St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Francis Xavier College was founded as Arichat College, a Roman Catholic diocesan educational institution at Arichat, Nova Scotia, in 1853. Arichat College was moved to its present location in Antigonish, and established as St. Francis Xavier College in 1855. On May 7, 1866, St. Francis Xavier College was given university status, becoming St. Francis Xavier University. The university awarded its first degrees in 1868.
In 1883 Mount St. Bernard Academy was founded for female education, with girls from primary grades to grade 12 taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
Architect Henry Frederick Busch designed the college building in 1888.
In 1894, the academy affiliated with St. Francis Xavier University as Mount St. Bernard College. In 1897, the school became the first co-educational Catholic university in North America to grant degrees to women. Four women were awarded university degrees in 1897.
A metal plaque in the St. Francis Xavier University Chapel is dedicated to the thirty-three members of the college, now St. Francis Xavier University, who were killed in service during the First World War (1914–18).
In February 1922, St. Francis Xavier University's War Memorial Rink, with a brick exterior and wooden interior, opened. After the War Memorial Rink was officially closed on February 8, 2002, the building was torn down and a new science complex was built in the old rink's place.
StFX's extension department has engaged in community development in Antigonish since 1928 while the Coady International Institute at StFX has engaged in community development globally since 1959.
A metal plaque, unveiled on 5 May 1984, was dedicated by the university's class of 1984, in honour of those students killed in armed conflict while defending the liberty of Canadians.
In 1985 the number of women students at St. Francis Xavier became equal to the number of men for the first time. In 1990, the women's college existed as a residence only.
In the early 20th century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced. The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s responded to population pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society.
The St. Francis Xavier tartan was designed as a university tartan in 1994.
In 1996 StFX implemented Canada's first Service Learning program, which provided opportunities for international learning.
On March 21, 2014, the board of governors announced Kent MacDonald as incoming president of StFX, to assume office on August 1, 2014.
2021 COVID-19 outbreak
On December 3, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Francis Xavier University held its annual X-Ring ceremony with the majority of the graduating students attending. Public health officials declared an outbreak at the university on December 8, 2021. On December 13, 2021, the university's president tested positive for COVID-19. As of December 17, 2021, 183 students had notified the university that they had tested positive for COVID-19.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced on December 17, 2021 that the university and the students' union had both been issued summary offence tickets and fined $11,622.50 each; the maximum amount that can be handed out. Houston said the university failed to abide by the province's COVID-19 restrictions, specifically masking requirements.
Academics
Profile
Maclean's 2022 Guide to Canadian Universities ranked St. Francis Xavier seventh in the magazine's undergraduate university category. In the same year, the university placed 34th in Maclean's reputational survey of Canadian universities.
Between 2000 and 2004, more St Francis Xavier students, on a per capita basis, have received Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) awards for post-secondary study than any other university in Canada.