The University of St. Michael's College (USMC) is a federated university in the University of Toronto, located on its St. George campus. It was founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil and retains its Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate theology faculty. Its largest component however is its secular Faculty of Arts and Science known as St. Michael's College, one of the seven undergraduate colleges in the University of Toronto's larger Faculty of Arts and Science.
St. Michael's is most closely associated with teaching and research in the humanities and in theology. It is also known for being home to Marshall McLuhan throughout his influential career as a philosopher and communication theorist, from 1946 until his death in 1980. Both the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies reside within the university. St. Michael's College School is an affiliated boys school which was once the high school section of the university.
History St. Michael's College was founded in 1852 as a Basilian college by Fr. Jean-Mathieu Soulerin and other members of the Congregation of St. Basil originally of Annonay, France.St. Michael's College from Ontario Heritage Trust The following year, it merged with St. Mary's Lesser Seminary under the unified control of the Basilian Fathers, whose establishment in Canada began with Bishop Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel. St. Michael's College educated pupils at three levels, operating as a preparatory school, as a liberal arts college, and as a minor seminary. The Basilians received a large estate in 1853 from John Elmsley, son of the Chief Justice of Upper Canada and a prominent philanthropist. St. Michael's College relocated to the new site east of the University of Toronto St. George, and established the college parish, St. Basil's Church. The incorporation of the college was granted Royal Assent in 1855.
In the late 19th century when universities were closed to new Irish immigrants and many Canadians of Irish descent, St. Michael's was seen as the only viable option and thus the school became a traditionally Irish filled college. Ever since this time St. Michael's has been a bastion for higher education and a beacon for the Irish-Canadian community in Toronto and southern Ontario, with others coming from all over the rest of Canada to attend the dominantly Irish school.
By withdrawing its financial support in 1868, the provincial government encouraged denominational colleges to seek closer relations with secular institutions. St. Michael's affiliated with the University of Toronto in 1883, having secured a guarantee that it would conduct its own teaching in philosophy and history. The university senate authorized St. Michael's to administer its own examinations in philosophy. On December 8, 1910, St. Michael's College became a federated college of the University of Toronto. The college maintained autonomy in faculty hiring and teaching in liberal arts subjects, while the University of Toronto governed examinations and the granting of degrees in all subjects except theology.University from The Canadian Encyclopedia, retrieved 16 January 2015 In 1912, Sir Robert Falconer, president of the University of Toronto, recognized the wish of St. Joseph's College and Loretto College to affiliate with the university. St. Joseph's and Loretto both became colleges of St. Michael's College, thereby allowing their female students to receive University of Toronto degrees.
As the 20th century began, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced. With the opening of the Institute of Mediaeval Studies in 1929, St. Michael's expanded further into graduate teaching and research. Ten years later, Pope Pius XII signed a papal charter creating the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
The preparatory school division of the college was reorganized in 1950 as St. Michael's College School, an independent private school, ending the college's direct governance while maintaining its affiliation. In 1952, the last lectures for women were held at Loretto and St. Joseph's Colleges, which became residential units of the college. Thereafter, all teaching was conducted coeducationally in the classrooms of St. Michael's College.
On July 1, 1958, the University of St. Michael’s College Act granted St. Michael's the status of federated university, and separated into two the roles of the religious chancellor and secular president of the institution.
Throughout much of its history, St. Michael's benefited from a common practice whereby staff and faculty who were members of religious orders would donate their salaries back to the college. This source of income gradually disappeared as new faculty members were hired with mainly secular backgrounds, compelling the college to seek new revenue. The college's first modern fundraising attempt was launched in 1927, but was only partly successful due to the onset of the Great Depression. The Basilian Fathers of St. Michael's College was registered as a charitable organization in 1972.Charities Database from Canada Revenue Agency, retrieved 16 January 2015 Subsequent campaigns and land sales allowed the University of St. Michael's College to gradually increase its endowment, expand its academic programs and construct new residence buildings. The Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute became affiliated with the university in 2001. In 2002, the university marked the sesquicentennial of its founding with an anniversary mass held in St. Basil's Church.
