Glendon College
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 Lawrence Park neighbourhood. The university's Keele Campus, the main campus, is located in North York. Formally, Glendon is one of York's 10 faculties.[2] It was modelled on Swarthmore College.[3]
Bilingualism
Glendon's undergraduate curriculum emphasizes languages and public affairs. Due to this, Glendon was recently granted $20 million by the Ontario government in order to become the country's first "Centre of Excellence for French language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education," in collaboration with Collège Boréal.[4] 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 the only institution in Canada where all students are obliged to take at least one class in their second language regardless of their initial ability in the language. As a result, code-switching is relatively common among students on campus.
Degrees
Glendon has 21 undergraduate degree programs (BA), 18 international Bachelor of Arts programs (iBA - bilingual and trilingual), a concurrent and consecutive Bachelor of Education for future French teachers, eight certificate programs, and three Master's programs in French Studies, Public and International Affairs, and Translation Studies.
Student life
Glendon has a newspaper (Pro Tem) (a member of CUP), 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. The Salon Francophone, situated in the main building, is a French-speaking area, where students can ask for help on grammar, play board games or have conversations in French. The Salon Francophone is also a club, which organizes multiple activities to promote the French language.
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.[5] 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 Time Traveler's Wife (2009) were also extensively filmed in and around Glendon.
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 Rejean Garneau laboratory, the circular senate chamber, the theatre, as well as the school cafeteria and dining hall. The latest addition to York Hall is the renovated explansion within B Wing - a space enclosed with full-size glass windows housing Glendon Recruitment and Liaison, the Glendon College Student Union office, dedicated student club space, the Salon Francophone, as well as a spacious social common area with a foosball table, computers, study space and couches (to replace the former Salon Garigue lounge).
- 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 (BMO) Conference Centre, the CKRG campus radio station, the Career and Counselling Centre, Glendon's administrative faculty's offices (including that of the principal), the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs,[6] as well as the Lunik Café - set to open in September 2011. 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 housing the Glendon Athletic Club (GAC).[7] The Glendon Athletic Club 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, martial arts, and dance lessons. Glendon students enjoy a generous discount for gym membership throughout the academic year.
- Hilliard Residence (HR); a more recently added 215-room residence building at Glendon, named after famed obstetrician Marion Hilliard.[8] It also houses students in dormitory-style rooms, divided between 6 houses (A, B, C, E, F, and G, respectively). With the exception of D-house, which is used for some professor's offices and classroom space, and G-house, which has suite-style rooms for upper-year students, each house is under the charge of a resident "don", as well as Residence Life Assistants (RLAs) that oversee activities in both residence buildings. Differing from the Wood Residence, each of Hilliard's houses do not exceed a single floor in reach, with two houses per floor. Hilliard also contains the offices of Pro Tem, the Glendon Women & Trans Centre and Theatre Glendon storage space (Costume and prop rooms) 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 residence.
- 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. Recently, changes in Residence Life programming have led to the creation of a “Quiet Floor”, spanning the third floor of Houses A and B, for students who wish to enjoy an extension of the regular late-night quiet hours when all residents must avoid inappropriately loud noises. As well, the entirety of C House will become “Green” for students who wish to enjoy a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle within 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 Security, Parking and Transportation Services offices, Housing and Residence services offices, as well as the campus goSAFE student escort service.[9] Generally, students visit the Greenhouse to resolve security and campus fine issues, or for Residence related issues such as keys/keycards, tax-exempt stickers for the cafeteria or any maintenance or service required in residence.
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
- Jian Ghomeshi, CBC host, musician, writer and producer[10][11]
- Chantal Hébert, Journalist
- Ann Cavoukian, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner
- Kate Nelligan, Academy Award-nominated Film and Theatre actress
- Clayton Ruby, Toronto lawyer, partner with Ruby & Edwardh
- Gordon Henderson, Film Producer/Writer/Director, directed CBC's Canada: A People's History
- Mike Ford, member of the popular band, Moxy Früvous
- M.T. Kelly, novelist, winner of the Governor-General's Award for A Dream Like Mine
- Greg Gatenby, longtime impresario of the international authors' festival at Harbourfront
- JD Carpenter, author of several suspense novels
- Marc Connors, vocalist with the a capella group The Nylons
- Christine Silverberg, first woman appointed chief of a major metropolitan police force in Canada (Calgary)
- John Oughton, poet and literary journalist
- C.F. Caunter, British motorcycle, automotive and aviation historian
- Steven Bednarski, Medieval Studies professor and former voice actor on the television show "Sailor Moon"
Notable faculty
- Irving Abella, author and historian
- Alain Baudot, RSC, professor emeritus of humanities, founder and senior editor of GREF
- Jean-Gabriel Castel, lawyer, author
- Colin Coates, historian and Canada Research Chairholder
- Bruce Connell, linguist
- Christopher Dewdney, author
- Michael Gregory, prominent in the Systemic Functional school of Linguistics
- Alex Himelfarb, former Clerk of the Privy Council and Director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs
- Michiel Horn, RSC, official historian of York University
- Stanislav Kirschbaum, RSC, political scientist
- Kenneth McRoberts, political scientist and Principal (Dean) of Glendon
- Ellen Meiksins Wood, political scientist
- Raymond Mougeon, sociolinguist
- Michael Ondaatje, novelist and poet
- Ian Roberge, political scientist and frequent Radio-Canada analyst
- Ann Russon, psychologist prominent in primates discourse and cognition
References
- ^ "York University Foundation Report to Donors 2006 (p.35)" (PDF). http://www.yorku.ca/foundation/media/rtd_2006.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ http://www.yorku.ca/vpaweb/facultytransition/FacultyTransitionQA_Expanded_Student_version.pdf [ 8 April 2010]
- ^ "A Flowering Up North". Time magazine. 1965-04-23. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,833640-2,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ Ontario Invests In New Centre For French-Language Education At York University, News Release 27 February 2008, Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
- ^ "GHRS - East York - Reports". Torontoghosts.org. http://www.torontoghosts.org/glendon.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ Glendon School of Public and International Affairs
- ^ Glendon Athletic Club
- ^ Marion Hilliard, Profile, science.ca
- ^ goSAFE
- ^ "Glendon grad Ghomeshi travels down memory lane in Mini". YLife. York University. February 11, 2008. http://www.yorku.ca/ylife/2008/02-Feb/02-11/media.htm. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ "Alumni in print". Glendon College. http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/alumni/english/classmates/inprint.php. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
See also
External links