The Kitchener-Waterloo Federated Charities was formed in 1941 by community and business leaders to raise money for war work done by local agencies. When World War II ended, the organization continued to raise money for local social service organizations and charities. In 1969 its name was changed to Federated Appeal of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area. On June 12, 1984 the board voted to join United Way/Centraide Canada and its name was changed again, to United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area. The organization's mandate has always been to aid people who need help by conducting a yearly fund-raising campaign benefitting its member agencies, who provide that help. (Williams, Cindy. Fifty Years of Caring and Sharing: a History of the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area, 1941-1991. Kitchener, Ont.: United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area, 1993, c1992.)

The Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo traces its roots to the institution’s formative years in the late 1950s. Initially, the University did not plan to establish a dedicated arts faculty. Instead, it anticipated that arts instruction would be provided by Waterloo College (now Wilfrid Laurier University), which was expected to affiliate with the University alongside St. Jerome’s College.[1] However, disagreements over governance, particularly concerning control of the arts program and representation on the University Senate, led Waterloo College to decline the proposed affiliation. In response, the University of Waterloo made the pivotal decision to create its own Faculty of Arts.[2]

This decision culminated in the formal announcement of the Faculty of Arts in May 1960.[3] President Dr. Gerald Hagey appointed Dr. W. Keith Thomas as acting dean, entrusting him with the task of building the faculty and recruiting academic staff. Under Dr. Thomas’s leadership, four departments were established: Mathematics, chaired by Dr. Ralph Stanton; History, led by Dr. Paul Cornell; German and Russian, headed by Dr. J.W. Dyck; and English, directed by Dr. Thomas himself. Historical records indicate that the Faculty employed approximately 22 academic staff members in its first year, with more than half serving in the Mathematics department.[4]

To support students enrolling in the new arts program, the University’s Senate Committee on Scholarships introduced ten scholarships, each valued at $1,650.[5] The Faculty welcomed its first cohort of students in the fall of 1960, with lectures beginning on September 26. Between 54 and 58 students enrolled that year, paying an annual sessional fee of $413, which covered tuition, health insurance, student activities, and a contribution to the Student Union Building fund.

In its inaugural year, the Faculty of Arts faced significant infrastructure challenges. There was no dedicated arts building, administrative space, or arts library. At the time, the campus library consisted of a single room on the third floor of the Mathematics and Physics building. These limitations eventually spurred the construction of key facilities, including the Modern Languages building, completed in 1962, and the Dana Porter Library, which opened in 1965.[6]

Within the first year, Dr. Thomas stepped down as acting dean to focus on chairing the English department. Dr. Norman H. High succeeded him as acting dean for the 1961–62 academic year and was formally confirmed in the role in fall 1962. This leadership transition marked a new phase of expansion for the Faculty, which soon added departments such as Sociology, Romance Languages, Economics, Political Science, Philosophy, Classics, and Geography. A major structural change occurred on January 1, 1967, when Mathematics officially separated to form its own faculty.[7]

From its modest beginnings, the Faculty of Arts has evolved into a vibrant and diverse academic community, bringing together students, faculty, and staff engaged in the humanities, social sciences, and fine, performing, and media arts at the University of Waterloo.

The Faculty of Engineering is one of six faculties at the University of Waterloo. It is not only the largest faculty at the University, but also the largest engineering school in Canada.

The development of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment reflects an evolution from technical design programs to an interdisciplinary academic unit dedicated to addressing complex environmental and societal challenges.

Graduate studies in Human Physical Environments began at the University of Waterloo in 1965 with the introduction of a Master of Applied Sciences in Environmental Design and a Diploma in Design offered through the Faculty of Engineering.[1]

In 1967, Environmental Studies and Architecture programs were added under the Department of Design in the Faculty of Engineering to prepare students for architectural practice and address environmental challenges.[2] By 1968, growing recognition that architectural issues were more social than technical prompted a shift toward a broader academic structure. Under Vice-President Academic Dr. Howard Petch, these programs separated from Engineering in October 1968.[3] At the same time, the Faculty of Arts expanded its offerings through the Department of Geography and Planning, introducing programs in urban and regional planning.[4]

