Dedication of Waterloo Lutheran University Library

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

Black and white photograph of three men at the dedication of the Waterloo Lutheran University Library. They are standing in front of the Library entrance. Left to right: Unknown; University Library Erich Schultz; University President William Villaume.

Notes

-- The Wilfrid Laurier University Library, a seven storey building located on the main campus, was constructed in three phases. Initial construction began in 1964, and the three storey Library opened in 1965. Construction phases 2 and 3, completed in 1971 and 1984, added the fourth through seventh floors. A major renovation took place in 2002.

-- Wilfrid Laurier University is a public university in Waterloo, Ontario. Laurier traces its roots to 1911 with the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada, the first Lutheran seminary in Canada.

As the seminary grew, it expanded teaching into new areas. From 1914-1929 it founded and operated Waterloo College School, an all-boys high school offering pre-theological education leading to senior matriculation. In 1924, the seminary expanded its higher education offerings when it established Waterloo College of Arts, a non-theological honours degree program affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. Waterloo College and Associate Faculties, offering science and engineering programs, was launched in 1956. Three years later, Waterloo College and Associate Faculties separated from Waterloo College and became incorporated as the University of Waterloo.

Also in 1959, the seminary received a revised charter from the Province of Ontario. The charter established Waterloo Lutheran University, a degree-granting university composed of two units – Waterloo University College (formerly Waterloo College) and Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (formerly the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada). In 1960, WLU ended its long-standing affiliation with the University of Western Ontario, and began to grant its own degrees.

On November 1, 1973, Waterloo Lutheran University became a public institution and was renamed Wilfrid Laurier University. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, renamed Martin Luther University College in 2018, remains a federated college of the university.

In 1999 a second campus, Laurier Brantford, opened in Brantford, Ontario. In 2006 the Faculty of Social Work moved to a century-old building in downtown Kitchener.

Date of Original