'Bishop's University' is an
English-language liberal arts university located in the borough of
Lennoxville Sherbrooke,
Quebec,
Canada. Primarily undergraduate, it also offers graduate courses and
M.A. and
M.Ed. degrees in education and
M.Sc in Computer Science and Physics.
Bishop's is one of the smaller universities in Canada. There were 1764 full time undergraduate students enrolled in the university in Spring 2006. The school was originally founded in 1843 under the
Church of England, and remained under their direction until 1947 when the university became a non-denominational institution. One of Canada's few primarily undergraduate universities, Bishop's carries a strong academic history which includes fifteen Rhodes Scholars.
In addition to its arts and sciences programs, Bishop's also has a business school known as
The Williams School of Business, which is its second largest faculty at the school, next to Humanities. In addition to business, Bishop's also offers educational degrees under its own School of Education.
The Bishop's campus
The Bishop's campus is located on 500 acres of land at the junction of the St. Francis and Massawippi rivers. It is located in the
Eastern Townships section of Quebec. The campus enjoys some of the most impressive architecture in Canada, with a significant influence from the Gothic Revival period, and is home to some of Quebec's most historic buildings, including St. Mark's chapel. The construction on campus began with "Old Arts" in 1846 and continues today with the University's most recent building, Paterson Hall, in 2003.
Areas of study
Bishop's offers several programs from five different divisions:
★ William's School of
Business and
Economics
★ Division of
Humanities
★ Division of
Natural Sciences and
Mathematics
★ Division of
Social Sciences
★ Division of
Education
All of these divisions focus on providing a well-rounded education for all students. They enjoy an average class size (as of Fall 2004) of 36 people for first-year courses and 12 people for upper-year courses. 32% of the courses offered at Bishop's have 10 or fewer people in them, providing students with a feeling that they can have their voice heard among their classmates.
Principals of Bishop's University
★ Rev.
Jasper H. Nicolls, 1845
★ Rev. J.A. Lobley, 1878
★ Rev. Thomas Adams, 1885
★ Rev. J.P. Whitney, 1900
★ Rev. T.B. Waitt, 1905
★ Rev. H. de B. Gibbins, 1906
★ Rev. R.A. Parrock, 1907
★ Rev. Canon H.H. Bedford-Jones, 1920
★ Rev. Arthur Huffman McGreer, 1922
★ A.R. Jewitt, 1948
★ C.L.O. Glass, 1959
★ A.W. Preston, 1969
★ D.M. Healy, 1970
★ C.I.H. Nicholl, 1976
★ H.M. Scott, 1986
★ Janyne M. Hodder, 1995
★ Robert Poupart, 2004
Sports
Bishop's
Canadian Interuniversity Sport teams are known as the Bishop's Gaiters. Although their logo and mascot suggest the term "gaiter" stems from the word
alligator, the term "
gaiter" actually refers to an article of clothing worn by Anglican bishops up until the beginning of the 20th century.
The Bishop's Gaiters have a long history with the University.
Rugby football began in 1888 and
Canadian football was a budding varsity sport by the 1930s. From 1961 until 1987 the Bishop's University sidelines were patrolled by the legendary Bruce Coulter, who went into retirement with the CIAU record for wins, having recorded 137 (137–80–3). In 1991 the football stadium was renamed in his honour. Each year the Bishop's football team competes for two trophies. The Bigg Bowl, which is awarded to the winner between Bishop's University and
St. Francis Xavier University, and the Mayor's cup, which is awarded annually to the winner of Bishop's University and the
Université de Sherbrooke.
The hard-court has also brought Bishop's great success. The Lady Gaiters won back-to-back National Basketball championships in 1983–84 and in 1998; the men's team captured the CIS National Championship becoming the smallest school in history to do so. Today Bishop's competes in a number of varsity and club sports.
Noted former students and alumni
★
Maude Abbott — one of Canada's earliest female medical graduates, founder of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada
★
Nick Arakgi —
CFL football star and
CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award winner.
★
John Bassett — publisher of the Montreal ''
Gazette'', owner of the
Toronto Argonauts, 1961–1971
★
Leroy Blugh — CFL football star, CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award winner, current Head Coach of the Gaiters
★
Reginald Fessenden — radio pioneer
★
Robert Ghiz —
Premier of
Prince Edward Island
★
Robert Gordon — Former President of
Humber College, President of Canada Basketball, President of
Bishop's University
★
Scott Griffin — Chancellor of Bishop's University, Canadian businessman and philanthropist
★
Ralph Gustafson — poet
★
Alix Kroeger —
BBC journalist
★
Don Murray —
CBC journalist
★ Ross Paul — President of the
University of Windsor, 1998–
★
Cameron Phillips — CBC radio host
★
Michael Ondaatje — poet, writer
★
Gordon O. Rothney — founder of the Department of History,
Memorial University of Newfoundland
★
Francis Reginald Scott — poet, constitutional expert
★ Frederick George Scott — Senior Chaplain of the
1st Canadian Division, poet
★
Larry Smith — President of the
Montreal Alouettes
★
Colin J. Starnes — President of the
University of King's College, Halifax, N.S.
★
Norman Webster — former Editor-in-Chief of ''
The Globe and Mail'', Chancellor of
University of Prince Edward Island
References
★ Donald C. Masters, ''Bishop's University: The First Hundred Years'' (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1950)
★ Elizabeth H. Milner, ''Bishop's Medical Faculty, 1871–1905'' (Sherbrooke: Rene Prince, 1985)
★ Christopher Nicholl, ''Bishop's University, 1843–1970'' (Montreal: McGill-Queen's, 1994)
See also
★
Bishop's University Students' Representative Council
★
The Campus (Lennoxville)
External links
★
Bishop's University
★
Bishop's Gaiters
★
Foreman Art Gallery