St. Jerome's College
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St. Jerome's University, commonly shortened to St. Jerome's or SJU, is a public Roman Catholic university in
Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...
. It is federated with the University of Waterloo. St. Jerome's, within the University of Waterloo, combines academics and a residence. Students may both reside at and take classes through St. Jerome's, live at SJU in residence but take classes elsewhere, or live in another residence but take classes at St. Jerome's.


History


Nineteenth century

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Dr. Louis Funcken and his brother,
Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
Eugene Funcken – both
Fathers A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
of the Resurrectionist Congregation – founded St. Jerome's College in 1865. Originally a log cabin school house on Erb's Road in St. Agatha, the school moved to Duke Street in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1867. The building was rebuilt and renovated several times, in 1881, 1889, 1907 and 1958. The school is the oldest post-secondary institution in the community. Originally founded to serve German
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
Waterloo County Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory of ...
, the school initially offered only two courses of study: a four year academic program designed to prepare students for professional studies or for the priesthood, and a two-year commercial program teaching Catholic business.


Twentieth century

In 1937 Joseph Francis Ryan, a St. Jerome's College alumnus, was consecrated as Bishop of Hamilton, a diocese which included both Kitchener and Waterloo. Ryan pushed for the establishment of a Catholic liberal arts university within the diocese. In 1943, Ryan began a fund-raising campaign to finance the development of SJC, intending to bring it to university status. Ryan explained: "In the postwar years, St. Jerome's is planning a program of expansion which will bring her to the status which is her destiny as the Catholic College of the Diocese of Hamilton... As soon as conditions warrant after Victory, St. Jerome's, through an expansion program, will offer courses with university recognition." Local businesses sponsored full-page advertisements supporting SJC's efforts to become a university. By the end of 1948, fundraising contributions exceeded $2 million (). Ryan pledged only $250,000 of the funds, holding the rest until the initiation of the college's building project. On 20 February 1947 the SJC Board of Governors approved the purchase of property at Centreville (later Kingsdale) on the eastern boundary of Kitchener. SJC initially considered making an affiliation with Western University. For unclear reasons these plans were not followed up on.
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
became another option, although SJC President, Father Weiler, preferred the University of Ottawa. In April 1947 the Senate of the University of Ottawa agreed to affiliate with SJC. In 1948, SJC started offering a university arts program and began admitting women. By 1949 SJC announced plans to expand, anticipating construction the following year of a residence building and a building for administration and teaching. Construction began on the Kingsdale campus in September 1952 and was completed in 1953.
Ontario Premier The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typi ...
Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...
attended the opening of the college's arts building and library on 7 September 1953. The same day SJC outlined plans for future science and business faculties. Father Cornelius Siegfried was appointed rector of SJC the same year. In 1953,
Gerald Hagey Joseph Gerald Hagey (September 28, 1904 – October 26, 1988) was a Canadian businessman, academic, and a founder and first president of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. Biography Hagey was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario ...
, a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
, complained that "
t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
unfortunate for me, that when I became President of
Waterloo College Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
, St. Jerome's was so far ahead of the Lutherans with its building program", and later recalled, "some of the Protestant people ere complaining thatit was a shame Waterloo ollegehad let St. Jerome's get ahead of them." Due to its denominational status as a Catholic institution, SJC was ineligible for provincial funding. To get around this, a new organization called the Waterloo College Associate Faculties was founded in 1955. The board consisted of prominent businessmen from Kitchener and Waterloo, including
Ira Needles Ira George Needles (1893–January 6, 1986) was the second chancellor of the University of Waterloo, holding the position from 1966 to 1975. Personal life Needles was born in Mount Vernon, Iowa, in 1893. He received his undergraduate degree at ...
, industrialist Henry C. Krug and ''
Kitchener-Waterloo Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...
'' editor John E. Motz. In 1956, the Canada Synod of the Lutheran Church agreed to an affiliation agreement of the Associate Faculties with Waterloo College. Siegfried agreed to the same proposal the next day. On the advice of his minister for education, W. J. Dunlop, Premier Frost granted university status to SJC in March 1959. That same month
Waterloo North Waterloo North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which entitled each of north and s ...
MPP John Wintermeyer introduced a private member's bill in Ontario's Legislative Assembly establishing the University of SJC, the University of Waterloo and
Waterloo Lutheran University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
. After four years of negotiations SJC and Waterloo College federated with the University of Waterloo on 1 July 1960. In January 1959, the SJC board of governors voted to purchase 55 acres of land north of Waterloo College's campus, bordered by Columbia Street. The purchase was suspended in June when the University of Waterloo provided SJC with land on their 200-acre campus. A new SJC building was built on the Waterloo campus in 1960. The original Duke Street location became known as SJC High School while the University of Waterloo affiliate became the University of St. Jerome's College. SJC High School closed in 1990. In 1993, the men's residence building was named after Father John Finn, the dean and registrar in 1960. In 1998 St. Jerome's College changed its name to St. Jerome's University.


Twenty-first century

In April 2015 construction began on a $47 million campus project, adding a seven-storey student residence and a two-storey academic building.


Programs

St. Jerome's University offers undergraduate courses in the faculties of Arts, in 12 scholastic disciplines, and in 4 interdisciplinary areas (Italian Studies, Legal Studies, Medieval Studies, and Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies). St. Jerome's has a "Master of Catholic Thought" program aimed primarily at Catholic social leaders. In 2008, the St. Jerome's Centre for Responsible Citizenship was launched to support community-based learning, international service learning, community development research, and public education. Beyond Borders is the name of the international service learning program at SJU.


Scholarships and bursaries

The Government of Canada sponsors an Aboriginal Bursaries Search Tool that lists over 680 scholarships, bursaries, and other incentives offered by governments, universities, and industry to support Aboriginal post-secondary participation. St. Jerome's University scholarships for
Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
, First Nations and
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
students include: Sundance Aboriginal Student Award Aboriginal Bursaries Search Tool
/ref>


Notable alumni

File:Rittinger,JohnA-fromHallofFame.jpg, John Adam Rittinger, editor of and the ''
Berliner Journal The ''Berliner Journal'' (later the ''Ontario Journal'') was a German-language weekly newspaper published in Berlin, Canada (later Kitchener) from 1859 to 1918. Founded by German immigrants and John Motz, they operated the paper through mos ...
'' File:Dr. G. H. Bowlby.png, George Bowlby, physician, surgeon, politician and military officer File:James Edward Murray.jpg,
James E. Murray James Edward Murray (May 3, 1876March 23, 1961) was an American politician and United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961. Background Born on a f ...
,
United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
File:DavidMorrellByPhilKonstantin.jpg, David Morrell, Canadian-American
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
File:Thomas Christopher Collins 2014.jpg,
Thomas Christopher Collins Thomas Christopher Collins (born January 16, 1947) is a Canadian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He has been the Archbishop of Toronto since 2007. He was previously Bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta from 1997 to 1999 and Archbishop of Edmont ...
,
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
of the Catholic Church,
Archbishop of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, ...


References


Sources

* * *


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada profile
{{Authority control Catholic universities and colleges in Canada 1865 establishments in Canada University of Waterloo buildings