There from the start: Alex Waugh looks back at 50 years of Woodsworth College

As Woodsworth College celebrates its 50th anniversary, we’re reminiscing about the people and stories that helped make the college what it is today. Visit the Woodsworth College’s 50th anniversary page throughout 2024 to read more.

Alexander Waugh, former vice-principal and registrar of Woodsworth College, worked tirelessly to establish the college’s presence at the University of Toronto. He established its international programs and managed the addition of its new wing in 1992, for which the college received the Governor General's Medal for Architecture. He has continued to volunteer at the college since his retirement, has donated for decades and has even made a bequest that will continue that support. As Woodsworth turns 50, Waugh explains why it will always have a special place in his heart.

You were at the University of Toronto from Wordsworth College’s start. What were the early years like at the college?

I was there before Woodsworth College, actually. I worked first in the Division of University Extension, which eventually split in 1974 to become Woodsworth College and the School of Continuing Studies. It was a time of great change in academia and change for students, and certainly one of those changes was the founding of a new college primarily — but not exclusively — for part-time students.

Our part-time students just wanted to be recognized along with the other students at other colleges. Two students in particular — Norma Grindal and Arlene Dick — were really instrumental in getting Woodsworth College created. They helped convince the U of T president — starting with Claude Bissell and continuing when John Evans took over in 1972 — to create a Presidential Advisory Committee on Continuing Education — or the PACE committee.

My work involved “politicking.” Planning and negotiating with 20 or 30 departments in Arts & Science — and trying to satisfy all their needs — was certainly a challenge. As well, there were some people who were not excited about a new college on campus and we had to convince them of the value in doing so. I was also working with people on the PACE committee, senior colleagues and Simcoe Hall, and people began to accept the notion of “why not?” There may have been some resistance at first, but in the end it went through because it was the right thing to do at the right time. On the first of January 1974, we became the seventh college on St. George campus.

You were also instrumental in founding the Summer Abroad program. How has that benefited students?

In 1972 — before we were a college — I started the university’s first overseas program, a summer abroad program. It started at the University of Siena, which we've continued now for more than 50 years. There are now, I think, as many as 18 such programs offered for students, not just for Wordsworth but for all U of T students, of course. They give our students the opportunity to have foreign experience, which is increasingly important in this world.

It's a much broader program now, and I think this is really quite astonishing and important for the university for outreach.

What is your favorite memory or accomplishment?

The new multi-purpose building that opened in 1992. The students had a referendum to tax themselves a certain amount of money for every course they enrolled in, which all went to the building fund to support the building of the new wing of the college and I’m really proud of that. I don't know anywhere else where students have imposed that kind of tax on themselves.

What is special about the Woodsworth College culture or vibe — what's unique about Woodsworth?

Student services have always been at the top of the list at Woodsworth. As a community of students, they were all here part-time, at least in the early years. They didn’t have necessarily the time to enjoy what the university offered in terms of clubs and culture and so forth.

We have always had staff dedicated to student services. It's still a huge priority for the college, part-time or full-time. We still maintain and offer some of the best student services around.

You worked at the college at its founding. You volunteered after your retirement, you've donated for years and you’ve even made a bequest. Why does your work with Woodsworth College continue to be so important to you?

It was my life, so of course I think it’s important. Education is vital. We started out teaching several waves of different kinds of part-time students. First, it was women at a time when, if somebody was going to university, it was always the son and not the daughter. We had a disproportionate number of women to begin with: teachers upgrading, new Canadians coming to get educated and the college has met those needs throughout its history. When I first attended convocation, I would read the names of graduates at convocation and everybody there, by and large, looked like me. This spring I went to convocation and out of those 500 graduates, maybe 15 look like me. And that change is so incredible and wonderful. We are an absolutely diverse community. It’s just phenomenal.

Can you believe it’s actually been 50 years?

No, I cannot. I don’t know where the time has gone. I have been reflecting on that a lot lately. It's kind of a fairy tale! The place is just so wonderful. My colleagues throughout the years were wonderful colleagues. I'm still friends with many of them. And it may be cliché, but it really is a family.

Read the original article posted on the Arts & Science website here.