![]() |
Mission Statement
"In the spirit of the Anglican tradition, Renison
University College, an affiliate of the University of Waterloo, is committed to
providing a strong grounding in the Humanities and Social Sciences, thereby
instilling in its students a life-long love of learning, pursuit of truth, and
dedication to community service."
Renison University College makes a
valuable contribution to the greater University community by providing the
setting that makes excellent undergraduate learning possible. Committed faculty,
small classes, and a strong sense of community are among the elements that have
made Renison a success.
The College offers programmes and courses leading
to the Bachelor of Arts and to the Honours Bachelor of Social Work degree of the
University of Waterloo. Through its programmes, Renison seeks to prepare
students for careers in various helping professions, including social work,
education, law and the ministry. The College also strives to provide students
with a strong liberal arts education. In conjunction with courses available from
the University at large, the College assists students to develop a sound
programme in the arts, thereby increasing their awareness and appreciation of
themselves and their potential both as individuals and as citizens of the world.
It endeavours to ensure they have encountered the best of literature and
philosophy, some of the great findings of the sciences, and some of the great
creations of arts and culture. It seeks to familiarise students with the
methodologies of the academic disciplines within which they work and the
assumptions upon which these disciplines rest. Renison University College also
assists students to develop the skills to express their own ideas with precision
and eloquence.
Through its residence, Renison offers accommodation for
students following its programmes and for those studying elsewhere in the
University. It provides an intimate setting where students of all religious
persuasions or spiritual outlooks may live and learn while enjoying all the
resources of a major university.
History of Renison
Renison
was founded as a result of the efforts of Anglican laity in Kitchener and
Waterloo and under the authority of the Synod of the Diocese of Huron. It was
incorporated on January 14,1959, by a charter of the Province of Ontario.
Renison continues to enjoy support from the community and, in particular, from
within the Diocese.
Renison was named in memory of Robert John Renison,
1875-1957, a former Metropolitan of Ontario and Archbishop of Moosonee. On July
1,1960, it entered an affiliation with the University of Waterloo with the right
to offer courses and programmes in Arts and the Social Sciences for credit
towards the Bachelor of Arts degree of the University.
The University
transferred five acres of land on the west side of its campus to Renison in
1961, and Renison purchased an additional acre. That same year, an appeal was
launched which raised the funds to undertake construction of Renison's first
building. This building provided offices, classrooms, and two residence wings to
house forty men and forty women. A second building was erected in 1964 to
provide additional academic and residence space. Today Renison's residences
provide accommodation for two hundred and twenty residents. |
![]() |