Later that year, Dr. Petch proposed creating a College of Environmental Studies to address pressing issues such as housing, air and water pollution, transportation, urban blight, farmland preservation, and unequal living standards. The proposal received broad support from the Senate, the Planning Group in the Department of Geography, and professionals outside the university, including Gordon Phillips, Director of Education Programs at the American Institute of Architects, and Norman H. McMurrich, President of the Canadian Association of Architects. The proposal gained further support through the findings of a subsequent ad hoc committee formed to investigate its merits. The committee, comprising Professors T. Bjornstad, J.B. Ellis, L.O. Gertler, and R.R. Krueger, concluded that universities were not adequately addressing pressing issues such as housing, urban development, and land use.[5]

On February 20, 1969, the Senate approved the establishment of the Division of Environmental Studies, effective July 1, 1969. Equal in status to existing faculties, the Division integrated two professional schools, Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning, and two academic departments: Geography and Man-Environment Studies. This structure fostered interdisciplinary collaboration. The term “Division” was chosen over “Faculty” or “College” to allow greater autonomy for the professional schools.[6] Dr. Peter Nash was appointed as the first Dean, Division of Environmental Studies in 1970.[7]

On October 17, 1972, the Board of Governors received a proposal to rename the academic unit as the Faculty of Environmental Studies to eliminate confusion caused by the term “division,” which was also used for sub-units in other faculties on campus. The proposal was later approved and came into effect in 1973.[8] In 2008, the Faculty adopted its current name, Faculty of Environment. The name change was driven by the perception that the term ‘studies’ conveyed passivity, whereas the Faculty sought to emphasize its active commitment to environmental action and solutions.[9]

Today, the Faculty is recognized as a leader in research, education, and innovation, addressing global challenges such as climate change, urban growth, resource management, and sustainability.[10]

The origins of the Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo date back to 1964, when the University launched a one-year post-degree program leading to a Bachelor of Physical Education under the new Department of Physical Health and Education. This program was designed to provide professional training for university graduates pursuing careers in physical education, health, and recreation. It was supervised by the Senate Committee on Physical Education and the department chairman Dan Pugliese.[1] The program was supported by several full-time and part-time lecturers, including Ruth Hodgkinson, who became the first women's instructor in the department.[2]

The program enrolled 41 students in its inaugural year including 37 men and 4 women. The curriculum featured 13 lecture and laboratory courses. In addition to academic coursework, students learned the fundamentals of a wide range of sports. Students also participated in a camping trip at Camp Tawingo. This off-campus experience allowed them to practice activities such as canoeing and sailing that were not possible on campus.[4] This one-year post-degree program remained in place until 1966, with its final offering in the 1967-68 academic year.

In 1966, the Department of Physical Health and Education transitioned into the newly established School of Physical and Health Education. This reorganization introduced two distinct departments. The Department of Physical and Health Education focused on academic instruction and research in the fields of physical and health education, while the Department of Athletics managed intercollegiate and intramural athletics, as well as physical education services for students, faculty, and staff.[5]

Two years later, in 1968, the School was renamed the School of Physical Education and Recreation, following the introduction of a degree program in recreation. At this time, the School was reorganized into three departments: Kinesiology (formerly Physical and Health Education), Recreation, and Athletics.[6]

In Fall 1972, the Faculty of Human Kinetics and Leisure Studies was officially established, replacing the School of Physical Education and Recreation. It retained the same three departments, although by 1982, the Department of Athletics appears to have separated from the Faculty.[7]

In 1990, the Faculty was renamed as the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and included four departments: Dance, Health Studies, Kinesiology, and Recreation and Leisure Studies. The Department of Dance was closed in 1996.[8]

The Faculty adopted its current name, the Faculty of Health, in 2021, following recommendations from its own strategic plan. The change aimed to enhance brand clarity, particularly for external stakeholders, and better reflect its three academic units: Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, and the School of Public Health Science.[9]

Throughout its history, the Faculty of Health has fostered a vibrant community of faculty, staff, and students, dedicated to promoting and protecting health and well-being through excellence in education, research, advocacy, collaboration, and partnerships.

The Faculty of Mathematics is one of six faculties at the University of Waterloo and stands as the only dedicated Faculty of Mathematics in North America.

