Renison University College

Renison was founded as a result of the efforts of Anglican laity in Kitchener and Waterloo and under the authority of the Synod of the Diocese of Huron. It was incorporated on January 14,1959, by a charter of the Province of Ontario. Renison continues to enjoy support from the community and, in particular, from within the Diocese.

Renison was named in memory of Robert John Renison, 1875-1957, a former Metropolitan of Ontario and Archbishop of Moosonee. On July 1,1960, it entered an affiliation with the University of Waterloo with the right to offer courses and programmes in Arts and the Social Sciences for credit towards the Bachelor of Arts degree of the University.

The University transferred five acres of land on the west side of its campus to Renison in 1961, and Renison purchased an additional acre. That same year, an appeal was launched which raised the funds to undertake construction of Renison's first building. This building provided offices, classrooms, and two residence wings to house forty men and forty women. A second building was erected in 1964 to provide additional academic and residence space. Today Renison's residences provide accommodation for two hundred and twenty residents.

Renison University College makes a valuable contribution to the greater University community by providing the setting that makes excellent undergraduate learning possible. Committed faculty, small classes, and a strong sense of community are among the elements that have made Renison a success.

Renison offers programs and courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts and to the Honours Bachelor of Social Work degree of the University of Waterloo. Through its programs, Renison seeks to prepare students for careers in various helping professions, including social work, education, law and the ministry.

Renison also strives to assist students to develop programs within the traditions of a strong liberal arts education. In conjunction with courses available from the University at large, Renison assists students to develop a sound programme in the arts thereby increasing their awareness and appreciation of themselves and their potential both as individuals and as citizens of the world. It endeavours to ensure they have encountered the best of literature and philosophy, some of the great findings of the sciences, and some of the great creations of arts and culture. It seeks to familiarize students with the methodologies of the academic disciplines within which they work and the assumptions upon which these disciplines rest. Renison also helps students develop the skills to express their own ideas with precision and eloquence.

Through its residence, Renison offers accommodation for students following its programmes and for those studying elsewhere in the University. It provides an intimate setting where students of all religious persuasions or spiritual outlooks may live and learn while enjoying all the resources of a major university.

Academic Programs:

Renison offers a broad range of unique and innovative academic opportunities for the savvy student seeking both a well-rounded liberal education and sound career preparation.

Renison registers students in:

• Honours Arts
• Honours Arts and Business
• Social Development Studies
• Other Arts Majors or Liberal Arts Studies after first year
• School of Social Work (post-BA BSW and MSW degrees)

In addition, we offer courses in the following subject areas:

• Applied Language Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Studies in Islam
• Other Arts Courses including English, English as a Second Language, Fine Arts, History, and Religious Studies

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