Sir Wilfrid Laurier University
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Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, with campuses in
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...
,
Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses of the original Waterloo campus; instead the university describes itself as a "multi-campus multi-community university". The university also operates offices in Kitchener,
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, and
Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...
. It is named in honour of Sir
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...
, the seventh
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
. The university offers
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
and graduate programs in a variety of fields, with over 17,000 full-time undergraduate students, over 1000 full-time graduate students, and nearly 4,000 part-time students as of fall 2019. Laurier's
varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...
s, known as the
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to 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 Universit ...
, compete in the West Conference of the
Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) 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, ...
, affiliated to the
U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...
.


History

In 1910, the Lutheran Synod established a seminary, which opened to students in 1911, under the name Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary of Eastern Canada. In 1914, the seminary expanded its offerings to include non-theological courses and adopted the name "the Waterloo College School." In 1924, the institution evolved into the
Waterloo College of Arts Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia *Waterloo, New South Wales ...
. It became affiliated with the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
("Western") in 1925 and introduced honors degree programs in the arts. In 1960, the Lutheran Church transitioned its sponsorship of Waterloo College, resulting in a revised charter that led to the renaming of the seminary to Waterloo Lutheran University. This name was subsequently changed to Wilfrid Laurier University on November 1, 1973, following the enactment of the relevant provincial law by Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Ross Macdonald, who later served as Laurier's chancellor. The name honored
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...
; while the former
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
had no local connections, the university retained its WLU nickname. The seminary and theological programs of Waterloo Lutheran University continued to be offered by the affiliated Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now
Martin Luther University College Martin Luther University College, formerly Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada federated with Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario. History In 1911, the Evangelical Luthe ...
). The change of name was officially approved by the Waterloo Lutheran board of governors during a meeting held on June 12, 1973. Laurier's school colors are purple and gold.


Expansion

In 1999, Laurier expanded its footprint by establishing a second campus in
Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
. Additionally, in 2006, the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work relocated from the Waterloo campus to a campus situated in downtown Kitchener. The Brantford campus is centered around a cluster of historic properties in the downtown area, which have been thoughtfully restored for university purposes. These include a former Carnegie library, Brantford's 1880 post office, and a 1950 Odeon Theatre. On April 18, 2018, Wilfrid Laurier University received approval for a new campus location in Milton. In collaboration with
Conestoga College Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. History In 1967, the college was founded as Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology by the government of Ontar ...
, this new campus is slated to be constructed within the Milton Education Village. The Milton campus, as outlined on WLU's official webpage, was aligned with a program offering focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). However, due to budget constraints imposed by the conservative government, the plan for this STEAM-focused academic venture, along with expansion on other separate campuses for Canadian universities, was subsequently canceled.


2017–18 freedom of speech controversy

In November 2017, the university became the subject of a
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
and
academic freedom Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism. Academic ...
controversy for censuring a
teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...
, Lindsay Shepherd, who used a three-minute recording of a debate involving
Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator. He received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. Often described as Conservatism, conservativ ...
about the compelled use of
gender-neutral pronoun A third-person pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener. Some languages, such as Slavic, with gender-specific pronouns have them as part of a grammatical gender system, a system of agreement where most o ...
s in a communications class. The case was criticized by several newspaper editorial boards and national newspaper columnists as an example of the suppression of free speech on university campuses. After the release of the audio recording of the meeting in which the TA was censured, WLU President Deborah MacLatchy and the TA's supervising professor Nathan Rambukkana published letters of formal apology. An independent investigation found the teaching assistant had not violated university policies. It also found that the subsequent meeting held by several professors berating her for using the recording was conducted with "significant overreach." Peterson and Shepherd are each suing the university as well as the professors who were involved. Two of the professors have filed a third-party claim against Shepherd.