The Faculty of Science is among the oldest academic units at the University of Waterloo. Its origins date to 1957, when students were enrolled under a combined Faculty of Science and Engineering. Although these students pursued engineering degrees, their programs incorporated substantial science coursework. By the 1958–59 academic year, more than half of the faculty members were scientists, establishing a strong academic presence that laid the groundwork for the creation of an independent Faculty of Science.[1]

This vision was realized in 1959 with the formal establishment of the Faculty of Science under the leadership of Dean Bruce Kelley. In its inaugural year, the faculty introduced four programs: Honours Chemistry, Honours Chemistry and Physics, Honours Mathematics and Physics, and a three-year General Science course. That autumn, approximately 24 students enrolled, attending classes in the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering building (now Douglas Wright Engineering) and the Mathematics and Physics building (now Physics).[2]

In 1960, Dr. W.A.E. “Pete” McBryde was appointed acting dean as enrolment increased to 75 students. Two years later, the University of Waterloo extended its pioneering co-operative education model beyond engineering for the first time, introducing a co-operative program in Applied Physics.[3]

The 1960s marked a period of significant departmental expansion. Biology was established as a separate department in 1964 under the leadership of Dr. H.B.N. Hynes, followed by the creation of the Earth Sciences department in 1965, chaired by Dr. P.F. Karrow. In 1966, the faculty launched a co-operative Chemistry program.[4]

Over the decades, the Faculty of Science has experienced sustained growth, broadened its academic offerings, and continually enhanced the diversity of its co-operative education opportunities for students. Today, it stands as an integral part of the University of Waterloo and is internationally recognized for its leadership in research and education.

The Office of the President team assists the University President with day-to-day activities on and off-campus. This includes setting and managing the President’s calendar of activities, working with internal and external stakeholders to move the University forward and managing the President’s communications activities and outreach efforts, including keynote addresses, digital presence, and more.

The Office of the Registrar is the central administrative unit working in co-operation with faculties and departments to administer undergraduate programs, prepare data for internal groups, and submit data to various government and external agencies.

Plant Operations oversees the maintenance, repair, renovation, and improvement of campus spaces, spanning 70 buildings and 1,112 acres of land.

The University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club was formed in the Student Village at the University of Waterloo in October 1965.[1]

Charles McLeod, a graduate student in mathematics, was one of the founders of the group and applied for a grant from the Federation of Students (now the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, WUSA) to start the club. Initially, the Federation of Students did not take this grant request seriously and laughed at the proposal. However, McLeod was able to convince the committee of the merits of tiddlywinks and was given the grant.[2]

The club had approximately 80 members in 1966. All members were issued membership cards that showed an affiliation to the English Tiddlywink Association and the International Federation of Tiddlywink Association.[3]

The club imported equipment from England however the items were held by Canadian custom officials who suspected the parcel labeled “tiddlywinks” contained something sinister. The parcel was eventually released when a university official explained the game of tiddlywinks.[4]

On February 12, 1966, the University of Waterloo won the Canadian championship in a 16-game playoff with Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University), the only other team in Canada. The final score was 80 to 26 with the University of Waterloo winning 14 of the games.[5]

The University of Waterloo team travelled to Harvard University to compete in the North American Tiddlywink Championship on February 25, 1966, and won. The team had ambitions to then travel to England and compete in the World Championships at either Oxford or Cambridge University.[6] The prize was a trophy donated by Prince Philip known as “Silver Wink.”[7] A photograph of the University of Waterloo team holding a Harvard pennant following their win appeared on page 2 of the Friday, March 4, 1966 edition of the Coryphaeus.

In October 1966, the University of Waterloo team staged a marathon to set the world record of 56 hours of continuous tiddlywinks at Waterloo Square.[8] This event was held to draw attention to the team’s need to raise $4,400 for ten members to travel to England and complete in the World Championships in February 1967.[9] The team successfully set the new record by beating the previous record of 55 hours of continuous play by the Lanchester College of Technology (now Coventry University).[10] However, the club was likely unable to raise enough money to attend the World Championships as there does not appear to be any mention of this event in local or campus newspapers.

On October 28, 1967, the University of Waterloo hosted the North American Tiddlywinks Championship, the first time this event was held in Canada. Five teams challenged the defending University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club.[11] The University of Waterloo lost to Cornell University in the final round by a score of 61 to 51.[12] Despite this loss, the team was still eligible to compete in the World Championships at Oxford University in Spring 1968 if they could raise the money to go. Lord Thomson and Coca Cola declined to sponsor the team. It was suggested that the Athletic department help finance the team through the $22 athletic fee charged to students, since this was the only team at the university with world championship caliber at the time.[13] The club was likely unable to raise enough money to attend the World Championships as there does not appear to be any mention of this event in local or campus newspapers.

