Centennial College - History

History

Centennial College was the first to be opened in Ontario during the formation of the province's public college system in the 1960s. Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology were established on May 21, 1965 under the direction of the Hon. William Davis, Minister of Education. The system has grown to encompass 24 public colleges serving 200 communities in the province.

As Centennial College's first site, Warden Woods Campus (651 Warden Avenue) opened its doors on October 17, 1966, with 514 students enrolled in 16 career-oriented programs including journalism, secretarial science and early childhood education. The campus made use of a decommissioned federal building that had been renovated to serve as a teaching institution. It evolved over the years to include the health/nutrition, hospitality, child studies and community services programs. In 1973, the Ontario government transferred responsibility for nursing education from the province’s hospitals to its colleges. Locally, the Scarborough Regional and the Toronto East General schools of nursing joined Centennial College to form the School of Health Sciences, based at Warden Woods Campus. Warden Woods Campus was demolished in 2005.

Centennial College grew rapidly, necessitating the establishment of additional campuses in the east end of Toronto to accommodate new programs and students. Warden Woods Campus closed in autumn of 2004 and was demolished thereafter to make way for a housing development. Most programs were relocated to the new Centennial Science and Technology Centre, which began operations the same year.