Campus and buildings
The oldest buildings of St. Michael's College were constructed on the original Clover Hill estate donated by John Elmsley, and were designed by noted Scottish architect William Hay. With subsequent land acquisitions in 1890, 1920, 1926 and 1928, the college expanded from Clover Hill westward to reach Queen's Park. The present grounds of the University of St. Michael's College form the eastern end of the University of Toronto's St. George campus, with Victoria University to the north and Regis College to the south. The main St. Michael's quadrangle is in the northwestern section of the university grounds, with its northern side leading into Victoria University.
The cornerstone was laid at Clover Hill on September 16, 1855, for the college building and the college parish of St. Basil's Church, which was consecrated November 16, 1856 with a Pontifical High Mass. This building is the oldest building at the University of Toronto in continuous academic use. A further addition, designed by William Irving, was constructed between 1872 and 1873 to house an auditorium, classrooms and student residence. In 1996, the original building was completely renovated by Carlos Ott Partnership Architects and renamed Odette Hall, and a modern religious art gallery donated by Fr. Daniel Donovan was installed on the two lower floors.
The master plan and Collegiate Gothic complex of buildings at the western side of the college nearest to Queen's Park were built in 1935 and designed by architect Arthur William Holmes in Gothic revival style: the Pontifical Institute, More House, Fisher House, Brennan Hall (1938) and Teefy Hall (1935–1936) and extension of the East Wing, (1902–1903). Brennan Hall in the north-central section of campus contains a dining hall, faculty dining room, common rooms, and guestrooms.Arthur William Holmes from Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950, retrieved 16 January 2015 The small park between Brennan Hall and St. Basil's Church is known as Scollard Park, named for St. Michael's alumnus Fr. Robert Scollard.
Fisher House and More House both began as residences for men, while classrooms and faculty offices were located in Teefy Hall to the south. The Queen's Park Building to the north was built for the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. A student-faculty centre was built in 1968 as an extension of Brennan Hall.
The Soldier's Memorial Slype connects the university quadrangle with Queen's Park, its sandstone walls etched with the names of St. Michael's College alumni who died in the World Wars and the Korean War.
Examples of early post-war architecture at the university include Carr Hall, designed by Ernest Cormier and built in 1954, housing faculty and administrative offices, classrooms and an auditorium. At the northern edge of campus, Elmsley Hall was built in 1955 as a men's residence and a new residence for the Loretto College was built in 1958. The brutalist concrete building of the John M. Kelly Library was opened in 1969, at the southern portion of the university on St. Joseph Street. The former Ontario Research Council building next to the library has been redesigned with classrooms and offices as the Muzzo Family Alumni Hall.
A private tree-lined street, named Elmsley Place, runs up the centre of the university's campus, connecting St Joseph Street to Brennan Hall. This street, laid out around the turn of the 20th century, is flanked by a group of five beautiful brick Victorian mansions that constituted Toronto's first subdivision. On the west side of Elmsley Place, heading south to north, stands McCorkell and Sullivan House (also known as Houses 2 and 96), and Gilson and Maritain House (also known as Houses 6 and 8). Both are student residences. On the east side of Elmsley Place, heading south to north, are Founders House, Phelan House, and Windle House. Founders House, at one point a student residence known as Bellisle House, is currently home to the office of the university's president, as well as other administrative offices. Phalen House serves as the rectory for the Basilian priests who oversee neighboring St. Basil's parish. Windle House, at the northeast corner of the street, is home to the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies.
In addition to St. Basil's, the university is home to several other sacred spaces. A small Roman Catholic chapel is located on the first floor of Elmsley Hall and is open to residents. The Ukrainian Catholic Chapel of St. Sophia, which is operated as part of the Sheptytsky Institute, is located on the lower floor of Elmsley Hall and offers daily services in the Byzantine Rite. A chapel dedicated to the Coptic tradition is located on the upper floor of Windle House. The Dante Garden sculpture park is also located on the southwest corner of the campus.
Academics
The University of St. Michael's College comprises the Regis St. Michael's Faculty of Theology, a Division of Continuing Education, and an undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Science, better known as St. Michael's College. Within the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science, St. Michael's College sponsors the academic programs of book and media studies, Celtic studies, Christianity and Culture, Mediaeval studies and the Concurrent Teacher Religious Education Program. In 1996, the French and German departments of the University of Toronto took up residence on the St. Michael's campus, followed in 2000 by the departments of Italian and Slavic studies.