Following the North American Tiddlywinks Championship, the University of Waterloo Tiddlywinks Club was largely inactive. The club met on Thursday, October 1, 1970 for the first time nearly three years later to try and rebuild the team. Although there was poor turnout at the meeting, club spokesperson Ross Bell remained optimistic. The club was scheduled to meet every Thursday but it is unclear if the club remained active beyond 1970.[14]

Known members of the club include: Jon Ingram, Charles McLeod, John Kohler, Mark Taylor, Henry Sheilds, Helmut Roth, Andy Tomaino, Marie Kennedy, Ihor Gawdan, Paul Gardner, Barry Gillespie, Ronald Rumm, Ross Bell, Paul Freeman, Bill Webb, and Rosie Wain.[15]

University Relations is responsible for conveying the University of Waterloo's mission, vision, values and aspirations while working collaboratively to achieve the goals outlined in the University’s strategic plan.

Jane Urquhart was born in 1949 in Little Long Lac, Ontario, and received her education in Toronto and Guelph. A novelist and poet, her work has been published since 1982, and includes False Shuffles (1982), The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan (1984), The Whirlpool (1986), Storm Glass (1987), Changing Heaven (1990), Away (1993) and The Underpainter (1997).

Jane Urquhart has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa, at Memorial University, and most recently in 1997 at the University of Toronto. In 1997 she was awarded the Governor General's Award for Fiction for her novel The Underpainter. Prior to 1997 she had already been the recipient of several literary awards: Le Prix de Meilleure Livre Etrangere (Best Foreign Book Award), France, for The Whirlpool, 1992, The Trillium Book Award in 1993, and the Marian Engel Prize in 1994.
In 1997 Jane Urquhart received an honorary degree from the University of Waterloo.

Anthony Morse ("Tony") Urquhart, was born at Niagara Falls, Ont., on April 9, 1934. "He studied art at the Albright Art School and U[niversity] of Buffalo. In 1961 he joined a group of London, Ont. artists, including Greg Curnoe and Jack Chambers, who advocated a regional approach to art. Drawing from his own experiences, Urquhart works in a style that makes explicit reference to the underlying complexities and paradoxes he sees in the local landscape. In his boxed landscape sculptures of the 1960's he achieved a surreal juxtaposition of savage and primordial relationships with the actual and familiar. The constructions become at once a personal interior space and a universal collective landscape." [By Kathleen Laverty from Canadian Encyclopedia, 1985.]

Tony Urquhart passed away on January 26, 2022.

William Valores "Ben" Uttley, newspaper owner and editor, was born January 1, 1865 in Elmira, Ontario. He started the Daily Record in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, selling it in 1919 to purchase the Elmira Signet. He served as a member of City Council at intervals between 1905 and 1919. He was an original member of the Waterloo Historical Society, and wrote A History of Kitchener, Ontario. He died May 26, 1944 and was buried in Elmira's Saint James Lutheran Cemetery.

Scott Alexander Vanstone was a professor of mathematics at St. Jerome's University and Waterloo Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, and was known for his work in combinatorial design theory, finite geometry and finite fields. Born in 1947, he completed his studies in math at Waterloo (BMath '70, MMath '71, PhD '74). Upon his retirement in 2009, he was appointed Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Vanstone died in Campbellville, Ontario on March 2, 2014.

Verkade was founded in 1886 by Ericus Verkade as a bakery making mostly bread and rusks. The company expanded overtime to produce cookies, sweets, and chocolates. In November 2014, the company was acquired by Pladis, a global biscuit, chocolate and confectionery company owned by Yıldız Holding.

1867: Charles Théodore Viau sets up a bakery on rue Sainte-Marie (now Notre Dame) in Montreal, Quebec. The business makes bread and biscuits, including Village biscuits, which exist to this day in the Dare Traditions line.

1900-1901: Théophile Viau, son of the founder, created the first chocolate-coated mallow cookie, "Empire," the precursor of the Whippet, a top-selling Dare brand today.

