named "Expressions of Social Justice Film Festival"...
Waterloo campus
Laurier's primary campus ("The Waterloo Campus") is located in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The majority of the University's faculties reside at the Waterloo Campus, including Business, Arts, Science, Music, Education, and Health. Altogether, approximately 15,000 students attend classes at the Waterloo campus.Residences
Women’s Residences:- Bouckaert Hall (Dormitory-style)
- Clara Conrad Hall (Dormitory-style)
Men’s Residences:
- C.H. Little House (Dormitory-style)
Co-ed Residences:
- Bricker Residence (Apartment-style)
- Euler Residence (Alternative Study Environment, Dormitory-style)
- King Street Residence (Dormitory-style)
- King Street North (Apartment-style)
- King's Court (Apartment-style)
- Laurier Place Residence (Apartment-style) (Conestogo House, Heidelberg House, St. Agatha House, St. Clements House, and St. Jacobs House)
- Leupold Residence (Dormitory-style)
- Lodge Street Residence (Apartment-style)
- Macdonald House (Dormitory-style)
- Regina Residence
- University Place Residence (Apartment-style)
- Waterloo College Hall (Dormitory-style)
- Willison Hall (Dormitory-style)
Brantford campus
Laurier's secondary campus ("The Laurier BrantfordLaurier Brantford
Laurier Brantford is a satellite campus of Wilfrid Laurier University located in Brantford, Ontario. The other campus of the University is in Waterloo, Ontario....
Campus") is located in the Single-tier Municipality of Brantford.
The campus opened its doors in 1999 with a total of 39 students in its inaugural year. As of 2009, over 2,600 students were enrolled at the school.
Residences
- Grand River Hall
- Post House
- Rizzo Building
- Wilkes House
- Lawyer's Hall
- Lucy Marco Place
- Imperial Hall
- 142 Nelson Street
Athletics
The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity SportCanadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...
by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks is the name used by the varsity sports teams of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport and, where applicable, in the west...
.
The history of the team name (Golden Hawks) dates back to the 1961. For many years, the Waterloo College teams were called simply the Waterloo College teams, although sometimes they were called the Purple and Gold and other times the Waterloons.
In 1950, the college's newspaper mused that a name was needed, and in December 1951 a new name was tested: the Mules.
Subsequently, the hockey team became the Ice Mules and the women's basketball and volleyball teams were known as the Mulettes.
In 1960, with the shift from college to university status, the university student newspaper again lobbied for change.
At a meeting that year, somebody suggested Golden Hawks and that was the name adopted. A headline in the January 16, 1961 issue of the newspaper read "From 'Jackass' to 'Bird of Prey'".
On November 13, 2004, the Golden Hawks football team won the Yates Cup
Yates Cup
The Yates Cup is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport federation. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassing both the Grey...
against the McMaster Marauders
McMaster Marauders
The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario...
at University Stadium in front of a record crowd of 8,175. It was the sixth Yates Cup victory for Laurier in its 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
Uteck Bowl
The Uteck Bowl is one of the two semifinals in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's football, held in the easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to face the Mitchell Bowl champion for the Vanier Cup...
against Acadia
Acadia University
Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...
. The Hawks then defeated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 24-23 to win the 2005 Vanier Cup
Vanier Cup
The Vanier Cup is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl...
, their first since 1991.
Laurier's first female national championship was won in 1992 by the women's soccer team, which followed that up with their second CIS title in 1995. The men's soccer team claimed back-to-back national championships in 2000 & 2001.
In 2007 the women's lacrosse team achieved a dynasty status by winning their fifth OUA Ontario University Athletics
Ontario University Athletics
Ontario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public...
gold medal in a row. In February 2008, the women's hockey team claimed its fifth gold medal in as many years and seventh since 1998. The women's hockey team won its first CIS national championship in 2005. Both teams have since won sixth consecutive championships in their respective sports, furthering their dynasties.
In 2008 both the men's and women's curling teams won the inaugural CIS Championships and represented Canada in China at the 2009 World University Games. The women's team repeated as CIS Champion's in 2009 in Montreal and went on to represent Canada in the Karuizawa International Curling championships where they claimed first place.
Facilities
The athletic facilities at Wilfrid Laurier University include an Athletic Complex, a Football Stadium and an outdoor multi-purpose fieldturfFieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
field. The Athletic Complex houses 3 Gyms, 2 Squash Courts, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a Rock Climbing Wall, and Aerobics/Weight Rooms. University Stadium includes a fieldturf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
football field and a large indoor gymnasium. The swimming pool underwent a $2 million renovation in 2009/2010. In 2007, University Stadium underwent a $5 Million renovation.
Fight song
The original Wilfrid Laurier University fight songFight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
was composed by M.A. Magee (BA 1938), with words by W.H. Johns, as "Waterloo We'll Praise Thee Ever" - in reference to Laurier's origins as Waterloo College. It was re-released in 2005 with "Laurier" replacing "Waterloo" in the lyrics to avoid confusion with neighbouring University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
. The modern lyrics 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!
- OP!
University people
See also
- List of Ontario Universities
- List of colleges and universities named after people
- Ontario Student Assistance ProgramOntario Student Assistance ProgramThe Ontario Student Assistance Program is a financial aid program delivered by the government of Ontario, Canada, for post-secondary education students...
- Higher education in OntarioHigher education in OntarioHigher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and provided by universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges. The current minister is Glen Murray who assumed the...
- Canadian Interuniversity SportCanadian Interuniversity SportCanadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...
- Canadian government scientific research organizationsCanadian government scientific research organizationsExpenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006...
- Canadian university scientific research organizationsCanadian university scientific research organizationsExpenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006....
- Canadian industrial research and development organizationsCanadian industrial research and development organizationsExpenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007....
- Wilfrid Laurier University Students' UnionWilfrid Laurier University Students' UnionThe Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union represents undergraduate students at both campuses of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and Brantford, Ontario Canada. It operates the Fred Nichols Campus Centre in Waterloo as well as the Students' Centre on Laurier's Brantford Campus...
- Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications
- Laurier BrantfordLaurier BrantfordLaurier Brantford is a satellite campus of Wilfrid Laurier University located in Brantford, Ontario. The other campus of the University is in Waterloo, Ontario....
- Laurier School of Business & EconomicsLaurier School of Business & EconomicsThe Laurier School of Business & Economics is one of the largest business schools in Canada. With more than 4,500 students overall, it is the largest faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University...