The Glendon Campus sits on the former country estate of Edward
R. Wood, a prominent Toronto financier of the early 1900s. The
Woods were responsible for establishing our international collection
of exotic trees and flowers. The wooded ravine, the rose garden,
the Don riverbank, or the open parklands - everyone has a favourite
spot to meet up with friends, study, or just relax in the great
outdoors. More about the history of Glendon.
Glendon Hall - 1926
Murray Ross office
Glendon Hall entrance
North guest room
A Brief History of Glendon
Established in 1959, Glendon is the founding campus of York University.
York was originally conceived to be a small liberal arts faculty
modelled after American liberal arts colleges. Within a few years,
it was decided that a larger university campus - now known as the
Keele Campus, would be built in north Toronto. With the addition
of the second campus, York has quickly become Canada’s third
largest university. Alongside this tremendous growth, the Glendon
Campus has pursued the university’s original vision - a small,
midtown campus set on a beautiful residential estate, offering a
top-rate liberal arts education in English and in French. Glendon
remains a full-fledged faculty of York University.
The name "Glendon" is derived from the topographical setting
of the property - a glen (a narrow valley) on the west branch of the
Don River. The site’s original owners, the Wood family built an
estate on its grounds in the 1920s and named it Glendon Hall. Edward
Rogers Wood was a prominent financier and one of the founders of Dominion
Securities. He and his family were active in philanthropy and fulfilled
lifelong volunteer leadership roles for universities, hospitals, churches,
the YMCA, and many others. The Wood property was a suburban country estate,
with its landmark manor house and 84 acres of beautiful gardens, parkland
and nature sites. E.R. Wood died in 1941 and, nine years later, his widow,
Euphemia presented Glendon Hall to the University of Toronto. In 1960,
the University of Toronto gave Glendon Hall to York University, where
it began its career one year later.
Officially inaugurated in 1966 by then Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson,
Glendon’s development was shaped by the vision of its founding
Principal, Escott Reid, a diplomat, respected scholar and high level
public servant. Reid provided Glendon with its unique mission of bilingualism
and the liberal arts, and determined the distinctive position Glendon
was to occupy within Canada’s university system. Thanks to Escott
Reid and the continued commitment of his successors, Glendon has been
able to fulfill its distinctive mission.
Over the years, Glendon has developed its curriculum to include twenty-two
undergraduate degree programs, two Masters degree programs and seven
certificate programs, all within the framework of a bilingually-integrated
education with a public affairs focus.
From its inception, Glendon has been able to provide a first-class liberal
arts education. This is demonstrated by Glendon students, who are frequent
winners of prestigious prizes, including several Governor-General’s
Awards, York University’s first female Rhodes Scholarship, and
numerous other top academic prizes. Glendon’s academic excellence
is also demonstrated by the high-level recognition of its teaching faculty,
who count among their numbers several members of the Order of Canada,
the French Palmes académiques, Governor General’s awards,
and many other prestigious honours.
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