Amid demographic mega-shift, women’s-only Brescia College winds down

In the 104 years since nuns founded Brescia University College to guide young women into higher education, the landscape of academia has shifted so dramatically that female students now make up the majority and the London school is winding down.

Thursday, officials with the 1,200-student affiliated school detailed plans for it to integrate fully into Western University by spring, with the facilities to become focused on “underrepresented” students and those who need support upon arrival on campus.

“I’m committed to helping students who don’t have a traditional pathway to Western to find their way here,” Western president Alan Shepard said, citing Indigenous and first-in-their-family students as examples. “The Brescia commitment is to look to the future and ask: How can you preserve the Ursuline (nuns) legacy and make a difference for the next generation?”

Brescia’s president, Lauretta Frederking, noted that in the 1960s there were 280 women’s universities in North America and now there are just 26, a sign of their success. Another indicator? Western University’s 42,000 students are spread across 11 faculties and in all but one, engineering, female students are the majority.

Students now studying at Brescia will be able to complete their degrees there, though graduates always received Western University diplomas anyway. The residence will remain student housing and there are no plans to sell any of Brescia’s land.

Brescia students said they were shocked by the announcement.

“We were not part of this conversation. This was dropped on us,” Mary Somerville, who is a student council representative in her third year, said Thursday.

“I love Brescia. Everyone here loves Brescia. The tears that I have seen on campus, once this email was released, just shows how much we love this institution, and I’m just sad that it has to end,” she said.

Somerville, who is doing a double major in health sciences and psychology, said she and her friends are sad to see the end of the only women’s university in Canada.

“It feels like the end of an era. . . We’ve survived so much, and it’s ending like this. It just feels wrong.”

Academically, Western officials describe two key changes with the end of Brescia:

More than a century after starting Brescia, the Ursuline nuns support the change. In a statement, Sr. Theresa Mahoney of the Ursuline Sisters of Chatham said they’ve always “tried to respond to the needs of the times,” adding this “will truly put students first.”

Asked whether Brescia alumni may be upset at its end, Frederking acknowledged that was possible, but said: “I’m sensitive to the fact that this is a journey. Change is difficult, but what’s ahead is exciting.”

With files from Patrick Maloney and Beatriz Baleeiro, The London Free Press

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London’s university landscape will change in May 2024 when Brescia University College will cease operation and be integrated into Western University. Here’s what some people said about the annoucement Thursday spelling the end of a university that has taught women for more than a century:

Barry Craig, president of Huron University College

“King’s remains a strong affiliate university college of Western University. We are disappointed to lose our long-time partner, Brescia. We are ready to provide academic support and a home to any Brescia students looking for a strong liberal arts, value-based education.”

David Malloy, president of King’s University College

“The Diocese of London supports Western, Brescia and the Ursuline Sisters as they chart a new path forward for the college. We applaud this new initiative that honors the Ursulines long history of service and cements a new vision for Brescia’s future.”

Roman Catholic Diocese of London

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