Archival photo of Wesley Hall
As The University of Winnipeg celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, UWinnipeg Archives has launched three digital resources that illustrate the institution’s history of the past 50 years.
The Archives has gained entry into the Google Cultural Institute. Access to the Institute allows the Archives to upload digital content to this dynamic platform, make our archival resources more widely known, and take advantage of the many tools offered by Google in the curation of digital content. An exhibit titled The City is our Campus was developed by summer student Chantel Fehr. The exhibit tells the story of the University’s transition from a small liberal arts college to the province’s second largest university in 1967. Fifty archival documents, photographs, and films illustrate this transitional period in our history from 50 years ago.
The Archives’ new YouTube channel features digitized film and video from its holdings. Included on the channel are promotional films for United College, the Collegiate, and the newly formed University of Winnipeg ca. 1967. The video features footage of students and faculty from this era engaging in various activities on a campus that is virtually unrecognizable today. The films also document various important events on campus, including the 1967 Charter Day ceremonies, the 100th Birthday Cavalcade, the opening of Centennial Hall, the first Great Rock Climb, and past convocations.
Lastly, the Archives has produced a digital collection of images from the University of Winnipeg Collection of the Western Canada Pictorial Index. The images can be searched or browsed and all can be downloaded for future use. These images not only illustrate the history of the institution’s past 50 years, but date as far back as 140+ years to the founding of its predecessor colleges: Wesley College and Manitoba College. The images include portraits of students, faculty, and administration from all eras; campus buildings; and all aspects of the University community — including academia, athletics, and student life.
“The Archives is home to the institutional memory of The University of Winnipeg. With the launch of these resources we are able to showcase our emerging digital capabilities in making our resources more widely available to the University community and showcase UWinnipeg to the world,” said Brett Lougheed, University Archivist and Digital Curator. “As this material represents only a small fraction of the records in our holdings, I encourage anyone looking for content that they cannot find online to contact the Archives for assistance with their research.”
