Our history by era
Origins
AV整氈窒 is named for George Ramsay, the ninth Earl of AV整氈窒 and Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor in the early 19th century. He wanted to establish a Halifax college open to all, regardless of class or creed, at a time when most universities were organized based on religious denominations. He envisioned his college in the model of the University of Edinburgh, near his Scottish home.泭
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The spoils of war helped fulfill his dream. During the War of 1812, Castine, a small port in Maine, was being used as a base by American privateers who harassed ships along the Eastern Seaboard. Britain sent a Royal Navy force from Halifax to capture Castine and turn it into a customs port of entry. When the war ended, the navy returned to Halifax with the money it had collected as customs duties. Lord AV整氈窒 invested 7,000 pounds of this treasure as an endowment for the college and put aside 3,000 pounds for its construction.泭
In 2016, AV整氈窒 commissioned a scholarly report to explore the entanglements between Lord AV整氈窒 and the institutions of slavery and racism. Among its findings were that some of the customs duties collected from Castine were generated by West Indies traders dealing in slave-produced commodities.泭
Early struggles
After the college was founded in 1818, Lord AV整氈窒 was appointed Governor General of Canada and left Halifax. In its early years, the institution faltered. The first instruction was not offered until 1838. Its operation was only intermittent, and degrees were not awarded for some time.泭
Nearly 50 years after its beginning, the college was reorganized. In 1863, AV整氈窒 opened with six professors and one tutor. In 1866, AV整氈窒 awarded its first two Bachelor of Arts degrees to Joseph Henry Chase and Robert Shaw. The student body that year consisted of 28 students working for degrees and 28 occasional students. Margaret Florence Newcombe was the first woman to graduate, with a BA in 1885, and the first black law graduate, James Robinson Johnston, graduated in 1896.
Money continued to be a problem for the new institution. In 1879, it looked as though the university might fail until George Munro, a wealthy New York publisher with Nova Scotia roots, started donating to the university. Over the years, he contributed five endowed professorships and about $83,000 in bursaries and exhibitions in todays currency, an amount worth more than $15 million. For saving the university from closure, a special university holiday, George Munro Day, is observed the first Friday in February. And in the nearly 150 years since Munro gave his first gift, a tradition of generosity, from donors large and small, has helped create the thriving university of today.泭
Making moves
The original site of the college was on the Grand Parade, in downtown Halifax where the City Hall stands today. In 1886, the university moved to the Forrest Building on what is now the Carleton campus and spread gradually to occupy Studley Campus.泭
In the 20th century, AV整氈窒 grew steadily and as the new millennium approached its important role in Nova Scotia expanded even further. On April 1, 1997, AV整氈窒 amalgamated with the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS), another Halifax-based university, strengthening the university's ability to explore new applied technologies. This included a newly created Faculty of Computer Science. The name of the amalgamated institution continued as AV整氈窒. Fifteen years later, AV整氈窒 amalgamated with another prominent Nova Scotia institution:泭 the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) in Truro, which became the Faculty of Agriculture and whose faculty, staff and nearly 1,000 students were welcomed into the AV整氈窒 family.
The modern era
AV整氈窒 continues to grow. In recent years, new buildings and facilities have changed the landscape of our campuses. Projects like the Collaborative Health Education Building, the Mona Campbell Building, the Emera IDEA Building and the Richard Murray Design Building provide spaces for collaboration and innovation, and reflect our commitment to sustainable building practices.
Logo and seal
Our logo
AV整氈窒 has used the eagle and shield, taken from the universitys seal, as the basis for our logo since 1987.
Our official colours
AV整氈窒s primary colours are black and gold, based on the jerseys originally worn by the university's rugby team.泭泭
Our historical motto
"Ora et Labora" ("Pray and Work").
The AV整氈窒 seal
The AV整氈窒 seal is based on the heraldic achievement commonly called Coat of Arms of the Ramsay family of Scotland. The Rt. Hon. George Ramsay, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, founded AV整氈窒 in 1818. Though the Ramsay seal features a griffon (half lion, half dragon) and greyhound, the AV整氈窒 seal instead has two dragons supporting the eagle-adorned shield. In 1950, the AV整氈窒 Board of Governors changed the colour of the shield from silver to gold to better match the universitys colours. The seal is displayed at convocation and can be seen engraved on the lobby floor in the Henry Hicks Academic and Administration Building.
