Mount Saint Vincent University

Mount Saint Vincent University, commonly referred to as 'The Mount', is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only university in the Halifax area which is not located on the downtown peninsula.

The university traces its history to the development of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, which established in Halifax in 1849. Over the ensuing years, the order developed a convent, schools, an orphanage, and health care facilties throughout the Halifax area, as well as across North America.

In 1872, the Sisters of Charity began construction of "Mount St. Vincent" in Rockingham, Nova Scotia, on the outskirts of Halifax, on a hill overlooking the Bedford Basin. The facility would house "Mount St. Vincent Academy" (1873-1972) and the "Mount Saint Vincent College" as well as residence accommodation for sisters and students, and facilities for congregational administration.

In 1914, Mount Saint Vincent College became a junior women's college and in 1916-1917 four sisters received doctorate degrees from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. The Sisters of Charity established a renewed commitment to the importance of education for women.

In 1925 the Nova Scotia government gave Mount Saint Vincent College a degree-granting charter, making the institution the only independent degree-granting college for women in the British Empire.

In 1966 a new charter was granted by the government which saw the institution change its name to Mount Saint Vincent University. In 1967 the first men were admitted as students.

In 1988 the Sisters of Charity transferred ownership of Mount Saint Vincent University to an independent university board of governers. Although the university is now officially secular, the order still maintains a presence among the teaching faculty, as well as by maintaining ownership of property at the top of the hill above campus where the "Mother House" is located.

Despite being a mixed-gender institution since 1967, women still represent approximately 83% of the student body. The university takes great pride in its accommodation of "non traditional students" (eg. mature students, those with children, etc.).

Primarily a liberal arts university, Mount Saint Vincent offers degrees in the Arts, Sciences, and several specialty programs such as Information Technology, Applied Human Nutrition, and Public Relations. Following consolidation of post-secondary programs across Nova Scotia in the 1990s, Mount Saint Vincent became home to the only Education program in the Halifax area. The university boasts the best student-to-professor ratio in the country with a student population of approximately 4,800.

During the 1995 G-7 summit, Mount Saint Vincent awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws degree to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

External links

• Mount Saint Vincent University - official website
• Sisters of Charity - Halifax - official website

See also

• List of current and historical women's universities and colleges