History
St. Francis Xavier College was founded as Arichat College, a Roman Catholic Diocesan educational institution at Arichat, Nova Scotia, in 1853. The Arichat College was moved to its present location in Antigonish, and established as St. Francis Xavier College in 1855. On May 7, 1866, St.Francis Xavier College was given university status, becoming St. Francis Xavier University. The University awarded its first degrees in 1868.
In 1883, Mount St. Bernard Academy was founded for female education, with girls from primary grades to grade 12 taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
Henry Frederick Busch (architect) designed the College building, 1888.
In 1894, the academy affiliated with St. Francis Xavier University as Mount St. Bernard College. In 1897, the school became the first co-educational Catholic university in North America to grant degrees to women. Four women were awarded University degrees in 1897.
A metal plaque in the St. Francis Xavier University Chapel is dedicated to the thirty-three members of the college, now St. Francis Xavier University, who were killed in service during the First World War (1914 - 1918).
In February 1922, the St. Francis Xavier University's War Memorial Rink, with its brick exterior and wood interior, opened. After the War Memorial Rink was officially closed on February 8, 2002, the building was torn down and a new science complex was built in the old rink's place.
A metal plaque, unveiled on 5 May 1984 was dedicated by the university's Class of 1984, in honour of those students killed in armed conflict while defending the liberty of Canadians.
In 1985, the number of women students at St. Francis Xavier equalled the number of men for the first time. In 1990, the women's college existed as a residence only.
In the early part of the 20th century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced. The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s responded to population pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society.
A metal plaque in the Chapel at St. Francis Xavier University is a memorial dedicated to the 33 members of St. Francis Xavier University who died during military service.
The St. Francis Xavier tartan was designed as a university tartan in 1994.
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