Academics

The university has an enrolment of about 17,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students, and over 1,500 full-time and part-time graduate students. It has over 500 faculty and staff members. Laurier has been transitioning from a primarily undergraduate university to a mid-size research university. In the 2022 ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
'' magazine survey of Canadian universities, Laurier was ranked seventh out of 15 Canadian universities in the magazine's comprehensive university category. The registrar's report for winter 2016 indicates that the six most popular majors at Laurier, across the entire university, were (in order): business, communications studies, psychology, criminology, economics, and biology. A September 2017 report indicated that students could choose to concentrate in composition, comprehensive, music education, music history, theory and critical analysis, performance, or community music; second-year Bachelor of Music students could take music therapy as an option. In addition, Laurier is home to the
Penderecki String Quartet The Penderecki String Quartet is a string quartet, founded in 1986, now based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. History The original members of the string quartet started in Poland as the New Szymanowski Quartet. In 1986 they won the Krzysztof Pende ...
- 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 a contralto and former chancellor of Laurier). Laurier's strength in "music and business education" has been identified as one of the reasons that the Waterloo region is a "powerful educational hub" by former University of Waterloo president, and former governor-general of Canada,
David Johnston David Johnston or Dave Johnston may refer to: Politics *David Johnston (governor general) David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served as the 28th governor general of Canada from 2010 to ...
. Laurier was named Canada's Best Music Campus by
CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
in 2013. According to Maclean's, "Standout Programs" at Laurier in 2017–2018 included business administration, game design and development, and law and arts (BA from Laurier and a law degree from the
University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
in the U.K. in six years). Laurier was the headquarters of the
Academic Council of the United Nations System The Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) is a professional association of scholars, practitioners, institutions, and individuals active in the work and study of the UN. ACUNS stimulates and supports dialogue and research about is ...
, the goal of which is to strengthen the study of international organizations and to create strong ties between the academic community and diplomats within international organizations. The
Balsillie School of International Affairs The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is a centre for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, located in Waterloo, Ontario. As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, ...
, opened in uptown Waterloo in 2008, is a partnership between Laurier, the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
, and the
Centre for International Governance Innovation The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI, pronounced "see-jee") is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral g ...
. The Balsillie School offers three programs: a masters in arts in global governance, a masters in international public policy and a PhD program in global governance.


Cooperative education

Laurier has the oldest business cooperative education ("co-op") program in English-speaking Canada and the largest business co-op program in Canada. Students are able to enjoy co-op opportunities with dozens of companies, including KPMG, Ernst and Young, PepsiCo, Scotiabank, Unilever, and Manulife Financial.


Laurier Library

As of the 2014–2015 annual report, the Laurier Library holds 1 million print volumes, 312,000 electronic books, 68,000 electronic journals, and 280 databases, thousands of media titles (about 5,000 including streaming and DVDs). In addition, the library is a member of the tri-university "group of libraries" (
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
,
University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...
, Wilfrid Laurier University), through which access to a combined information collection in excess of seven million print items is available. There are three physical locations for the library: the Waterloo campus' primary library (on the west end of the campus, housing the majority of the collection and the majority of the librarians and staff), the Brantford campus' digital library and learning commons space (in Grand River Hall, which includes offices for the librarians on that campus) and the collection space in the Brantford Public Library (on the first and second floors), and the Social Work Library in Kitchener. The library, in conjunction with
Wilfrid 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 hum ...
, hosts "Scholars Commons @ Laurier," an institutional repository that aims to support open scholarly communication, collaboration, and lasting visibility and recognition for Laurier scholarship. It houses faculty scholarship, theses, dissertations, online journals, and an archival collection of ''
The Cord ''The Cord'' is a student newspaper at Wilfrid Laurier University. Founded in 1926, it features stories about current events on campus and the community as well as student life, sports, arts and opinion. The paper's website compiles all the conten ...
'' dating back to 1926.


