Wilfrid Laurier 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 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, and Yellowknife. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada. The university offers undergraduate 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 teams, known as the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, compete in the West Conference of the Ontario University Athletics, affiliated to the U Sports. 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. It became affiliated with the University of Western Ontario ("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 seminary and theological programs of Waterloo Lutheran University continued to be offered by the affiliated Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now Martin Luther University College). The change of name was officially approved by the Waterloo Lutheran board of governors during a meeting held on June 12, 1973.