Celebrating 50 years of transformation!

2016 marks 50 years of the University of Calgary being part of this vibrant, energetic city and we have a great deal to celebrate. Led by the Eyes High vision, we’ve become the top-ranked young university in Canada and North America. Welcoming new students to campus to set the stage for their success is a tradition we continue today during Orientation Week. We dug into the archives to see how female students were welcomed back in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Campus life for women in the early days of the university was somewhat different than today. Women stayed in Kananaskis Hall residence while the men resided in Rundle Hall.  Social events were guided by the Wauneita Society, a sorority whose activities were overseen by a female staff advisor.  The Society held numerous events during the academic year, including formal dances, teas and hayrides.  The formal dances were grand affairs announced by titles such as Starlight Fantasy, Snowflake Fantasy, and Nuit Parisienne. The dances were scripted in order in the programs as Twinkle Waltz, Snow Flurry, and Champagne Shambles but “intermissions” were also written into the program for mingling. 

The Society also produced handbooks with helpful “tips on etiquette” including how to make proper introductions, which fork to use for what course at formal dinners, and what clothes to wear when doing so.  Less formal clothing advice was also given in the “hints for the co-eds wardrobe.”  When attending lectures, women were encouraged to wear “skirts and sweaters and blouses, or tailored dresses.”  Slacks however, were “not appropriate.”

Another indication that the early days of the University are now a by-gone era was the annual Queen contests.  Female students competed annually for the title of Queen of their Faculty; Faculty Queens then vied during Queen Week to be chosen to be Miss UofC who would receive her crown during the Blue Mist Ball, a formal event at which the male students donned tuxedos and the female wore their best ball gowns.

This is a small snap-shot of our history. We invite you to take a few minutes out of your busy day to travel back in time through an exhibit University Archives has created in celebration of the 50th Anniversary on view in Arts and Culture, 5th floor, TFDL from 10:00-4:30 weekdays. The exhibit will be on display until mid-May.

The 50th Anniversary website also contains a rich collection of archive photos, videos, personal stories and fascinating facts about our university’s journey – contribute your own story there and remember to share it with your friends and family using the hashtag #ucalgary50.