Lakehead Looks Back
In this feature, we would like to highlight a small piece of Lakehead University history and utilize it not only to illustrate how far our institution has come over a relatively short time span, but also to remind our school community as a whole that many of the values Lakehead stood for then still ring true today.
In September of 1956, construction began on the first permanent building on the Oliver Road site, as Mr. A. Vance Chapman, the first Chairman of the Lakehead Technical Institute Advisory Committee, laid the cornerstone of the new Lakehead College of Arts, Science, and Technology. The building was officially opened just over one year later, on October 2nd, 1957 to much fanfare, with over 200 interested local residents attending, as well as regional officials including Dr. W.J. Dunlop, Minister of Education, who stated, “Here is one of the beginnings of the great future of education for our province. We are looking hopefully toward the growth of this college which will lay the footings and firm foundation for a fine university”, before cutting the ceremonial ribbon. Over the next 20 years multiple expansions were added to the original structure, and in 1981 the building was renamed as the ‘Harold S. Braun Building’, in honour of Dr. Harold Braun, who was the Principal of Lakehead Technical Institute, Principal of Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology, and the first Dean of University Schools at Lakehead University. The Braun Building remains a testament to the great strides taken by the founders of Lakehead to establish a degree-granting institution in Northern Ontario that speaks to the unique needs of the region.
Fast forward to just over five decades later, and Lakehead University has certainly built upon that solid foundation to become a fine educational institution. Nearly 53 years to the day later sees the university celebrating the grand opening of the new academic building at 500 University Avenue in Orillia, which is also the first phase in the development of Canada’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Platinum university campus. To read more about this exciting step forward for Lakehead, refer to the Communications article at: http://communications.lakeheadu.ca/news/?display=news&nid=732
