History
It was established in 1905 as Macdonald College and opened in 1907 in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, in the West Island region of the Island of Montreal. Planned and funded completely by William C. Macdonald, who also provided a $2 million operating endowment, it was designed by architects Alexander Cowper Hutchison and George W. Wood.
Several buildings in the Macdonald Campus were designed by the Montreal-based architect Andrew Taylor, including the Macdonald Physics Building (1893); Macdonald Engineering Building (1907), Redpath Library (1893), the Strathcona Medical Building (1907)—since renamed the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building.
Far surpassing the Ontario Agricultural College, Macdonald College was the largest in Canada and in its day was one of the most modern agricultural colleges in the world. After two years of planning and construction, the college opened its doors to students in the fall of 1907 under principal James Wilson Robertson.
The Macdonald Campus coat of arms honours Sir William Macdonald, a major benefactor of McGill University's agricultural college:
The colour of the field (gold) and the arm holding a cross (red) are from the second quarter of the arms of Sir William Macdonald, the tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist, who founded the College. His armorial bearings derived from the fact that he was a grandson of John, eighth Macdonald of Glenaladale.
Until the 1930s, Macdonald College used Sir William's achievement as one quarter of the College arms. The two red martlets and the open book with its motto are from the arms of McGill University. The clover leaves (also gold) signify fertility and their three segments suggest the three purposes of the Campus, i.e. agriculture, service and food.
In 1938, the Rural Adult Education Service of Macdonald College was established.
In 1943, John W. McConnell purchased an adjacent 1,380 acres (560 ha) farm and donated it to the College, increasing its size to its current 650 hectares (1,600 acres). In 1972, its became the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. Students studying at Macdonald Campus can earn internationally recognized degrees at both the undergraduate - B.Sc.(Agr) - and graduate level in the fields of agriculture, food, natural sciences, applied economics, environment, and engineering.
In 1971, McGill leased a portion of the Macdonald Campus to the newly-created John Abbott College, vacating many historic buildings for the CEGEP. This coincided with McGill's decision to move the Faculty of Education to the downtown campus. In 2002, this portion of the campus was permanently sold to John Abbott College.
On September 26, 2006, Canada Post issued a special commemorative stamp in honour of the 100th anniversary of the official opening of the college.
Read more about this topic: Macdonald Campus
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