1906: The planned construction of a new Canadian Pacific rail line forces the expropriation of the Viau factory in downtown Montreal, Quebec.

1907: Opening of a new factory constructed on 1st Ave., now Viau St., just north of Ontario St., in a new suburban area which became known as "Viauville."

1926: Viau listed on the Montreal Stock Exchange, being only the second French-Canadian institution to be admitted, after la Banque Canadienne Nationale.

1927: Whippet launched (named after a popular new Willys-Overland car called Whippet).

1952: $2 million project to almost double the factory, convert the heating plant to oil and add a new administrative building on Ontario St. opposite the plant.

1969: Viau is acquired by Grissol Food Limited (Yves Hudon).

1972: Grissol, including Viau, is acquired by Imasco Foods Limited, the food arm of Imperial Tobacco company.

1983: Imasco Foods, including Viau, is acquired by Culinar.

1999: Montreal cheese company Saputo Inc. buys Culinar, made up of the Vachon snack cakes business and CFS (Cookies, Fine Breads and Soups).

2001: Dare Foods Limited buys Culinar CFS (Cookies, Fine Breads and Soups) from Saputo Inc. Culinar is dissolved.

2003: St. Lambert (formerly Culinar's Lido) cookie plant expanded to accommodate production transferred from former Viau plant in Montreal, Quebec.

2004: Former Viau cookie plant at Viau and Ontario Streets in east-end Montreal closed and sold to a developer for re-purposing as "La Biscuiterie" residential condos.

2004: Dare sells the Loney's soups business to Produits Alimentaires Berthelet of Montreal.

Bharti Vibhakar is an Indian-Canadian business owner, chef and teacher. Born and raised in South Yemen, she moved to Mumbai (then called Bombay) at 22 years of age, where she married and had two children. She immigrated to Canada in 1980, after divorcing her husband. Vibhakar and her daughters initially settled in Guelph, Ontario and moved in 1984 to Kitchener, Ontario. In 1986 she opened Spice of India, on King Street East, where she sold spices for use in cooking and remedies for common ailments, and taught cooking classes with a focus on vegetarian Indian cuisine. She also operated a stall at the Kitchener market, which first opened in 1990, where she sold more than 400 samosas on a typical Saturday. In 1992 Vibhakar released a cookbook titled Spice of India. The publication was edited and introduced by Record columnist Luisa D'Amato. In 2009, at the age of 70, Vibhakar retired, closing both her store and her market stall.

Victoria University is a federated college with the University of Toronto that provides secular studies in the liberal arts and sciences. It was founded in 1836 and named after Queen Victoria.

Bernt Vik was born in Stavanger, Norway, and died in 1999 at the age of 84. He was trained as a textile engineer-designer in Sweden. During the Second World war he was active in the Norwegian anti-Nazi resistance. He came to Canada in 1955 and was employed in a number of textile-related enterprises until retirement in the mid-1980's.

Leonora Laura Thusnelda Hagedorn was born January 26, 1874 to Ernst Adolph Philip and Maria Magdalena "Mary" (nee Kappler) Hagedorn. She married John Edward Thomas Vogt on September 30, 1896 in Berlin, Ontario (now Kitchener) and together they had three children: Charles Henry, Ernest William, and George Theodore. Vogt died May 11, 1911 from septic poisoning and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Wilhelmine "Minnie" Ahrens was born April 26, 1855 in Kitchener, Ontario to parents Charles Andrew Ahrens and Henrietta Charlotte Roth. She married Ferdinand Von Ende November 12, 1891 and the couple lived in Preston, Ontario. Minnie died May 17, 1933 and is buried in Preston with her husband. who died October 27, 1935.

Susanne von Harpe (nee Baroness von Stackelberg) was born in what is now Tartu, Estonia in 1914. After school she worked in farming and housekeeping and In 1935 she married Ulrich von Harpe. In 1940 the family fled to Germany after Russian troops had occupied Estonia, settling in Schroda. On January 20, 1945 Susanne, Ulrich and their children fled West ultimately to Dotzum. On December 7, 1951 the family sailed to Canada arriving on December 23, and taking the train to their farm in Linwood, Ontario. Susanne spent many years traveling with her husband who was a sailor, and enjoyed painting and writing. Susanne died July 29th, 2008.