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100 Years of Alberta College
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On October 3, 2003, Alberta College will celebrate its 100th anniversary and honour its rich history of providing educational services to the Edmonton community.
Established in 1903, Alberta College is the province's oldest college and predates both the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta. It was founded by concerned citizens as the first post-secondary school in the area, on land bequeathed by the Reverend George McDougall for educational purposes.
The college initially developed three departments: academics, commerce and music, and commenced classes serving 67 students in its first year of operation. Alberta College continued to distinguish itself as being innovative, flexible, and responsive to community needs.
Today, on its original site, the college, a campus of Grant MacEwan College, continues this tradition, welcoming local, national and international students to learn and grow while reaching their goals.
Focused on serving learners in a college setting, the Alberta College Campus continues to offer its long-standing core programs: the English as a Second Language program and the Conservatory of Music, as well as other Grant MacEwan College programs, such as Business Outreach and the Corporate Learning Centre.
To complement these, a number of career programs provide industry-driven training that is current and relevant, leading students to employment opportunities available in our community. As well, the college continues to focus on serving international students interested in accessing a North American educational experience.
The transition of Alberta College allowed the college to move from private status to public status, and integrated it with other public education organizations, namely Grant MacEwan College and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
As a city landmark, the college looks forward to a new era that will complement its history and continue to play a significant role in the greater Edmonton community.
History of Alberta College
Compiled from the Alberta College Archives
The College Crest
Featured prominently on the crest of Alberta College are a beaver and a border of maple leaves - the two emblems of Canada signifying our patriotic relationship. At Alberta College, instruction is in support of the betterment of citizenship and all that is highest and best in our national life. The beaver with its patience and industrial nature symbolizes a practical lesson for every student.
The centre of the crest depicts a lamp, a tree, and a sheaf of wheat. The student's lamp shines in the darkness, just as the light of education removes the curse of ignorance. The tree represents life, growth, stability, strength and progress in the development of all of one's powers. The sheaf represents the well-ripened harvest, which is the natural result of a life characterized by service and devotion to the highest of individual and national ideals.
The secret of such a life is to be found in the words beneath these symbols. These words read "Mores Sunt Maximi". The word "Mores" is the plural of the Latin noun "Mos". In the singular, it means conduct or behaviour. In the plural form, it means manners, morals, character. "Maximum" is the superlative of the Latin word meaning "great". The interpretation then is "Character of the Highest". The earliest meaning of the word "character" meant an engraving tool for marking up stone or metal. Likewise one's character becomes the sharpest engraving tool forming that which is highest and best in a student's life. Beneath the scroll of the crest we find the motto "Humanitas Floreat et Virtus". "Humanitas" means mental culture, liberal education, distinction of manners, and refinement. "Virtus" represents manliness, manhood, and all that is excellent in the moral and physical constitution of the human being. "Floreat" means to bloom or blossom, flower and flourish. Taking all these words together we have the motto: "Let the mental power, culture and refinement of every student and all that is excellent in moral and physical development bloom and flourish".
President's Stick
Engraved on the cap of the stick:
Alberta College Students' Council President's Stick
Made From First McDougall Church Pulpit 1871 Edmonton 1927 The Students' Council would have played an important role in the life of students at Alberta College, particularly throughout the period from 1903 to the early 1970s while the college operated residences for students.
The President's Stick at Alberta College is considered representative of some practices or traditions in college settings. The stick would have ceremonial significance, not unlike a mace used in more formal legislature environments, or akin to the gavel in less formal organizational structures. Some references have been made to student council presidents in colleges as the "senior stick".
Names of Student Council Presidents are engraved on bands on the shaft of the stick from 1903 to 1963. The last engraving of a Council President name was for the 1962 to 1963 year.
1926-27 E.H. Birdsall 1944 L. Fair
1927-28 J. Hilbery 1944 C. Gordon
1928-29 R. ElleHill 1945 J. Graham
1929 H.M. Foster 1945 D. Pyrce
1930 E. Frederking 1946 D. Shearer
1930-31 O. Tomkins 1946 L. Walin
1931 Alex Mitchell 1946-47 John Reeves
1932 Fred miller 1947-48 Ruth Nelson
1932 Kenneth munro 1949-50 Fred Lundgren
1932-33 Irene Redke 1950-51 Kenneth Hill
1935-36 Beatrice Jackson 1951-52 Ray Mitchell
1935-36 George Connell 1952-53 Gordon Lee
1936 James Thompson 1953-54 June Steinhauer
1937 Percy Ross 1954-55 Albert Munz
1937 Peter Ponich 1955-56 Robert Finaly
1938 Barbara Miller 1956-57 Gordon Davidson
1938-39 W. Stainton 1957-58 Robert Ruzycki
1938-39 H. Marlev 1958-59 Kenneth Reed
1939-40 R. Anderson 1959-60 David Arons
1940-41 B. Campbell 1960-61 Brook Hilliker
1941-42 V. Ponich 1961-62 Lenny Stuart
1942-43 J. Law 1962-63 Ross Lane
1943-44 R. Muir 1871
"There will be a great city here some day," is said to have been the remark of Reverend George McDougall to his son John as they neared the brow of McDougall Hill overlooking the river valley. There was then no public building outside the Hudson Bay Fort that stood on the bench of the north bank of the Saskatchewan about three- fourths of a mile to the south east.
But George McDougall had another dream. It was that this property might be used to lead future generations in their educational growth taught in an environment of spiritual truths. Realizing the need of Christian education and the opportunity for service by the Church, he selected a site for the Wesleyan Missionary Society for the purpose of erecting a church and college.
To carry out this provision the Federal Government gave a grant of 122 acres on the north bank of the Saskatchewan River. The McDougalls decided to put up a log church on the brow of McDougall Hill. It was erected in the summer of 1871 by Reverend George McDougall and a band of his Indians, along with John Walter and some of the Hudson's Bay Company employees. This church now stands in replica at Fort Edmonton Park after having served as a museum on the college grounds until 1978.
The land on which the college and McDougall's church stood was also the original homestead of Reverend George McDougall. The walking plow that rests in the rack of the Red River Cart plowed the first furrow on his land. Reverend McDougall moved to Morleyville in 1873 where he died tragically February 10, 1876.
1903
It would be thirty years before Reverend McDougall's vision became reality. In 1903 Reverend Dr. Buchanan, pastor of McDougall Church, called the members of his board together. He suggested that the time had come to carry out the wis
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