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Archival description
Victoria University (Toronto, Ont.). President's Office fonds
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General subject files

Series consists of correspondence, reports, notes, minutes and other records, 1897-1970, relating to subjects that include the following: the University of Toronto, the United Church of Canada, installations, convocations, honorary degrees, centennial/sesquicentennial celebrations, faculty, financial matters, the Fudger Group, funds, enrollment, scholarships and bursaries, endowments, bequests, fund raising, student activities, residences, University government and legislation, Deans of Men and Women and the Library.

The bulk of the material dates from the 1920s and 1930s and consists of correspondence, minutes, reports, accounts, orders of service, invocations, subscription lists, addresses, and notes. The records deal with a wide variety of subjects: social functions at Victoria, alumni activities, baccalaureate services, memorial services for staff such as Margaret Addison, C.E. Auger, A. J. Bell, A. Gandier, A. L. Langford, A. H. Reynar, F. H. Wallace and noted churchmen like S.D. Chown, regulations and rules governing various aspects of university life, the operation of residences, Victoria's relationship with outside academic bodies such as the Universities of the British Empire and the Association of American Colleges, fund-raising, bursaries, scholarships, bequests, endowments, Victoria's relationship with the United Church of Canada, the founding of Emmanuel College, Victoria's involvement with Union Theological College and Columbian College.

General Subject Files, 1901-1956 (153 cm)

This is one of the largest and most comprehensive series in the collection. Most of the material dates from the 1930s and 1940s, and the records include correspondence, minutes, reports, memoranda, addresses, sermons, orders of service, forms, notes, subscription lists, schedules, statistics, and briefs. From this series one gains a fairly comprehensive picture of the range of activities at Victoria during the first half of the twentieth century and the involvement of the President in university and church affairs. The files provide insight into the changing administrative structure of Victoria and the developments in its relationship with both the University of Toronto and the United Church of Canada during this period. The files of the Board of Christian Education (later the Board of Colleges and Secondary Schools) are especially valuable in defining the shape of university-church relations. There is material relating to various public lecture series, convocations, installations, and the granting of honorary degrees. The planning, publicity, and execution of the academic and social aspects of Victoria's centennial celebrations are outlined. There are personnel files on professors and the departmental files in this series contain correspondence relating primarily to new faculty appointments (e.g. letters of recommendation). There is a significant amount of statistical material on university finances, examination results, and enrolment. The spiritual life of the faculty and students emerges in connection with the chapel services, retreats and the May Mission. Victoria's involvement in spiritual outreach to the community is displayed in the records of the Fudger group, a group of faculty, ministers and business and professional men who met monthly between 1924 and 1955 to discuss "the practical application of Christian principles in the world." Financial concerns are a dominant theme in many of the records: scholarships, bursaries, endowments, bequests, aid to church students, and, of course, fund-raising through regular appeals to the alumni, field days in local congregations and national campaigns. The finances, administration, and physical plant of the library and residences are discussed in some detail. There are some files which contain records detailing aspects of Victoria's history, and others, such as that dealing with the question of Japanese and German students at the university during the Second World War, that provide some interesting insight into the determination of Victoria's President and faculty to retain a unique identity and mission within the University of Toronto.

General Subject Files, 1905-1967 (36 cm)

The bulk of the material was generated in the 1930s and 1940s, and the records consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, addresses, and lists. Again, financial matters emerge as a major concern of the President's office: bequests, scholarships, bursaries, awards, salaries, and endowments are frequently discussed. There are a significant number of personnel files for Victoria faculty and staff. Student activities are particularly well-covered in this series in files relating to the Bob, Acta Victoriana, the Athletic Association, and numerous clubs and societies.

General Subject Files, 1897-1970 (11 cm)
The records consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, addresses, and notes and are drawn largely from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The subjects covered include the Rockefeller Brothers Theological Fellowship Program, missions, temperance, bequests, and the controversies created by the political activities of Victoria University staff.

Victoria University (Toronto, Ont.). President's Office fonds

  • CA ON00357 2021
  • Fonds
  • 1897-2022

Fonds includes records from the terms of:
Nathanael Burwash (1887-1913), Richard P. Bowles (1913-1930), Edward Wilson Wallace (1930-1941), Walter Theodore Brown (1941–1949), Harold Bennett (1949-1950), A. B. B. Moore (1950-1970), John Edwin Hodgetts (1970-1973), Goldwin S. French (1973-1987), Eva Kushner (1987-1994), Roseann Runte (1994-2001), and Paul Gooch (2001-2015).

It consists of the following series:
General correspondence, 1907-2005; General subject files, 1897-1970; Records relating to the Board of Regents, 1912-2008; Records relating to the Senate, 1954-2008; Records relating to the Victoria College Council, 1928-2008; Records relating to the academic administration, 1915-2013; Records relating to the financial administration, 1905-2000; Records relating to awards, 1918-2005; Records relating to student assistance, 1916-1976; Records relating to students, 1915-2007; Records relating to alumni, 1928-2008; Records relating to functions, 1913-2010; Records relating to the University of Toronto, 1929-2011; Records relating to the United Church of Canada, 1928-2001; Records relating to gifts, 1897-1973; Records relating to the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, 1981-2006; Records relating to fund raising, 1974-2008; Records relating to Emmanuel College, 1968-2008; Records relating to Victoria College, 1975-2012; Records relating to Victoria University, 1968-2008; Records related to the Chancellor and Chancellor's Council of Victoria University; and Records relating to Senior Administrative Meetings (SAM), 2001-2007.