Lazaridis School of Business & Economics

The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics is the
business school A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...
of Wilfrid Laurier, and is located 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, but it is n ...
. With more than 160 full-time and 60 part-time faculty, the school is the largest faculty at Wilfrid. As of 2018, the School had over 30,000 alumni. In 2010, it was named an "outstanding business school" by
The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
, which acknowledged that "We are pleased to recommend Laurier as one of the best institutions students could attend to earn an MBA". The school is accredited by the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to busines ...
(AACSB International) for all of its undergraduate, master's, and PhD programs.


History

Originally the "School of Business & Economics," it was renamed in September 2015 after
Mike Lazaridis Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Greek Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and co-founder of Research In Motion, which created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. In November 2 ...
, co-founder of
Research In Motion BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), is a Canadian software company specializing in secure communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1984, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartpho ...
, and former Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. The re-branding followed a 2015 announcement of his pledge of $20-million for a new technology-focused management institute at the business school. In 2016, the School moved to a new building facility, the Lazaridis Hall building, at 200 University Avenue West in Waterloo.


Collaboration

A program in association with the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
confers
double degree Joint degrees are academic qualifications awarded through integrated curricula often jointly coordinated and delivered by multiple higher education institutions, sometimes across different countries. Graduates may receive a single qualification ...
s. The Lazaridis School offers a part-time
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
program in downtown
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at the St. Andrew's Club and Conference Centre.


Locations

The Waterloo campus offers full-time and part-time
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
,
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
,
Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
,
Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and Honours
Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...
; the
Brantford, Ontario Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County but is politically separate wi ...
campus offers a Bachelor of Business Technology Management program (as part of the Lazaridis School). Diploma programs in Accounting and Business Administration are also offered by the Lazaridis School.


Campuses


Waterloo campus

Laurier's 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, and Health. Altogether, approximately 15,000 students attend classes at the Waterloo campus.


Residences

Laurier Waterloo operates one all female residence (Leupold Residence), one all male residence (Euler Residence), and multiple co-ed student residences: Bouckaert Hall, Bricker Residence, Clara Conrad Hall, Hickory St. Apartments, King's Court Residence, King Street Residence, CH Little House, Macdonald House, Marshall Street Apartments, Regina Residence, Regina Towers, Spruce Street Apartments, University Place Residence, Waterloo College Hall, Willison Hall. Together, these residences house approximately 2,780 men and women, with 2,664 beds reserved for undergraduate first-year students. When applying to residences, students can choose to be a part of a Residence Learning Community, a themed residence environment. Residence Life currently operates the following communities: Global: Thinking Global, Acting Local, Innovation: Entrepreneurship, Languages and Literatures, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science, Singer and Songwriter, The Reel World: English and Film Studies, and Vimy Hall: War, Memory and the Canadian Military Experience.


Brantford campus

Laurier's Brantford Campus is located in
Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
, Ontario, approximately 50 km south of the campus in Waterloo. The campus opened its doors in 1999 with a total of 39 students in its inaugural year. As of January 2015, there were 2,625 full-time students, and an unstated number of part-time students, enrolled at the school. In late 2017, Laurier estimated a total of over 3,000 students. According to
Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
, Laurier's "Standout Programs" in 2017-2018 included Game Design and Development at the Brantford campus. "The program develops skills not only in game design, project management and entrepreneurship, but also considers how transformative games are used in areas such as education, corporate training, health care and more."


Kitchener campus

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 with which they are partnered.


Planned Milton campus

The town of
Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population 132,979) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing m ...
and Laurier have worked together since 2008 to develop a 150-acre campus in Milton within the planned Milton Education Village (MEV) on land donated by the town. In April 2018, the provincial party then in power announced a funding plan ($90 million) for the MEV that would accommodate a satellite campus of the university and also of
Conestoga College Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. History In 1967, the college was founded as Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology by the government of Ontar ...
, a recent partner in the project. Construction was expected to conclude in Q3 of 2021; in the meantime, Laurier would offer credit courses in rented premises, commencing in September 2019. In October 2018, the new Conservative government, elected in June 2018, withdrew the funding before any construction had begun, citing a greater than expected provincial deficit, effectively canceling plans for the Milton campus. Mayor Gordon Krantz said the town would explore alternatives for funding the Milton Education Village campus. A Laurier news release said that the university would continue working with the town and other partners to find an alternate solution to fund the campus. As of 2019, Laurier was offering some services in Milton, including a Master of Education program at the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre and a Lecture Series. In summer, Laurier was operating the Enriched Academic Program (LEAP) day camp.


