New College, University of Toronto

Infobox UofT College
name = New College
common_name =

size = 150
motto = JUNCTA JUVANT
translation = Strength in Unity
established = 1962
federated =
faculty = Arts and Sciences
faculty2 =
college_type = Constituent
religion = Non-denominational
sg_area = West
president =
chancellor =
principal =
provost =
registar =
endowment =
undergrad = 5,000
postgrad =
theology =
subway = Spadina
routes = 510 Spadina
94 Wellesley
street = 300 Huron Street
city = Toronto
website = www.newcollege.utoronto.ca

New College is one of the constituent Colleges of the University of Toronto in Canada. One of the larger colleges with 5000 students, it stands on Huron Street in the historic campus' west-end, nestled alongside the major Science research buildings.

Historical Context

Founded in 1962, New College was the first college to be created within the University of Toronto since the federation with Victoria, Trinity and St. Michael's Colleges. The name of the College was initially to be "New King's College," an homage to University College, which had been known as King's College before receiving new royal charter.

Namesake Cousins

New College shares with Trinity College, St. Hilda's College, and University College, the distinction of being Dominion cousins to namesakes in the UK. It is named after New College at the University of Oxford, in Britain, upon which the College system at the University of Toronto is itself modelled.

Character

Designed under the "multi-faculty" concept, 4,000 of its students are from the Faculty of Arts & Science with the rest drawn from Applied Science & Engineering, Physical Education and Health, and Pharmacy. In fact, what is now known as Innis College, the second "multi-faculty" college, was originally designed as another wing onto New College before it was built separately in 1964.

Housed in an integrated "serpentine" design, New College consists of three halls -- Wilson Hall, Wetmore Hall, and a new hall aptly named New Building built in 2003. Employing an integrated approach to living, 857 living units are built in the upper floors; the lower floors include the library and reading room, computer labs, staff offices and lecture theatres, dining halls, and recreation lounges. The New Building also has the William Doo Auditorium and a mini-gym.

New College is most attractive to students who wish to live near many of the central facilities of University of Toronto such as Robarts Library, Sidney Smith Hall, the Athletic Centre, and the Lash-Miller chemical laboratories. Wetmore and Wilson Halls, like many architectural ideas of the 1960's, have lost some of their sheen, neither matching the timeless dignity of the older colleges, or the sleek post-modernist look adopted for many of the University's [http://www.greatspaces.utoronto.ca/stgeorge.htm building renewal programme] . Recently, with the newly finished New College Residence Hall garnering design awards for its red-bricked nod to chic "new urbanism", the College is an attractive home to university life in the campus' west-end.

Student Life

As New College boasts an extremely multi-cultural student body, both the Residence Student's Council (serving students who live at the college) and the College Student's Council (serving both residents and commuters) plan activities which highlight the college's diversity. A highlight of the year, usually held in the winter term, is Mosaic. Mosaic is an evening of music, dance and performance, featuring multi-ethnic themes. The Student's Council generally uses the William Doo Auditorium for Mosaic, and also for other events such as movie nights, musical concerts, and miscellaneous themed nights such as Casino Night.For students in residence at New College, their social life is aided by their floor residence council. The floor residence council organizes restaurant trips, movie nights, field trips (trapeze training, rock climbing, bowling, etc.) and other activities.Each residence floor is benefited by its don. New College dons are graduate students who live with the undergraduates and provide advice and support to the students.

Residence student life is also anchored largely around the college's cafeteria, whose food services are run by the privately owned Aramark company. The dining area is quite large, with a number of different foods available at each mealtime. Vegetarian, Vegan and Halal (though not Kosher) meals are offered, though students may need to request these items at each meal.

Specialization

New College pursues a mandate around equity and social justice -- and most of its programmes reflect this mission. The College continues to maintain its connections with the field of engineering and the life sciences. Many of its early officers were from science backgrounds, including Wilson from Engineering and Ivey from Medicine. Today, like many of the colleges at the University of Toronto, it co-ordinates a number of academic degree programmes, Human Biology being an especially prominent program for aspiring MD's. New College is also home to an Aid Centre for Mathematics, Statistics and Economics/Finance. In recent years, the College has developed new programmes in area studies (South Asia, Africa, Caribbean), Equity Studies, Women's Studies, Jungian Psychology, and Socially Engaged Buddhism. It has made major efforts to develop a range of internships and field placements, believing that service learning is a valuable complement to the traditional classroom experience.

2008 Financial Woes

In 2008, New College decided it was necessary to raise residence fees by approximately 20% for the 2008-2009 academic year.

The "New New" residence, built 2002-2003, had been financed by the College itself, with the loan on the building anticipated to be paid back through residence fees collected from all three buildings. However, the projected room occupancy (and thus, rent collected) was more optimistic than turned out to be the case. Between the lower-than anticipated income and the fact that the two older buildings were over 40 years old and in need of substantial and increasing maintenance, the College found itself running a substantial operating deficit, anticipated at $2.3 million a year. [cite web|author= Martell, A |title=Rez fees go through the leaky roof|publisher=theVarsity| url=http://www.thevarsity.ca/article/2779]

Financial woes were not unknown to U of T colleges. For example, a few years earlier the federated St Michael's College had a similar need for money (although for different reasons) and had sold off a substantial parcel of land to private developers to help with its finances. New College does not have similar land-holdings to sell off; indeed, short of the University itself bailing out the College, increased student fees are the only way to make up the shortfall.

ee also

Books

* Martin L. Friedland 'The University of Toronto: A History' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 2002)
* Robin Harris 'A History of University of Toronto' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 1970)
*Rick Helmes-Hayes 'Forty Years, 1963-2003: A History of the Department of Sociology, University of Toronto.' (Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003, 215 pp.)
*Professor Brian McKillop, 'Matters of Mind: The University in Ontario, 1791-1951' (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press ©1951)
* Marian Packham '100 Years of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto: An Illustrated History' 1908-2008, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press © 2008)

External links

* [http://www.newcollege.utoronto.ca/ Official Website of New College]
* [http://www.torontores.com/ Stay in the New College Residences this Summer]