Victoria University (Toronto, Ont.). President's Office

Records relating to financial administration

Series consists of correspondence, minutes, reports and other records, 1905-2000, relating to financial administration, including bequests, endowments, government grants, and pensions.

The records in accession 1989.130V consist of correspondence, minutes and reports of a primarily financial nature. Some of the files outline Victoria's financial arrangements with the Board of Colleges and Secondary Schools and its successor divisions within the United Church of Canada; others provide information about the workings of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and its predecessors, the National Conference of Canadian Universities and the Canadian Universities Foundation and the politics of federal and provincial government grants to denominational institutions of higher education. The financial reports of the men's and women's residences are included, as are files on bequests, endowments, and the United Church's financial aid package for undergraduates who had been accepted as candidates for the ministry. The arrangements made between the University of Toronto and Victoria regarding reimbursement of Victoria faculty for supervising graduate work are detailed.

General correspondence

Series consists of general correspondence in the following subseries:
Nathanael Burwash, 1907-1912
Richard P. Bowles, 1913-1930
Edward Wilson Wallace, 1930-1940
Walter T. Brown, 1941-1948
Walter T. Brown and Harold Bennett, 19491950
A.B.B. Moore, 1956-1963
A.B.B. Moore, John E. Hodgetts, Goldwin S. French, and Eva Kushner, 1963-1991
Eva Kushner and Roseann Runte, 1987-1999
Roseann Runte, 1999-2001
Paul Gooch, 2001-2009

General correspondence of Nathanael Burwash

This series consists of a copybook of Burwash's outgoing correspondence arranged chronologically and indexed by surname of correspondent at the beginning of the volume. The letters deal with a variety of financial and academic matters relating to Victoria University, most notably the raising of funds for the new Birge-Carnegie Library.

Records relating to the Board of Regents

The records in this series consist primarily of correspondence, minutes, and reports and are fairly comprehensive for the period between the First World War and 1970. The Annual Reports to the Board of Regents are a particularly valuable source of information, containing as they do reports from the Presidents, Deans or Principals, Treasurers and various committees. The Board made all the major financial and policy decisions for the university; the Presidents, therefore, consulted the Board, or at least its executive, before taking action on important issues. The correspondence with the National Trust Company is concerned mostly with Victoria's investments in property and stock. The committee reports offer insights into proposed campus plans, the construction of buildings such as the library, new academic building, and student union, and the nature of support services on campus. One of the chief and ongoing concerns of the Board was the definition of the nature of Victoria's relationship with both the University of Toronto and the United Church of Canada.
Also includes records related to the Board's Finance and Property Committee and Nominating Committee.

Records relating to functions

Series consists of correspondence, minutes, citations, addresses and other records, 1913-2022, relating to functions and events such as public lectures including the Davey Lectures and Ide Lectures, convocations and honorary degree ceremonies, centenary celebrations, honorary dinners, openings, events held at the Bader Theatre, and installations of Principals, Presidents and Chancellors.

Records relating to the University of Toronto

Series consists of correspondence, minutes, reports, memoranda, statistics and other records, 1913-2011, relating to the University of Toronto. This also includes financial arrangements, fundraising, the Toronto School of Theology, programs, relations with U of T faculties and departments, and negotiations concerning the Memorandum of Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding. This series also contains nominations for University of Toronto honorary degrees by Victoria University presidents.

General correspondence of Richard P. Bowles

The letters in this series touch upon virtually every aspect of university life and illustrate the wide-ranging nature of the President's duties during this era. In addition to being concerned with financial and administrative matters such as the sale and rental of property, the creation and maintenance of physical plant, staff appointments and salaries, scholarships and bursaries, changes in the internal governing structure of the University and, of course, fund-raising during a time of economic stringency, Richard Bowles was responsible for both the creation and implementation of educational policy in light of Victoria's on-going relationships with the United Church of Canada and the University of Toronto. There is considerable material relating to curriculum, especially the shape of theological education.

While Bowles provided strong leadership to the Victoria community, he was sometimes frustrated by the demands of his office: "'The more I write theology and read books, the bigger the grudge I develop toward executive and administrative duties of the kind which necessarily fall upon the President of this institution.'" [Sissons, 295] Yet, despite rising enrolment figures, one cannot help but be struck by the intimacy which still characterized the President's relationship with Victoria students and alumni. Bowles frequently gave both personal and academic advice to students and wrote detailed and knowledgeable letters of recommendation for graduates. While both the First World War and Church Union are referred to in the letters in this series, the tremendous impact of these two events on life at Victoria does not emerge as clearly as one might have expected.

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