History of Camosun College
Curious how Camosun became one of the most comprehensive colleges in BC? Visit the olden days, or the recent past, and learn about the development of your program, your campus, your team, or your community…
2006
- Camosun celebrates 35 years of excellence, with more than 8,400 students in credit and vocational programs and another 7,000 in part-time continuing education programs, including 800 international students from 40 countries and 500 First Nations students from 50 Nations.
2005
- The Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence, a collaborative effort of Camosun College and PacificSport Victoria, receives $18.5 million investment from BC Government.
- Camosun hires a new Director of Sport Education to develop diploma and applied degree programs in sport management, wellness and coaching leadership.
- Camosun announces its first Bachelor degree program in Business Administration – Accounting Major.
- College trades students help rebuild Victoria’s YM-YWCA Camp Thunderbird.
- Songhees First Nation and Victoria’s Native Friendship Centre team with Camosun to support local aboriginal learners.
2004
- Plans are unveiled for the new Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence at Interurban Campus by partners Camosun College and PacificSport Victoria.
- Camosun Chargers men’s basketball team ranks top in BC for first time, and Head Coach Gord Thatcher is awarded Basketball BC’s College Coaching Award of Excellence and BCCAA Coach of the Year.
- Chargers women’s basketball Head Coach Irene Wallace is named the 2004 Health, Sport & Fitness “Woman of Distinction” for Victoria.
- Camosun Chargers men’s volleyball team takes Bronze at Jr. Nationals.
- Camosun’s Computer Systems Technology Co-op Program receives national accreditation from the Canadian Information Processing Society.
- Camosun's Environmental Technology Co-op Program receives accreditation from the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC).
- A new Camosun/High School Training Partnership program enables local high school students to earn college credits in trades programs while still in high school.
2003
- Camosun Chargers athletic teams celebrate 10th year anniversary season. Men’s volleyball Head Coach Linda Henderson is awarded the College/University Volleyball Coach of the Year, and men’s volleyball team wins gold at Provincials and bronze at Nationals.
- A formal Camosun College Alumni Association is established.
- Cambridge International Diplomas are made available through Camosun.
- Camosun graduates first class of the HardHats Program, providing training for those on income assistance to enter construction trades.
- Camosun’s first Insight Speaker Series attracts more than 1,000 community members for discussions on global and local issues, with speakers Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Ezra Levant, Dr. Derrick de Kerckhove and Stephen Lewis.
2001
- Camosun’s Young Building restoration awarded the Hallmark Society Louis Award and the Heritage Society of BC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Heritage Conservation.
2000
- The year-long external restoration is completed on Camosun’s Young Building in Fall 2000. It was originally built in 1913 as Victoria’s first Normal School and used as a military hospital during World War II.
- Camosun’s new Student and Alumni Employment Services Centre opens its doors.
- Camosun’s Nursing program, offered in collaboration with UVic, receives national accreditation.
- Camosun Chargers men’s golf team wins gold, while women win silver at the Canadian National College Golf Championships.
- Camosun instructor Erik Andersen named “1999 Chef of the Year” by Victoria Association of Chefs and Cooks.
- Camosun’s new First Nations Community Studies Diploma Program begins training aboriginal leaders.
- Camosun’s CKMO campus radio station exchanges frequencies with Rogers to become a 10,000-watt station at 900 AM, expanding its range to southern Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the northern part of Washington State. The radio station becomes “Village 900 AM” and adopts a global beat/educational format.
1999
- BC’s Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology announces $7.8 million for the external restoration of the 1913 Young Building at Lansdowne Campus. Approx. $500,000 is to be raised through a community fundraising campaign by the Camosun College Foundation.
1997
- Camosun’s first Economic Impact study indicates the College is the eighth–largest employer in the district with 1,250 employees.
- Forty-five student business advisors help more than 275 organizations learn how to use the Internet for their businesses through the “Student Connections” program.
1996
- The Wilna Thomas Cultural Centre opens at Lansdowne Campus.
1995
- Camosun offers its first course, English 160, via radio on CKMO-FM for remote learners.
- Camosun’s Junction Campus on Fort Street and the Carey Road Campus close as the new Campus Centre and Centre for Business and Access open at Interurban and Camosun becomes a two-campus college.
- The General Purpose Classroom building (now the Wilna Thomas building) opens at Lansdowne Campus.
- Camosun opens BC’s first Professional Golf Management Program.
1994
- Dr. Elizabeth Ashton becomes Camosun’s fourth president.
- The Camosun Chargers start first season in the British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association (BCCAA) with women’s and men’s volleyball and basketball teams.
1991
- Camosun expands its First Nations education and services opportunities.
- Child care centres open at Lansdowne and Carey Road campuses.
- The $4.8 million Library Media Centre (now the Alan Batey Library Media Centre) opens at Lansdowne Campus.
- Construction begins on the Technologies Centre at Interurban Campus.
1990
- The new Dental Health Education Centre on Lansdowne Campus is completed.
- Camosun’s credit enrollment hits 6,600.
- Construction begins on a new Lansdowne library.
1986
- The Business Division starts up Camosun’s first Co-operative Education program.
1985
- Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology is used in Interurban Campus classes.
1983
- First Trades Training Access Programs begin with 200 students at Interurban Campus.
- The Isabel Dawson Building opens at Lansdowne Campus.
1980
- Camosun serves over 3,500 students in credit programs.
- The Grant Fisher Building, named for Camosun’s first principal, opens at Lansdowne Campus.
- Camosun’s new Nursing program opens with 125 students.
- The Business Division graduates 300 students with diplomas in marketing, accounting, finance, hotel/restaurant and office administration.
1977
- The Carey Road Campus becomes part of Camosun College.
1973
- The first international students arrive at Camosun.
1971
- Camosun councilors vote to adopt the name “Camosun,” a Lekwungen (Songhees) First Nation name for a Victoria area meaning “where different waters meet and are transformed.”
- Camosun (Lansdowne Campus) and BC Vocational School (Interurban Campus) merge to become BC’s ninth community college.
- Camosun enrolls its first students under the first principal, Mr. Grant Fisher, offering university transfer, vocational, and upgrading courses at a tuition of $10 per credit to 980 students.
1970
- Victoria residents vote to establish “Juan de Fuca” College at the Institute of Adult Studies site (Lansdowne Campus).
- The College obtains provincial approval.
1967
- Victoria’s Normal School (the Young Building) and Victoria College (united in 1955) move to Gordon Head Campus of the University of Victoria.
- The city’s new Institute of Adult Studies, in the Ewing Building, becomes the first Canadian centre for daytime adult high school upgrading.
