In 1831 the Nova Scotia Baptist Education Society founded Queen's
College. Acadia began as an extension of Horton Academy (1828),
which was founded in Horton, Nova Scotia, by Baptists from Nova
Scotia and Queen's College (1838). The College was later named
Acadia College. Acadia University, established at Wolfville, Nova
Scotia in 1838 has a strong Baptist religious affiliation. It was
designed to prepare men for the ministry and to supply education
for lay members.
The two major Universities of the day in Nova Scotia were heavily
controlled by Denominational structures. King's College (University
of King's College) was an Anglican School and Dalhousie University,
which was originally non-denominational, had placed itself under
the control and direction of the Church of Scotland. It was the
failure of Dalhousie to appoint a prominent Baptist pastor and
scholar, Edmund Crawley, to the Chair of Classics, as had been
expected, that really thrust into the forefront of Baptist thinking
the need for a College established and run by the Baptists.
In 1838, the Nova Scotia Baptist Education Society founded Queen's
College (named for Queen Victoria). The College began with 21
students in January 1839. The name "Queen's College" was denied to
the Baptist school, so it was renamed "Acadia College" in 1841, in
reference to the history of the area as an Acadian settlement.
Acadia College awarded its first degrees in 1843 and became Acadia
University in 1891, established by the Acadia University Act.
The Granville Street Baptist Church (now First Baptist Church
(Halifax)) was an instrumental and determining factor in the
founding of the University. It has played a supporting role
throughout its history, and shares much of the credit for its
survival and development. Many individuals who have made
significant contributions to Acadia University, including the first
president John Pryor, were members of the First Baptist Church
Halifax congregation. Similarly, the adjacent Wolfville United
Baptist Church plays a significant role in the life of the
university.
This was unique at the time, and a direct result of Baptists being
denied entry into other schools that required religious tests of
their students and staff.
In 1851, the power of appointing governors was transferred from
the Nova Scotia Baptist Education Society to the Baptist Convention
of the Maritime Provinces.
Clara Belle Marshall, from Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia, became the
first woman to graduate from Acadia University in 1879.
Acadia student-athlete Edwin Borden who graduated from Acadia in
1892, and again with a Master’s degree in 1896, after which
he went on to earn his Doctorate. He was Acadia’s first
graduate of African descent, and was also a member of
Acadia’s varsity baseball team. Borden is presumed to be
among the first athletes of African descent at any Canadian
university.
In 1966, the Baptist denomination relinquished direct control over
the University. The denomination maintains nine seats on the
University's Board of Governors.
On 4 January 2008, Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb decided to step down
as President and Vice Chancellor of the University before her term
expired. Her resignation was effective 29 February 2008. Ray Ivany
began his position as President and Vice-Chancellor on 1 April
2009.
Acadia's sports teams are called the Axemen and Axewomen. They
participate in the Atlantic University Sports conference of
Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
School spirit abounds with men’s and women’s varsity
teams that have delivered more conference and national
championships than any other institution in Atlantic University
Sport. Routinely, more than one-third of Acadia’s varsity
athletes also achieve Academic All-Canadian designation through
Canadian Interuniversity Sport by maintaining a minimum average of
80 per cent.
Expansion and modernization of Raymond Field was completed in the
fall of 2007 and features the installation of an eight-lane
all-weather running track and a move to the same premium artificial
turf used by the New England Patriots of the National Football
League for its main playing field. The Raymond Field modernization
was a gift to the university by friends, alumni, and the province.
War Memorial Gymnasium also saw the installation of a new playing
floor to benefit its basketball and volleyball teams.
The Memorial Gymnasium honours students who had enlisted and died
in the First World War, and in the Second World War. Two granite
shafts, which are part of the War Memorial Gymnasium complex at
Acadia University, are dedicated to the university's war dead.