Glendon College
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| Glendon College | |
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| Motto: | Alteri Sæculo (For future generations/pour les générations futures) |
| Established: | 1959 {Campus in 1961} |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | $270 million (CAD) [1] |
| Chancellor: | Peter Cory |
| President: | Mamdouh Shoukri |
| Dean: | Kenneth McRoberts (Principal) |
| Staff: | 225 |
| Undergraduates: | 2,309 |
| Postgraduates: | TBD |
| Location: | Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Campus: | Suburban, 34.4 ha (85 acres) |
| Affiliations: | AUFC |
| Website: | www.glendon.yorku.ca |
Glendon College (French: Collège universitaire Glendon) is one of the two campuses of York University, Canada's third-largest university, in Toronto, Ontario. A bilingual liberal arts college with 84 full-time faculty members and a student population of about 2400, Glendon is located in midtown Toronto's prestigious Lawrence Park neighbourhood. The university's larger Keele campus is located on the outskirts of Toronto. Formally, Glendon is one of York's 11 (soon to be 10)[1] faculties.
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[edit] Bilingualism
Glendon's undergraduate curriculum emphasizes languages and public affairs. Language skill assessments are given to new students to determine the level needed to take to fulfill Glendon's second-language requirement. Students who attain higher levels can either take advanced-level language instruction in their second language, or a course taught solely in their second language.
This bilingual approach to university education is said to be unique in Canada, because all students within York's Glendon College receive education in both English and French. Canada's other bilingual postsecondary institutions, including portions of Concordia University, Laurentian University, University of Alberta (Faculté St-Jean), and the University of Ottawa, often educate students in one language or the other. Although each of the latter offers students the possibility of a fully bilingual education, Glendon is among the only universities or intra-university institutions where all students are obliged to take at least one class in their second language regardless of their initial ability in the language. Other institutions which similarly require some level of bilingualism, such as the McGill University Faculty of Law or the School of Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University, do not offer as wide a range of programmes as does Glendon.
[edit] Degrees
Glendon is home to a well-respected program in translation, a natural outgrowth of its bilingual mandate. Glendon also offers separate programmes in linguistics, English, French, international studies, mathematics, philosophy, Spanish, drama studies, sociology, psychology and political science. Some courses are offered only in English, some only in French; some classes are bilingual, where students and professors can express themselves in either language. Students who opt to take a course in French have the choice of writing papers and exams in English, although if a student is taking the course to fulfill the French requirement, all work must be done in French. Glendon College offers several internships and exchange programmes to places worldwide such as Australia, South Korea, and Germany. It also offers exchanges with various universities in France, including Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris; however only upon meeting the university's language requirement.
Glendon has Master of Arts programmes in translation and French studies, as well as a concurrent Bachelor of Education, which prepares students jointly in enrolled in a BA programme to teach in French immersion elementary schools.
Since 2006, the Glendon campus has also housed the Glendon School of Public Affairs. It first described this program as Canada's first bilingual school of public affairs, "offering graduate students a high-level bilingual education that will prepare them for leadership roles in public life",[2] notwithstanding a similar effort at Concordia University,[3] and later referred to it as "Canada's first bilingual graduate school of public affairs".[4] It is unique in two ways. First, bilingual graduate public affairs programmes at other universities, such as Concordia University's MPPPA[5] and University of Regina's bilingual MA in Public Policy[6], are not housed in "school" structures. Second, competing graduate public policy and administration degrees within York University itself, including Schulich's MPA[7] and an offering from the new Atkinson School of Public Policy and Administration [8] — a completely separate unit — neither offer nor require French-language ability.
[edit] Student life
Glendon has a newspaper (Pro Tem), a campus radio station (CKRG-FM), and a student theatre company, Theatre Glendon/Théâtre Glendon, in addition to similar media from York University, of which Glendon is formally a part. Other facilities exist for students, such as a student lounge, a cafeteria, campus gym memberships, workshops, IT services, and a liaison office for prospective students. The Glendon College Student Union/l'Association Étudiante du Collège Glendon (GCSU/AÉCG) is the official student union of Glendon College. Its membership includes all students enrolled in courses at Glendon and elects a council to represent them. Glendon College is also where the first issue of the Toronto Special newspaper was published, according to the National Post.
[edit] Campus
Glendon is located on the former estate of Edward Rogers Wood, a prominent Toronto financier of the early 1900s. The estate was the original York University campus and remained a liberal arts college when York's Keele campus was inaugurated in 1966. Glendon's first Principal was Canadian diplomat Escott Reid. The campus itself is also home to several ghosts recognised by the Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society, who haunt the manor and grounds, and have been reported in various sightings over the past — many remnants of the area's rich history. [9] The campus has also played host to the production of CTV program Degrassi: The Next Generation, serving as a backdrop in several episodes as fictional "Banting University". Often, Glendon students are incorporated into shooting as the campus is sealed off for weekends at a time, the latest featured in Episodes 614 and 615 of the series, "Free Fallin', Part 1", "Free Fallin', Part 2". American Psycho 2: All American Girl (2002) and the upcoming The Time Traveler's Wife (2008) were also extensively filmed in and around Glendon.
