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University College is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, created in 1853 specifically as an institution of higher learning free of religious affiliation. It was the founding member of the university's modern collegiate system, and its non-denominationalism contrasted with contemporary colleges such as Trinity College and St. Michael's College, both of which later became part of the University of Toronto. University College is one of two places in the University of Toronto that has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada, along with Annesley Hall of Victoria College. It is home to the oldest student government in Canada, the Literary and Athletic Society. == History == Shortly after taking power in the first responsible government of the Province of Canada, Reformist politicians led by Robert Baldwin wrested control of King's College from the Church of England in 1849 and renamed it the University of Toronto. Baldwin envisioned that denominational colleges would soon decide to affiliate themselves under the secular University of Toronto "with some vague status, perhaps as divinity halls".〔Friedland, p. 24〕 His hopes were dashed when the Presbyterian Queen's College in Kingston opted to stay independent. Baldwin resigned as premier in 1851, leaving his successor, Francis Hincks, to find another way to persuade the denominational colleges. Hincks decided that the university should adopt the collegiate university governance model, used for centuries at Oxbridge and more recently at the University of London.〔 On April 22, 1853, University College was created as the Provincial College, and it retains that designation in the current University of Toronto Act. It was the first constituent college of the University of Toronto, inheriting the teaching functions and resources of the former King's College, while the university itself became an examination body. Frederick William Cumberland was appointed in 1856 as the university architect to design and oversee the construction of the college's new building, completed in 1859. Until Wycliffe College joined the university in 1889, University College was the only member college within the University of Toronto, and therefore the principal of the college was also the ''de facto'' chief of the entire university. The following year, Knox College and Victoria College also joined the University of Toronto. University College was severely damaged by a fire that gutted the entire eastern wing and the college library on February 14, 1890.〔 The fire spread rapidly when servants accidentally dropped two kerosene lamps on a wooden staircase at around 7 p.m. while preparing the illumination for an annual college exhibition.〔 In Ottawa, Edward Blake, the university's chancellor and a member of parliament, interrupted his speech to inform the House of Commons, "The great institution, the crown and glory, I may be permitted to say, of the educational institutions in our country is at the moment in flames ... and is now, so far as its material fabric goes, a ruin tottering to the ground."〔Friedland, p. 149〕 Only about 100 books were rescued before the fire consumed more than 33,000 volumes at the college library. Despite the initial fears, University College recovered from the fire with remarkable ease and speed.〔Friedland, p. 157〕 Wycliffe College and Knox College both offered space for classes to accommodate displaced students.〔Friedland, p. 152〕 The board of trustees commissioned a swift restoration of the structure with insurance compensations and additional investments. Within two years, the library was replenished with donations from institutions throughout the British Empire.〔 On February 15, 1895, more than seven hundred University College students attended what was then described as the "largest mass meeting in the history of the University" to discuss the government's dismissal of William Dale, the popular professor of Latin at the college.〔(Q&A: What made the "blood fairly boil" in U of T student and future prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1895? )〕 William Lyon Mackenzie King, a senior undergraduate who would later become Prime Minister of Canada, introduced a successful motion at the meeting to "abstain from attendance at lectures at University College until a proper investigation be granted by the provincial government into the difficulties existing at the university." During the boycott of classes, professor of history George MacKinnon Wrong wrote to Chancellor Blake in England that only one student turned up at one of his lectures. The strike continued until February 20, when students voted to return to classes after the government agreed to call a commission of inquiry. In 1968, University College was designated a National Historic Site, in recognition of its historical role in creating the collegiate system at the University of Toronto, and as one of the earliest examples of the collegiate model at universities in the Commonwealth.〔Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1968 and 1970.〕〔University College, 15 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; (Formally Recognized: 1968/11/28 ID 9520 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「University College, Toronto」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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