:''St. Andrew's College, Prince Edward Island'' redirects to here. St. Dunstan's University (SDU) is a former

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

which was located on the northern outskirts of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city i ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada. SDU merged with

Prince of Wales College Prince of Wales College (PWC) is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island. PWC traces its his ...

(PWC) in 1969 to form the

University of Prince Edward Island The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the ''University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.'' H ...

. St. Dunstan's College was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown on January 15, 1855 as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

which trained young men for the Catholic clergy. The St. Andrew's College, founded in 1831, was its predecessor.UPEI History
/ref> By the mid-20th century, the college had expanded into a small

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

university. A post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

enrollment boom mandated an expansion which saw new residences and teaching buildings constructed on the campus located along Charlottetown's Elm Avenue (the Malpeque Road). SDU received a provincial degree-granting charter in 1917 but didn't actually award its first bachelor's degrees until the spring 1941 convocation. SDU had formerly been affiliated with

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Mont ...

, awarding joint degrees from the 1890s onward. Following the decision to start granting its own degrees, SDU severed the relationship with Laval by 1956. Similarly to PWC, SDU also operated a high school, offering senior

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

to those students wishing to continue into academic or professional studies. Saint Dunstan's sports teams were known as the Saints. By the 1960s, the provincial government in

began a critical study of its post-secondary education institutions (PWC and SDU), concluding that a merger to form a provincial university was the desired funding and service model for future students. The merger was not without controversy as emotions ran high among supporters of both institutions; however, in May 1969 the last classes graduated from PWC and SDU, and the institutions were merged into the

, which opened for the first time in September 1969 on what had been the SDU campus. At the same time as UPEI was formed, Elm Avenue was renamed by the City of Charlottetown to University Avenue, a name by which it is still referred to. The PWC campus on Grafton Street was taken over by the provincial government and formed the basis for a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

known as

Holland College Holland College is the provincial community college for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI). It is named after the British Army engineer and surveyor Captain Samuel Holland. History It was formed by the Government of Prince ...

Notable students and alumni

* Mike Duffy - Canadian Senator and journalist who briefly attended Saint Dunstan's University * Jim Foley - CFL football player *

Bill MacMillan William Stewart MacMillan (born March 7, 1943) is a Canadian former hockey coach and player. MacMillan played and later coached in the National Hockey League (NHL). After several years with the Canadian national team, including playing at two Wo ...

- NHL hockey player and coach * Don McDougall - businessman * James Cardinal McGuigan - Cardinal named by Pope Pius XII and Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario * James Jeffrey Roche - 19th-century Irish-American poet and diplomat

External links

St. Dunstan's University history - provided by UPEI

St. Dunstan's University Board of Governors - continuing to advance the mandate of SDU with religious education and scholarships

References

{{Reflist Educational institutions established in 1855 Defunct universities and colleges in Canada Catholic universities and colleges in Canada Educational institutions disestablished in 1969 Education in Charlottetown University of Prince Edward Island 1855 establishments in the British Empire 1969 disestablishments in Prince Edward Island Universities and colleges in Prince Edward Island