[edit] Buildings and Abbreviations
- York Hall (YH); the main building, shaped like an 'h', divided into four sections (the main wing, and the "A", "B", and "C" wings.) York Hall also has two lecture halls, and houses smaller classrooms, professors' offices, the bookstore, the student union office, the cafeteria, and the lounge (called "Salon Garigue"). Currently under redevelopment is an all-purpose common space located in the presently existing breezeway, which is expected to include (as well as classrooms), "an open-air café, tables, comfortable seating areas, public meeting rooms and the new visitors’ centre" [10].
- Glendon Hall (GH); originally the mansion where the Edward R Wood family lived (his brother Frank Porter Wood lived next door, where the Crescent School is now located). Today it has two classrooms, an all-purpose room now known as The Bank of Montreal (BM) Conference Centre, the Glendon Pub, the Career and Counselling Centre, the Liaison Office, and Glendon's administrative faculty's offices, including that of the principal. It is known informally as "The Manor."
- Leslie Frost Library (FL); a library (with a collection of 270,000 items) is open to all York students. It opened in 1966 and is named after Leslie Frost, former Premier of Ontario and graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. The library features a computer lab, study rooms, and quiet reading spaces available for student use. Adjacent to the library is the Bruce Bryden Rose Garden.
- Proctor Field House (PFH); the campus athletics building. Proctor Field House offers full gym facilities to students and the public, including a weight room, a cardio room, a pool, an instructional studio, and a gymnasium. Proctor also holds group exercise programs such as Spinning classes, yoga, and dance lessons. Gym members can also eat at the Glendon Bistro.
- Wood Residence (WR); a 189-room residence building at Glendon. During the school year, it houses students in typical dormitory-style rooms. Wood is the smaller of the two residences — there are only 22-30 students per "house" (section of the building). Students are divided into five houses A through E; each house spans three floors with a single shared common room on the ground floor. Occasionally events may be held in common rooms around the building.
- Hilliard Residence (HR); a more recently added 215-room residence building at Glendon, named after famed obstetrician Marion Hilliard [11]. It also houses students in dormitory-style rooms, divided between 6 houses (A, B, C, E, F, and G, respectively) - each, except for D wing (which is used for office and classroom space), are under charge of a resident "don". Differing from the Wood Residence, each of Hilliard's houses do not exceed a single floor in reach, and also each have a shared common room - 2 per floor. Hilliard also contains the offices of a few professors, a common room used for classes and tutorials, and the offices of Pro Tem in Hilliard's non-residential houses, D and H. Hilliard is the bigger of the two residences — a house can hold as many as 40 students. The basement of Hilliard Residence contains a common gaming facility with ping pong and pool tables, available for all members of the particular residence.
- Greenhouse (GR); The Greenhouse was the Woods' old greenhouse, primarily under the care of Mrs. Wood, Agnes Euphemia Smart. It is now used for the Student Security and Parking offices. Generally, students visit the Greenhouse to pick up monthly parking passes or TTC metropasses, as well as resolve security and campus fine issues.
[edit] Noted alumni
- David Collenette, Former Minister of National Defence, Former Federal Minister of Transport
- Greg Sorbara, Former Ontario Minister of Finance
- Kim S. Carter, Ombudsman of British Columbia
- Chantal Hébert, Journalist
See a list of alumni publications at http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/english/alumni/inprint.html
[edit] Notable Professors
- Irving Abella, author and historian
- Dyane Adam, Commissioner of Official Languages in Canada
- Jean-Gabriel Castel, lawyer, author
- Christopher Dewdney, author
- Christine Dumitriu van Saanen, author
- The late Michael Gregory, prominent in the Systemic Functional school of Linguistics
- Michiel Horn, official historian of York University
- Kenneth McRoberts, political scientist and Principal (dean) of Glendon
- Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient (Inspiration for film)
- Ellen Meiksins Wood, political scientist
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Glendon Official School website
- History of Glendon Manor & The Wood Family
- Glendon Opens First Bilingual School of Public Affairs in Canada
- Glendon College Student Union/Association d'Étudiants du Collège Glendon
- Friends of Glendon
- Kroll Report
- Pro Tem, Glendon College
- Glendon's Ghosts
- Students for Good Governance/Unis pour une saine gestion
