King's University College (Edmonton)

The King's University College
Motto "Teaching Each Other in All Wisdom"
Established 1979
Type liberal arts college
Endowment CDN $1,863,967 [1]
President Dr. Harry Fernhout
Students 619
Location Edmonton, Canada
Campus Urban, 20 acres (8.09 ha)
Colors Blue, Gold, & White             
Mascot Eagle
Affiliations Christian
Website http://www.kingsu.ca/

The King's University College is a private liberal arts college, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The University was founded by members of the Christian Reformed Church who saw a need for a regional, trans-denominational, Christian college in Western Canada. In December 1970, a constitution, and statement of principles gave written expression to their vision of Christian Higher education. King's is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The enabling legislation is the Post-secondary Learning Act.[2]

Contents

History

King's was founded in 1979, by the Christian College Association (Alberta) as The King's College. On November 16, 1979, the Alberta Legislature approved The King's College Act which granted a charter to The King's College.

On November 2, 1983, an official affiliation agreement was signed with the University of Alberta, ensuring that the great majority of courses at King's would transfer automatically to the University and making various University resources, such as the library and curriculum labs, available to college students. Although the affiliation agreement has since lapsed by mutual consent, The King's University College continues to be listed in the Alberta Transfer Guide both as a sending and receiving institution. Since 1985, the University College has received an annual operating grant from the Province of Alberta.

Academics

Students can enrol in over 450 courses in 20 disciplines, with 12 major concentration areas. King's university offers three-year and four-year Bachelor degrees in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and commerce, as well as a two-year Bachelor of Education after-degree. Prominent programs include the Environmental Studies program and the Politics-History-Economics (PHE) combined major.

Currently the university has over 600 students enrolled in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Education programs. The King's University accepts academically qualified students of all faiths into its programs. Due to the University College's size, classes are relatively small, leading to the low faculty-student ratio. Students also have the opportunity to participate in faculty research projects. In recent years, research at King's has resulted in a number of student presentations at national and international academic conferences, as well as student-authored academic publications.[6]

Research

Training of undergraduates in laboratory, field, or literature research, is figured prominently at King's. Many projects are collaborative with other universities, non-government organizations, community groups, or international partnerships. The King's Centre for Visualization in Science is developing computer-based teaching tools for high school science teachers to simulate properties and processes in chemistry and physics . Research with implications for social policy include Alberta's oil sands, pluriformity in Alberta's public education system and national delivery of men's health services. Sustainability in business, communities, and resource-based livelihoods in Africa is the research focus of international partnerships with non-government organizations and other universities.[3]

International

The Honduras Water Project, recipient of Alberta's Award of Distinction for Internationalizing the Teaching and Learning Practice, annually sends service-learning teams to a remote Honduran village to both learn about poverty and development firsthand, and work alongside residents in constructing a community water system. King's MICAH Centre focused on transformational development and social justice aims to provide students with further transformative experiences that shape their educational and vocational choices. Recent MICAH internships with global NGO partners have emphasized community organization (Bangladesh), HIV/AIDs (Tanzania), and environmental sustainability (Kenya). In addition, more than 25 off-campus study programs are available in various locations including the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies (India, USA), Netherlandic Study Program, China Studies, Russia Studies, Middle East Studies, Film Studies (Los Angeles), and Uganda Studies. International students are eligible for campus employment in university research projects, the library, facility and grounds department, tamil studies, and food services, among others. The King's Global Community (KGC) is an active association of Canadian and international students who celebrate the cultural diversity on campus and hold events such as a the annual Globe Aware festival.[3]

Statistics

(as of 2010)

Rankings & Distinctions

King's received an A+ rating for overall student satisfaction on the Globe and Mail 2008, 2009, and 2010 Canadian University Reports. [6]

Athletics

The King's University College Eagles, compete in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference. Team sports include, basketball, soccer, and volleyball.

In the 2008-2009 season, the women's basketball team won their first ever bronze medal.[7]

Campus

King's buildings have floor area of 21,000 square metres (226,042 sq ft) on a site of 80,000 square metres (861,113 sq ft). Facilities include: 34 classrooms, eight science labs, three computer labs, a greenhouse, fine arts studios, a performance hall with pipe organ, 1,200 m2 (12,917 sq ft) library, 900 m2 (9,688 sq ft) gymnasium, spacious cafeteria, Students' Association center, drama space, bookstore, conference rooms, atrium assembly space, outdoor sports fields, and two student residences.[8]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Affiliations

The King's University College is a member of the following organizations.

References

External links