Campus safety

A 2015 survey found that 40% of Wilfrid Laurier students had experienced gendered violence, and 13.4% of Wilfrid Laurier students had experienced sexual assault. Also in 2015, Wilfrid Laurier University was criticized for allowing a male student accused of raping a female student in her dorm room to continue to attend classes alongside his accuser.


Athletics

The university is represented in
Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...
(CIS) by the
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to 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 Universit ...
. The history of the team name (Golden Hawks) dates back to 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 The Yates Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassi ...
against the
McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation d ...
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 The Uteck Bowl is one of the two semifinal bowls of U Sports football, Canada's national competition for university teams that play Canadian football. It is held in the easternmost of the two semifinal venues. The Uteck Bowl champion moves on to ...
against
Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...
. The Hawks then defeated the
University of Saskatchewan Huskies The Saskatchewan Huskies are the athletics teams representing the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The university began their athletics program in 1907 and has competed with others since 1911. They currently compete in eli ...
24–23 to win the 2005
Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...
, 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 won their fifth OUA
Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) 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, ...
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. 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
fieldturf FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett. FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility i ...
field. The Athletic Complex houses three Gyms, two squash courts, an
Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...
, a rock-climbing Wall, and Aerobics/Weight Rooms. University Stadium includes a
fieldturf FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett. FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility i ...
football field and a large indoor gymnasium.


School song

Laurier's school song is ''Laurier We'll Praise Thee Ever'' (originally titled ''Waterloo We'll Praise Thee Ever''). It was written by Maxwell A. Magee in 1938. The song was revived in 2005 by the WLU Alumni Choir and the words were adapted to reflect the change from Waterloo College to Wilfrid Laurier University.


Students' Union

The Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union (WLUSU) represents undergraduate students at both campuses of Wilfrid Laurier University. It operates the Fred Nichols Campus Centre in Waterloo as well as the Students' Centre on Laurier's Brantford Campus. Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union's Arms, Supporters, Flag and Badge were registered with the
Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; ) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for the creation and gran ...
on January 15, 2003. WLUSU is funded by undergraduate student fees, and all students are automatically members. The Students' Union provides a number of services for students, including bus passes, Direct2U Prescription, emergency response team, food bank, foot patrol, health and dental insurance coverage, the member card, peer-help line, student life line, and tech share. The Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union Clubs and Associations department supports over 130 clubs and associations involving over 3,000 students. Clubs and Associations supports all clubs by offering resources and financial support as well as acting as a liaison to the Students' Union and University administration. The Students' Union's University Affairs department is responsible for political advocacy at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government, with provincial advocacy supported by the
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is an alliance of students' unions in Ontario, Canada. Their common objective is to protect the interests of over 160,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students ...
.


Alumni

Laurier has over 100,000 graduates from 85 countries. Among the notable alumni are Carolyn A. Wilkins, the first woman appointed Senior Deputy Governor of the
Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...
, Paul Heinbecker, Canada's Ambassador to the UN (2000–2004), Bill Downe, CEO of
Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...
(2007–2017) and stock exchange founder
Brad Katsuyama Bradley Toshio Katsuyama (born 1978) is a Canadian financial services executive. He is the CEO and co-founder of the Investors Exchange (IEX). He left the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in 2012 to co-found IEX under the premise that it would be a fai ...
, the central character in
Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. ...
's '' Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt''.


Greek life

Wilfrid Laurier features much Greek life.


University people


References


External links

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Athletics website
{{Authority control Universities and colleges established in 1960 1960 establishments in Ontario Lutheran universities and colleges