125 years of McMaster

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[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/125greydn.jpg” caption=”This year will mark McMaster’s 125th anniversary. A number of university areas and departments are also celebrating anniversaries, which will be recognized throughout the year. Image by JD Howell. “]McMaster is celebrating its 125th year as a world-class institution of higher learning in
2012.

The year-long anniversary celebration will highlight McMaster's rich history and the
many contributions of its students, alumni and faculty and staff to the community.

“This 125th anniversary is an important milestone for the McMaster community,” said
Patrick Deane, the University's President. “We invite all of our faculty, students, staff,
alumni and friends to take part and help us to celebrate this very joyous occasion.”

The quasquicentennial celebrations will include Founder's Day activities on April 23.
That was the day in 1887 on which the bill uniting Woodstock College and Toronto
Baptist College into the new McMaster University received royal assent.

The day's celebration will recognize McMaster's namesake and founder, businessman,
politician and banker Senator William McMaster. It was at the urging of his wife, Susan
Moulton McMaster, that the Senator endorsed the campaign for an independent Baptist
institution offering both theology and liberal arts.

On April 7, 1887, McMaster made out a will leaving an endowment of $900,000 for the
university. He died only months later.

“I think he'd be proud of the institution his university has become,” said Karen
McQuigge, director of McMaster's alumni advancement area. “There's a lot to celebrate
here and that's exactly what we hope to do this year.”

The university chose official colours (maroon and grey) in 1912 and moved to Hamilton
in 1930. It currently has a student population of more than 24,000, approximately
21,000 of which are undergraduate students. It is consistently ranked one of the top
universities in the world.

A number of areas on campus will also mark their own anniversaries this year. The
DeGroote School of Business and the MBA program will both turn 50, the
biomedical science and biochemistry programs will turn 45 and the engineering and
society program will turn 20.

A special 125th anniversary committee chaired by McQuigge, with representation from
students, faculty and staff, has been meeting since last year to coordinate and plan
anniversary celebrations.

For more information on McMaster's 125th anniversary events, check
alumni.mcmaster.ca and the Daily News.